Who will have the legislative power over ‘Cooperative Societies’?
This judgement shall provide a major boost for federalism as it acknowledges the exclusive authority of States over its co-operative societies, a sector which is a strong contributor to the country’s economy. The judgement consciously avoided touching certain aspects of the 97th Amendment Act, 2011 such as Article 19(1)(c) and Article 43B which are important for the functioning of cooperative societies in India. The former provides the fundamental right to every citizen to form associations in the nature of cooperative societies and the latter (a directive policy) directs the State to promote voluntary formation, autonomous functioning, democratic control, and professional management of cooperative societies.
COMPULSORY LICENSING OF ESSENTIAL DRUGS AMIDST THE PANDEMIC
The question of compulsory licensing of essential drugs has come to the fore in light of the recent shortage of drugs following the surge in COVID-19 cases across India. Numerous drugs used in the treatment of COVID-19 such as Remdesivir, Favipiravir and Tocilizumab are under patents. Patent protection has often been regarded as a major […]
PERSONAL GUARANTORS/PROMOTERS FACE UNCERTAINTY IN LIGHT OF LANDMARK SUPREME COURT RULING
INTRODUCTION The Supreme Court, in Lalit Kumar Jain vs Union of India 1 has upheld resolution proceedings against personal guarantors. Let us try to understand why. Lending practices in India are in some measure dependent on the personal reputation and stake of the promoters or directors of a company. Leveraging this goodwill and confidence they […]
The Model Tenancy Act, 2020: A blessing for homeowners and developers
On 2nd June, 2021 the Union Cabinet gave ascent to the Model Tenancy Act (MTA) for circulation to the states and union territories for adoption. The main aim of this act will be to open up vacant housing stock for rental housing purposes and to establish a policy to heal the trust deficit between landlords […]
KEY LEGAL ISSUES AFFECTING BRANDS
Branding is a process of creating a strong, positive perception of your company, and its products in your customer’s mind by combining elements such as logo, design or consistent theme throughout all marketing communications. Today, a ‘brand’ has become the most valuable strategic asset of a company. According to latest report in 2021 by Brand […]
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) […]
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, […]
