Articles

Secondment or employment: Court’s observation opens new opportunities for tax risk mitigation in 2024

The article discusses the observation of the Supreme Court in Northern Operating Systems case, recent investigations on the issue, CBIC Instruction, interim orders passed by different High Courts on factual matrix of the cases, legal position under the GST law and the way forward. Elaborating on the test / factors to determine the employee-employer relationship, the article deliberates on application of said tests/factors on the Supreme Court decision, and the factual differentiation of case.

The Ibrutinib saga

The article discusses the recent decision of Single Judge of the Delhi High Court adjudicating a batch of suits filed by Pharmacyclics LLC and Johnson and Johnson Pvt. Ltd., pertaining to the infringement of Indian Patent 262968 against Hetero Labs, Natco Pharma, BDR Pharma, Alkem Labs and Shilpa Medicare for manufacturing and marketing Ibrutinib. The Court restrained the Defendants in all suits from manufacturing and marketing Ibrutinib, pending final disposal of the suits.

Keywords as trademarks not a source identifier

The article discusses the recent judgment of the Delhi High Court in the case of MakeMyTrip India Pvt. Ltd, Booking Netherlands & Booking India and Google LLC in which the court reiterated that use of trademark as key words of search engines displays of someone else advertisement, absent any confusion or unfair advantage, would not infringe the trademark.

Will the recent ruling on Benami law dig up old deals?

Personality Rights: Protection under IP laws

There are two discernible facets when a celebrity wants to protect their personality rights: first, the right to protect one’s image from being commercially exploited without permission by treating it as a tort of passing off and second, the right to privacy which entails one’s right to be left alone. Analysing jurisprudential development in US and UK, the article elaborately summarises many case law governing jurisprudence in India on IP laws.

Trademark tangle: Deepika Padukone’s beauty brand dances through the tunes of ‘use in a trademark sense’ v. ‘descriptive use’

A recent order passed by the Delhi High Court in favour of DPKA Universal Consumer Venture, rejecting the plea of interim injunction by Lotus Herbals against the former’s use of ‘Lotus Splash’, has garnered a lot of attention. The decision discusses the question of infringement, with specific reference to Section 30(2)(a) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999. The article discusses this interim order and analyses the jurisprudence on Section 30(2)(a).

Audi alteram partem

The Article discuss the Delhi High Court decision in the matter of Novartis AG v. Natco Pharma & Anr. where the Court held that clear distinction between the examination and the opposition process of patents is essential, and merging these distinct processes would render the entire system unwieldy and counterproductive. The High Court was deliberating on the question as to whether the opponent has a right to be heard..

Adjudication of penalties by Registrar of Companies: Scope and its ambit

The article discusses a recent decision of the RoC, NCT, adjudicating penalty for violation under Section 89 (Declaration in respect of Beneficial Interest in any share) and Section 90 (Register of Significant Beneficial Owner in a company). Elaborately analysing the decision and its implications, the authors are of the view that the RoC has taken a stricter approach with respect to compliances...

Consent Managers under Digital Personal Data Protection Act – Bridging the gap between Data Principal and Data Fiduciary

The article discusses the measures introduced under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (‘DPDP Act’) to address challenges around management of data principals’ consent. The authors note that it is important for entities offering consent management services to ensure that their activities do not fall within the ambit of data processing.

Trade remedial measures in India

Trade remedy measures continue to remain a bulwark for the protection of the domestic industry from unfair imports. With the government’s increasing emphasis on the ‘Make in India’ objective and the Indian economy booming, trade remedy measures retain their importance as an instrument to balance the interests of domestic producers with that of users and importers.

Tax relief on Grants: Not to be taken for grant-ed!

The article notes that given the voluntary and unilateral nature of a grant, there exists ambiguity whether provision of a grant qualifies to be a taxable supply under the GST law, as to qualify as a supply it is essential that a good or service is provided for a consideration. The authors observe that it needs to be examined on case-to-case basis, whether the provision of the grant in a particular arrangement has its strings attached to the service provided and the consideration paid.

Are ‘trappings of a court’ enough to cloth an order of an authority under Section 2(14) of CPC?

The article discusses a recent Delhi HC decision holding that Letters Patent Appeal is allowed in trademark appeals and that a bar on such intra-court appeals as provided under Section 100A of Civil Procedure Code (CPC), 1908, do not apply to Letters Patent powers of High Courts with regard to trademark disputes as they are saved by virtue of Sections 4 and 104 of CPC.