Trademark Registration Doesn’t Make You a Copyright Owner: Lessons from the Delhi High Court’s CAMEL Ruling

Many Indian businesses assume that once a logo, label, or packaging design has been registered as a trademark, the underlying artwork is automatically theirs under copyright law as well. A judgment from the Delhi High Court, reported in the first week of October 2026, is a useful reminder that this assumption can be wrong, and the gap between the two rights can cost a brand owner dearly. The Dispute Over the "CAMEL" Label The case, Japan Tobacco Inc. and Anr. v. The Central Wearhouse and Anr., arose out of a petition before the Delhi High Court seeking rectification of the Register of Copyrights under Section 50 of the Copyright Act, 1957. Japan Tobacco Inc., which markets CAMEL cigarettes internationally, and...

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Trademark Rectification in India: When and How to Challenge a Registered Mark

A trademark registration is not necessarily permanent. Even after a mark has cleared examination, survived (or avoided) opposition, and been entered on the Register of Trade Marks, it can still be challenged years later and removed. The legal route for this is called "rectification" – a remedy that is less talked about than opposition, but one that brand owners, competitors and their advocates should understand well, because it can be used both offensively, to clear a conflicting mark off the register, and defensively, when a registration is used against you in an infringement dispute. What Is Trademark Rectification? Rectification is the process by which an entry on the trademark register is corrected, varied or cancelled after registration. Under the Trade...

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Delhi High Court Puts Instagram’s ‘Remix’ Feature Under the Copyright Lens

Delhi High Court

On 29 September 2026, the Delhi High Court turned its attention to a feature that millions of Indian Instagram users reach for every day: "Remix." In a suit filed by Dr. Vikas Divyakirti, the well-known founder of Drishti IAS, against Meta Platforms, Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani did not mince words about how the feature can be misused, reportedly remarking that it amounted to "a tool for copyright violation" and a "mischievous feature." For IP practitioners and content creators alike, the case is worth watching closely, because it sits squarely at the intersection of copyright infringement, platform design, and intermediary liability under Indian law. The Dispute: Divyakirti v. Meta Platforms Dr. Divyakirti's lectures and video content, widely circulated on social media,...

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Passing Off in Indian Trademark Law: What It Is and How It Differs from Infringement

Delhi High Court

Business owners often assume that owning a registered trademark is the only way to stop someone else from copying their brand. In reality, Indian law recognises a second, older remedy that operates independently of registration altogether: the common law action of passing off. Understanding how passing off works, and how it differs from a statutory infringement claim, is essential for any brand owner deciding how to protect a name, logo, or get-up in the Indian market. What Is Passing Off? Passing off is a common law tort, not a right created by statute. It protects the goodwill a trader has built up in connection with their goods or services, and prevents a rival from misrepresenting their own goods or services...

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Delhi High Court Says No to Blanket Injunctions in Personality Rights Cases

Delhi High Court

On 18 September 2026, the Delhi High Court handed down an order that IP and media law practitioners across India have been discussing all week. In a suit filed by actor Meenakshi Chaudhary against unidentified defendants over non-consensual, sexually explicit AI-generated content bearing her likeness, Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction directing takedown of the obscene material — but pointedly declined to grant the sweeping, "blanket" injunction her counsel had sought over all unauthorised uses of her image and persona. The order was reportedly passed alongside similar personality rights suits filed by other film actors, with the Court signalling an intent to lay down a more structured framework for how such claims should be evaluated going forward....

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Copyright Registration in India: Procedure, Timelines and Common Pitfalls

Copyright protection in India arises automatically the moment an original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, or a cinematograph film or sound recording, is created and fixed in a tangible form. Unlike a trademark or a patent, no registration is required to bring a copyright into existence. Yet every year, thousands of authors, publishers, software companies, and businesses apply to register their works with the Copyright Office in India. Why bother with a formality the law does not strictly require? This article explains what copyright registration actually does, how the process works, and where applicants commonly go wrong. Copyright Exists Without Registration – So Why Register? Under the Copyright Act, 1957, copyright subsists in a qualifying work from the moment...

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