COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION IS NOT MANDATORY TO CLAIM RELIEF UNDER THE COPYRIGHTS ACT - BOMBAY HIGH COURT

23rd March 2021

The Bombay HC ruled that Copyright registration is not mandatory to claim relief under the Copyrights Act. In contrast, hearing a plea by Sanjay Soya Pvt Ltd (SSPL) against NCT.

SSPL claimed that NTC has entirely unauthorisedly and illicitly copied SSPL's registered label mark. The two are visually and conceptually identical. NTC adoption of the label mark is not bona fide and intended to trade upon and encash the goodwill, recognition and reputation of SSPL. Moreover, SSPL is the prior user of the registered label mark. It also holds copyright in the artistic work.

NTC denied SSPL's allegations and said the SSPL does not have any copyright in artistic work. The label work is a registered trademark and therefore cannot be an artistic work. This necessarily implies that trademark registration and copyright protection are distinct and disjunctive. A person may have one or the other but cannot have both NTC submits. NTC drew attention to the Dhiraj Dharamdas Dewani case.

Justice Patel disagreed with Dhiraj Dharamdas Dewani decision, "Dhiraj Dewani equates the same pedestal registration under Trade Marks Act with registration under the Copyright Act. This is incorrect. The two are entirely distinct. Registration under the Trade Marks Act confers specific distinct rights unavailable to an unregistered proprietor. There is no such requirement under the Copyright Act at all. The Copyright Act gives a range of rights and privileges to the first owner of copyright without requiring prior registration". The Hon'ble Court observed that the label mark of SSPL was before NTC and ruled in favour of SSPL.

Author: Papiha Ghoshal

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