ARTICLE
24 June 2010

Copyright Board Adjudicates on Expunction in Rosammal v. Chotalal

L
LexOrbis

Contributor

LexOrbis is a premier full-service IP law firm with 270 personnel including 130+ attorneys at its three offices in India namely, New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. The firm provides business oriented and cost-effective solutions for protection, enforcement, transaction, and commercialization of all forms of intellectual property in India and globally. The Firm has been consistently ranked amongst the Top- 5 IP firms in India for over the past one decade and is well-known for managing global patent, designs and trademark portfolios of many technology companies and brand owners.
Section 50 of the Copyright Act 1957 deals with ‘Rectification of Register by Copyright Board. The provision reads:
India Intellectual Property

Section 50 of the Copyright Act 1957 deals with 'Rectification of Register by Copyright Board. The provision reads:

The Copyright Board, on application of the Registrar of Copyrights or of any person aggrieved, shall order the rectification of the Registrar of Copyrights by-

  1. the making of any entry wrongly omitted to be made in the Registrar, or
  2. the expunging of any entry wrongly made in, or remaining on, the register, or
  3. the correction of any error or defect in the register.

The Copyright Board revisited the provision along with Rule 16(3) of the Copyright Rules in the case of G. Rosammal, M/s Swarna Match Factory Vs. L. Chhotalal Samji Virani, M/s L. Chhotalal & Co. 2010 (42) PTC 142(CB) .G. Rosammal, representative of M/s Swarna Match Factory made an application under Section 50 of the Copyright Act, 1957 for expunction of registration number for the artistic work SUPER WITH DEVICE HORSE.

Rosammal, claiming to be the holder of label mark SUPER since April 2004, which consisted of a shadow device of horse in galloping position. The principle basis of arguments was violation of Rule 16(3) of the Copyright Rules, which mandates that notice be given to every person who claims or has an interest in the subject matter of the copyright or disputes the right of the applicant in it.

Chhotalal & Co in repudiation of the contentions raised by Rosammal stated that the benefit of Rule 16 of the Copyright Rules could not be taken, as they had disowned rights in the trademark. Reliance was placed on the email sent on behalf of Swarna Match Factory, which concluded that they had done so.

The Board held that acknowledgement in regard to having received the email from Rosammal in relation to the relevant area of marks is indicative of the fact that at the least, Rosammal claimed to have an interest in the subject-matter of the copyright.

The Board held that Rosammal deserved notice from Chhotalal & Co and that Chhotalal & Co has violated Rule 16(3) of the Copyright Rules. Also, the Board there is apparent conflict in the user as claimed in the written statement and as reflected in the application made to the Registrar. Chhotalal & Co had clearly stated that the label mark was created in 1992 and is being used since then, whereas the application before the Registrar mentions the year of publication as 2004 thus creating a conflict. The Board held that the registration was liable to expunction and directed the Registrar to do the same.

© Lex Orbis 2009

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Mondaq uses cookies on this website. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies as set out in our Privacy Policy.

Learn More