A ‘Legal Issues Seminar-General IP’ (LIS-GIP) was conducted by Shreya Kunwar, Trainee Associate, on “Whether the Statutory Defence of Fair Use under Copyright Law is Applicable to Textbooks in the Current Education Scenario?”. The seminar delved into the provisions relating to the defence of fair use for educational purposes under the Copyright Act, 1957. The seminar also provided insight into the current methods employed while teaching, and the challenges that are arising due to copyright restrictions on use of tetxbooks for online classes. The session saw interesting questions and insights from the team, including on whether there is a need to amend the existing statutory provisions under to bring it in consonance with the changing landscape of education.

The presentation can be accessed here

During last week’s Practice Work Shop (PWS) Session, Hardik Choudhary, Associate, lead a discussion on whether the protection of bundled IP rights justifies the cost. The session saw an engaging discussion with attorneys expressing their views on the factors driving the protection of bundled IP rights and different approaches followed by companies in this regard. The session also saw some interesting points raised on the role of a country’s IP regime, emphasizing particularly upon the advantages and disadvantages of seeking bundled IP rights in India.

A ‘Legal Issues Seminar-General IP’ (LIS-GIP) was conducted by Krithika Muthuraman, Associate, on “Does Use of Copyright Protected Images in Memes amount to Infringement?”. The seminar delved into the position of copyright protected images and videos in memes vis-à-vis the provisions of the Copyright Act, 1957. Specifically, the seminar looked into the provisions relating to infringement and “fair dealing” of copyright works, while also examining the applicability of the de minimis rule. The session concluded with some interesting questions and discussion among the team, including on the increasing use of memes for commercial purposes, and the applicability of fair dealing provisions to such use of copyright protected works.

The presentation can be accessed here.

During last week’s Practice Work Shop (PWS) Session, Shreya Kunwar, Trainee Associate, lead a discussion on whether the remote working model poses a threat to the effective protection of trade secrets. The session saw an engaging discussion with attorney’s expressing differing views, some asserting that knowledge of trade secrets is confined to a limited number of people and will not be exposed to any threat in a virtual set-up while others felt that a virtual set-up increases the chances of breaches in the absence of organizational oversight and monitoring, and that the remote set-up makes data and trade secrets more vulnerable to leaks and accidental disclosure.

Final Year Patent Interns – Eldho John and Saranya Dash have commenced their Patent Internship with the firm’s law practice.

We hope their stay in the firm during the 4 week period of their internship will be mutually enriching and that the firm and they will learn exciting things from each other!