Does ODR Herald a New Age of Dispute Resolution in India?
The functioning of Courts in India has been severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Increasingly, courts are only taking up urgent matters for hearing and encouraging e-filings and video conferencing. This has added to the high backlog of cases and compounded the troubles of the already strained legal system. In India several problems plague the […]
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO REGISTER TRADEMARKS INTERNATIONALLY?
Haldiram is the latest addition to the ever-growing list of victims of international trademark infringement. They have filed a suit in the US district court alleging that Aahar Food Distributors LLC has imported, distributed and sold counterfeit Haldiram products in the United States. Had Haldiram not protected their mark outside of the origin country (India) […]
India Challenges the Cairn Arbitration Award
On December 21, 2020, the International Arbitral Tribunal in the case of Cairn Energy PLC and Cairn UK Holdings Limited v. The Republic of India, held that India had breached its obligations to Cairn under the 1994 UK-India Bilateral Investment Treaty, and awarded damages of US$1.2billion plus interest and costs, to Cairn.India filed an appeal […]
Transferring the IPAB Jurisdiction to commercial courts! Will it ensure speedy justice?
A draft bill has been introduced in the Lok Sabha which proposed to close down the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) for good. The Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Bill, 2021 proposes to transfer its powers in copyright matters to Commercial Courts and all its other powers to High Courts. This bill comes […]
Anti-Counterfeiting for Pharmaceuticals in the Pandemic Times
Counterfeiting becoming a common practice in developed countries The act of counterfeiting is to fraudulently imitate something genuine or bona fide with the intent to pass it off as the original during the sale. This has now become a common practice not only in third world countries but also in the developed nations that understand […]
‘Keeping Up With The (Trade) Secrets’
While patent law offers strong protections for proprietary inventions, obtaining a patent requires establishing that the invention is novel, non-obvious, and patent-eligible. It also requires disclosure of the invention itself in the patent application. And while patents last for twenty years, they do not last forever. By contrast, trade secrecy provides another avenue to protecting […]
Information Technology (The Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021: Is it the way forward?
There have been a slew of cases filed in different High Courts across India, challenging the recently notified Information Technology (The Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (“IT Rules, 2021”), on grounds of being ultra vires of the parent Act i.e. Information Technology Act, 2000 (“IT Act, 2000”) and for imposing “arbitrary, […]
Non Payment of stamp duty on the commercial contract will not invalidate the arbitration agreement
In a significant development, Hon’ble Supreme Court has held that non- payment of stamp duty on the commercial contract will not invalidate the arbitration agreement. This judgment lays down various guidelines which courts and tribunals must follow while dealing with the objection qua non-stamping or insufficient stamping. Apart from this, there have been various other […]
Dispute Resolution – Critical Role of Solution – Oriented Approach
The construction industry is the second largest industry of the country after agriculture. It makes a significant contribution to the national economy and provides employment to large number of people. In its path of advancement, the industry has to overcome a number of challenges. The conflicts and disputes are mainly due to uncertain environment and […]
After saffron, J&K seeks GI tag for gucchi mushroom
A Geographical Indication tag has been sought for Gucchi, also known as Morel, one of the world’s most expensive mushrooms growing in Kashmir’s Doda district, valued at over INR 20,000 for every kilogram. The GI Tag will prevent unauthorized use and will provide legal protection to Doda Gucchi Mushroom. This will in turn boost it’s export. It […]
