Recent Developments and Highlights in the area of IP & Media Law in India

• The Indian Space Research Organsation (ISRO) in a reply to questions raised under the Right to Information (RTI) Act said that India's national television broadcaster Doordarshan (DD) does not have any rights over the ISRO footage. However, Doordarshan, being a government entity, supports broadcasting of ISRO launches from Sriharikota on a request basis. ISRO also categorically said that DD does not have rights over independent animations produced by ISRO and there is no written contract between ISRO and the DD.
• The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has announced that the Litchis from Tezpur, Assam got the geographical indication (GI) tags, making this item an incontrovertible proof of their origins in the state and protecting them from production elsewhere.
• The State Government of Himachal Pradesh is aiming to obtain Geographical Indication (GI) for five products that are produced in the state. These products are Karsog Kulth, Chamba Metal Crafts, Thangi of Pangi, Rajmah of Bharmour, and Chamba Chukh. Karsog Kulth is a legume that is believed to be rich in amino acids. Chamba Metal Crafts are inclusive of items like metal idols and brass utensils which were made by skilled artisans in the courts of Kings of Chamba. Thangi of Pangi is a kind of a hazelnut that has unique flavour and sweetness. Rajmah of Bharmouri are famous for their flavour and are grown particularly in the area around Kugti Pass in the Bharmour region of Chamba district and Chamba Chukh is a chutney made from green and red chillies native to Chamba district.
• The Copyright Office vide its Public Notice Dated November 27, 2020 has invited for objections/ comments, if any from public/ stakeholders, in respect of application filed by Screenwriters Rights Association of India (SRAI) for registration as a copyright society under Section 33 of the Copyright Act in literary and dramatic works such as story, script, screenplay, dialogues or any other literary works except lyrics. The Copyright Amendment Act, 2012 had brought writers under the same umbrella as music directors and songwriters, who get a share in the royalties from film songs.
• The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) released the backend code of Aarogya Setu in the open domain that will help people understand the functioning of the COVID-19 contact-tracing app and allay apprehensions they may have around privacy and security. The source code of the Android and iOS versions of the Aarogya Setu app was released earlier and the backend source code has been released as per the government policy to share all code repositories with the developer community.
• A new phishing scam is targeting most of the Instagram users by accusing them of Copyright Infringement and obtaining their credentials. If you ever receive a direct message on Instagram informing you that copyright infringement has been detected in your photos, it may actually be a cleverly-disguised phishing scam. The message directs the recipient to visit the URL instagramhelpnotice.com to “Provide Feedback.” Many popular Instagram users including the likes of José Covaco, Sumeet Vyas, Sapan Verma and others received a similar DM in their post.
• Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) sign up a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the cooperation on Intellectual Property Examination and Protection as well as for strengthening the IP systems in both the nations. The MoU covers for the next 10 years, describing a range of cooperative activities pertaining to securing, using, and enforcing IP rights in the areas of patents, trademarks, copyrights, geographical indications, and industrial designs.
• IPAB issued a Public Notice in accordance with Rule 31 of Copyright Rules, 2013, stating that any owner of copyright in underlying musical and literary works in sound recording and utilization thereof in FM Radio stations may give their comments/suggestions by December 27,2020 on the application of the IPRS seeking fixing of royalties for sound recordings with respect to FM Radio Stations.
• A Bilateral Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Program has commenced between the Indian Patent Office (IPO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO).The guidelines in this regard have been published on the website of Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks. The IPO will start accepting Form 5-1 under Chapter 5 of the PPH Guidelines from 7th December 2020. The number of requests will be limited to 100.
• The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, DPIIT, Copyright Office vide Public Notice dated November 20, 2020 has introduced Non- Tax Receipt Portal (NTRP) in the e-filing portal of Copyright Office.  An indicative user guide for the use of NTRP gateway has also been laid out by the Ministry to guide through the NTRP Payment Process.
• IndiaMART Intermesh Ltd, which runs a B2B e-commerce platform, 'Indiamart.com' has sued Just Dial Ltd. over copyright issues. As per IndiaMART, Just Dial copied entire website compilations of IndiaMART, and is about to launch their own platform called JD Mart, which is based on IndiaMART. The Delhi High Court in IndiaMART Intermesh Ltd. v. Just Dial Ltd., CS(COMM)495/2020 granted an ad interim injunction in favour of IndiaMART. High Court also appointed local commissioners to conduct searches on Just Dial’s premises in Mumbai and Bengaluru and make an inventory of all the copies of the database in its website, mobile site and mobile application with respect to the launch of the proposed JD Mart B2B project.
• A Contempt of Court petition has been filed by Hyderabad based filmmaker Nandi Chinni Kumar against Amazon Prime and makers of upcoming Hindi movie 'Jhund' starring Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role. Amazon Prime had reportedly entered into an agreement with makers of 'Jhund' to upload and screen the film on their OTT platform. N.C. Kumar has already sued the producers of 'Jhund' for alleged copyright infringement. As per N.C. Kumar he bought Exclusive Rights to make a film titled 'Slum Soccer' about the life of Akhilesh Paul. 'Jhund' is directed by Nagraj Manjule and is based on the life story of Vijay Barse, who is Akhilesh Paul’s coach. Supreme Court on November 18, 2020 declined to lift the stay granted by the Civil Court and Telangana High Court against the release of the movie (M/S Super Cassettes Industries Pvt Ltd v. Nandi Chinni Kumar & Ors).
• Popular Hindi writer Surender Mohan Pathak had claimed that 'Mirzapur 2' creators had misinterpreted his 2010 novel 'Dhabba' while portraying it in a small scene in the show. Writer and director of 'Mirzapur 2', Puneet Krishna, has  apologized for 'inadvertently hurting' the sentiments of Popular Hindi writer Surender Mohan Pathak with their depiction of his work. Surendra Mohan Pathak had earlier raised an objections to a scene that portrayed his book, 'Dhabba' and had said that it is an attempt to tarnish his image and he will take Legal Action.
• The Central Government, in exercise of the powers conferred upon it under Section 159 of the Patents Act, 1970 has passed the Patents (Amendment) Rules of 2020 on October 19, 2020. The Rules modify Form 27 of the Act through which statements regarding the working of patented invention on a commercial scale in India have to be filed by Patentees or Licensees.
• An FIR was registered against Narayan Sharma, owner of Box Cinema, for copyright violation, impersonation and cheating by airing an old hit film made by Prakash Mehra. The case was registered by Puneet Mehra. According to him Narayan Sharma advertised in a magazine details of six films produced and directed by Prakash Mehra, claiming that he had rights to air them. Narayan Sharma was earlier arrested in the TRP scam.
• India TV had filed an FIR under section 420 of the IPC and sections 60 and 63 of the Copyright Act against a Twitter user called ‘arnabofficial17' for spreading a 'fake WhatsApp chat' between the media company’s chairman and a doctor in the Sushant Singh Rajput case, thereby allegedly misusing India TV’s logo and maligning its reputation. The Twitter handle is a parody account.