articles
Goods and Services Tax
Secondment or employment: Court’s observation opens new opportunities for tax risk mitigation in 2024
29 February 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.
Intellectual Property
The Ibrutinib saga: Delhi High Court restrains generics from manufacturing and marketing Ibrutinib
28 February 2024
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.
Intellectual Property
Keywords as trademarks not a source identifier – The legal tussle involving Google adwords
27 February 2024
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.
Direct Tax
Will the recent ruling on Benami law dig up old deals?
19 February 2024
The Article discusses the recent decision by the Delhi Appellate Tribunal in the case of Prism Scan Express Pvt Limited v. DCIT . The decision provided a wakeup call to all those who were under the belief that their old trades would not come under the glare of Benami Law, taking shelter of the decision of the Apex Court in the case of Ganpati Dealcom Pvt Ltd v. UoI which held that the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 shall not apply retrospectively.
Intellectual Property
Trademark tangle: Deepika Padukone’s beauty brand dances through the tunes of ‘use in a trademark sense’ v. ‘descriptive use’
15 February 2024
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).
Intellectual Property
Personality Rights: Protection under IP laws
15 February 2024
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.
Intellectual Property
‘Audi alteram partem’, yes, but not for Opponent in patent examination proceedings!
14 February 2024
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..
Corporate
Adjudication of penalties by Registrar of Companies: Scope and its ambit
31 January 2024
The ‘Registrar’ of Companies (‘RoC’) under the Companies Act, 2013 (‘Act’) is entrusted with the duty to register the companies in India and to discharge various functions under the Act, one of them being to adjudicate penalties in accordance with Section 454 of the Act
Corporate, Regulatory
Consent Managers under Digital Personal Data Protection Act – Bridging the gap between Data Principal and Data Fiduciary
30 January 2024
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.
International Trade & WTO
Trade remedial measures in India – 2023 year-end review
30 January 2024
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.
Goods and Services Tax
Tax relief on Grants: Not to be taken for grant-ed!
29 January 2024
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.
Intellectual Property
Are ‘trappings of a court’ enough to cloth an order of an authority under Section 2(14) of CPC?
24 January 2024
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.
Direct Tax
Interplay between foreign taxpayers’ global profits and PE profit attribution
22 January 2024
The article discusses the issue of attribution of profits in case of losses at the global level, which has once again gathered spotlight as the Delhi High Court in Hyatt International Southwest Asia Limited has expressed its prima facie disagreement with the decision in Nokia Solutions and has referred the issue to a Larger Bench. Discussing Article 7 of the DTAA and Rule 10 of the Income Tax Rules, the authors state that the LB decision will have a major impact.
Intellectual Property
Geographical Indications – Madhya Pradesh High Court elucidates registered proprietor’s rights
16 January 2024
In a recent decision dated 18 December 2023 , the Division Bench (Two-Judge Bench) of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, while adjudicating a petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, set aside the order dated 28 October 2021 passed by the Commercial District Court, Indore and held that a suit for infringement of Geographical Indication tags is maintainable by the Registered Proprietor of the GI tag, even if the Authorised User of the same GI tag is not impleaded as a party.
Intellectual Property
The vigour that Form-3 carries – Delhi High Court imposes costs for material suppression and misrepresentation of facts
16 January 2024
The article elaborately discusses a recent decision of the Single Judge of the Delhi High Court, imposing costs of INR 5 lakh on the Plaintiff for having suppressed material facts by way of failing to report that corresponding foreign patents of the suit patent had been invalidated/refused in several foreign jurisdictions.
Corporate, Regulatory
Future of targeted and behavioral advertising in India – Analysing CJEU’s Judgment on Meta Platforms
15 January 2024
The article analyses a recent decision of the CJEU and its implications in the background of the Indian data privacy laws. In this regard, it is pertinent to note that India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (‘ DPDP Act ’) will be notified soon and companies involved in processing of personal data for targeted advertising may need to revisit and revise their policies to comply with the law.
Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions / PE
Plastic Waste Management Rules revised – Analysis of significant changes
05 January 2024
The article analyses recent amendments in the Plastic Waste Management Rules. According to the authors, the changes represent the Central Government’s acknowledgement of the gaps in the regulatory framework for plastic waste management. The article in this regard discusses changes like clear distinction being drawn between producers and importers, clarity on applicability of EPR Guidelines to export products, and elimination of conflicting interpretations of labelling requirements, etc.
Corporate
Demystifying the Dark Patterns
03 January 2024
Dark Patterns can be referred to as the deceptive web or UI designs or patterns commonly used in web based or mobile based platforms, intended to manipulate, or trick the decision of a consumer by deceiving them to do something that is determinantal to his interest and something that the consumer otherwise would not do, compromising consumer’s autonomy, decision-making power, and his privacy. Some of the widely used dark patterns include subscription trap, false urgency, and click and bait.
Customs
Locking horns over ‘free’ and ‘restricted’
28 December 2023
The concept of ‘restriction’ imposed on export of goods as indicated in the Indian Trade Classification (ITC (HS)) has been the subject matter of judicial interpretation before various forums. The article analyses a recent Gujarat High Court decision in the case of Satyendra Packaging Limited v. Union of India, which has sparked some controversy towards the settled understanding of the issue.