During last week’s PWS Session, Vaidehi Gupta (Associate) led a discussion on the topic “Does Surrogate Intellectual Property undermine Fair Trade Practices by Allowing Institutions to Claim Public Knowledge?” The session commenced with an in-depth discussion on surrogate intellectual property, focusing on the growing practice of institutions asserting control over digitized public domain works. The discussion explored arguments in favour, highlighting that digitization requires significant investment and institutions should have some control to recover costs, while opposing views emphasized that restricting access to digitized public domain works undermines fair competition, limits innovation, and contradicts the principles of open access. The insights shared during the session underscored that while institutions may recoup costs through reasonable monetization models, they should not be allowed to impose restrictive intellectual property claims on public knowledge, as this would unfairly hinder accessibility and fair trade practices.

During the last PWS session, Vanshika Gupta, Associate, led a discussion on “Do memes constitute an inherent violation of intellectual property rights?” The session began addressing the ongoing tension between intellectual property frameworks and the digital culture of memes. The session examined the nature of memes, whether they are inherently original and if they can be deemed to rely significantly on pre-existing copyrighted content. A key debate emerged on whether memes should qualify as transformative works, and whether there should be a clearer threshold to assess the value addition to the original content. The session also explored whether meme culture could curtail commercial opportunity of the original content creators. The session concluded with a consensus that while existing IP laws provide a framework for addressing meme-related disputes, the evolving nature of digital content and transformative use may necessitate clearer legal thresholds to balance the rights of original creators with the cultural significance and widespread dissemination of memes.

A ‘Legal Issues Seminar- General IP’ (LIS-GIP) was conducted by Shivanshi Gupta, Associate, on “Whether the requirement of pre-litigation mediation is mandatory in cases seeking urgent interim relief?” The seminar explored the relevant provisions of the Commercial Court Act 2015, which discusses Pre-Institution Mediation and Settlement. The seminar focused on decisions where courts observed the nature of Section 12A of the Act as to whether it was either mandatory or directory in nature. The session concluded with a discussion of the recent developments in the judicial outlook that the Commercial Court should not allow parties to circumvent the statutory requirement of pre-litigation mediation by requesting urgent interim relief.

The presentation can be accessed here.

Today, on International Women’s Day, we celebrate the incredible women of ALG —their talent, resilience, and impact. We also recognize the importance of allyship and are proud that the ALG men champion that spirit. It’s this unity and respect for one another that makes ALG.

ALG is proud to foster a workplace where everyone thrives together.

Here’s to everyone who makes ALG what it is! 💜

A Legal Issues Seminar was conducted by Devesh Kapoor, Associate, on the topic “Can a Confidentiality Club Formed for a Suit Include Parties to the Suit?”. The seminar examined the legal framework governing Confidentiality Clubs under the Delhi High Court (Original Side) Rules, 2018. The discussion traced the judicial evolution of Confidentiality Clubs, wherein these Clubs were initially restricted to external lawyers and experts but later expanded in select cases to include parties themselves. Judicial precedents were analyzed to highlight the lack of consensus on membership criteria. The session underscored the balance between safeguarding sensitive information and ensuring procedural fairness, given the evolving and case-specific nature of Confidentiality Clubs.

The presentation can be accessed here.