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Case study on Star India Private Limited V. Leo Burnett

– By Apoorva Mishra

The plaintiffs entered into an Agreement dated 9th April, 2000 with Balaji Telefilms Pvt. Ltd., in order to create, compose and produce 262 episodes of a television serial entitled “KYUNKI SAAS BHI KABHI BAHU THI”.  Since then Balaji has produced episodes of the serial and their services were engaged by way of contract of service and as such the plaintiffs are the first copyright owners under Section 17 of the Copyright Act. Balaji has devised the original artistic work depicting inter alia the logo and the title in a peculiar stylized font and containing as its essential features the words “KYUN KI SAAS BHI KABHI BAHU THI” and as per the agreement plaintiffs have become the owner of the said artistic work. The serial had acquired immense goodwill and reputation so much so that the public associate the said serial with plaintiffs and plaintiffs alone. Plaintiffs started endorsing the serial and the characters in form of products and services for a fee. In February 2002, the defendants came up with the commercial for a consumer product “TIDE DETERGENT” telecasting it with a title, “KYONKI BAHU BHI KABHI SAAS BANEGI” and characters of a grandmother, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, similar to the characters of J.D., Savita, Tulsi as in the serial of the plaintiff. The plaintiffs contended that there has been an infringement of copyright because an average viewer will have an impression that the plaintiffs are endorsing the defendant’s product and there is a connection between plaintiffs in the said serial and the defendants and their product. It is contended that the defendants are not entitled to do so without obtaining the prior consent and/or the permission from the plaintiffs and they have misrepresented the public at large and on account of this plaintiffs have suffered loss due to continuous act of infringement of copyright and passing off of the copy to the defendants.  The matter was brought before the Hon’ble Bombay High Court raising several issues:

First, Have the defendants by making the commercial film, violated and/or infringed the plaintiffs’ copyright in the T.V. serial “KYUN KI SAAS BHI KABHI BAHU THI”?

The court ruled that anything which is not a substantial copy of the film shall not be held liable for copyright infringement. Therefore, defendants by making the commercial film have not violated and/or infringed the plaintiffs’ copyright.

The court has rightly dealt with the above issue, for the second film to infringe the copyright of the first film it has to be the exact copy of that film which is not the case here. The plaintiff’s film is a work of 262 episodes whereas defendant’s advertisement is a work of 30 seconds in which only for 8 to 10 seconds the characters appear as a prelude to the tide detergent. The major and substantial part consists of tide detergent. Nothing is common between the two scripts. The defendants have put in their own independent skill and labour in making of the advertisement whole sole purpose is to promote the Tide detergent. The models are same in both the film. These models are professional and free to contract. There cannot be, therefore, any act which would amount to infringement by using the same models. Even if the idea is borrowed there, can be no copyright in the idea.

Second, Have the plaintiffs’ proved the defendants have infringed the plaintiffs’ artistic work?

The court denying the contentions of the plaintiffs coined the term Originality. Originality merely means effort expanded or that it involves skill, labour and judgment in its creation. Under Section 17 of the Copyright Act, the Author of a work is the owner of the copyright therein. The defendants have contended that the logo consisting of the two hands is a symbol in common use and in the public domain and open to anyone to use. The holding hands well known form of representing the handing over of something from one to another and are a commonly used symbol and they denied on the fact that the plaintiffs have put any skill, labour or some sort of judgement in its creation but has merely taken the lettering style from a source easily available in public domain. Hence, there is no originality, therefore no copyright.

Third, Have the plaintiff’s proved that the defendants are guilty of passing off their reputation and goodwill in the T.V. serial?

The court held that the defendants are not guilty of passing off as they do not satisfy the essentials of passing off per se. Plaintiffs’ serial is shown on Star Plus Channel which is not owned by the plaintiffs. Goodwill does not accrue to the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs have no goodwill or reputation. It is the case of the plaintiffs that their serial/film is associated exclusively with the Star Plus Channel by the public and public is well aware that it can be seen only on Star Plus. Also, the T.V. commercial will not cause any harm to the plaintiffs’ serial or their reputation because the field which the plaintiffs’ serial occupies as a film/soap opera is different from the field of defendants’ commercial that of an advertisement of detergent Tide. Even the activity area is also not in common, therefore there is no misrepresentation.

On the facts of this case, there is no fictional character involved like ‘Superman’, ‘Shaktiman’ Teletubbies’. In the serial there are ordinary people in common life who plays the role of some character or the other. At least from the material on record there is nothing special in any, of the characters of which it can be said that they have gained any public recognition for itself with an independent life outside the serial. This, the plaintiffs have failed to establish. It is also not a case of one film against another film and further the defendants are not merchandising any character from the serial by means of their T.V. commercial. There should be in actual character merchandising and not mere potential of character merchandising.

The court, after analysis the entire case, rightly pronounced the judgement in favour the defendants. The defendants are just promoting their consumer product “Tide” via a T.V. commercial which in no way is connected. The field of activity of the plaintiff and defendant are totally different. No likelihood of damage has been caused to the plaintiff. The characters of which the plaintiff claims to be copied are simple general roles of our Indian society and the defendants are simply targeting the audiences of India who will relate easily to these household roles and nothing special that the plaintiffs have done with these characters for which they claim a copyright on them. This isn’t a case of misrepresentation or fraud and no real damage has been caused. No prudent person will confuse the advertisement with plaintiffs’ serial. Moreover, for character merchandising the plaintiffs should prove that the public would look at the character and consider it to represent the plaintiffs or to consider the product in relation in which it is used as has been made with the plaintiffs’ approval. But the plaintiffs have failed to establish this. In my opinion, the defendants have rightly pleaded that they are a major consumer goods Company, well known in their own right and their products including Tide have their own reputation amongst the public; Tide will be associated with the defendants and not with the plaintiffs.

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Compulsory Licensing of Patents

– By Apoorva Mishra

Compulsory licensing is an involuntary licensing where the licensor is unwilling to grant the license to the willing licensee, but this entire agreement of compulsory licensing is enforced by the state, by which the licensor has to transfer the rightful authorization of the patent to the licensee, against all his wishes. Government is basically the protector and acts as a guardian for the public at large. Therefore, for the benefit of nation, it has the right to grant the patent and next moment take away the patent and patentee’s monopoly over it. The requirements of the society at large supersedes against the rights of the patent holder to answer the pressing public requirements. Following situations may attract compulsory licensing where IP holder:

  • Charges unfair and discriminatory prices; or
  • Limits production of goods and services; or
  • Restricts technical or scientific development of goods and services; or
  • Desecrates consumer welfare.

Internationally, compulsory licensing has been supported saying that it helps in catering to the needs of the public at large and development of developing and underdeveloped countries. Compulsory Licensing has been mandated by several agreements like WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), Paris Convention for the promotion of industrial property. TRIPS has envisaged several conditions for issuance of compulsory licensing:

  1. The person or company should apply for licensing after 3 years to the grant of patent.
  2. Before applying for compulsory licensing, the person or company should make an attempt for voluntary licensing.
  3. The person or company then should apply to the board for compulsory licensing if the proposed user has made efforts to obtain authorization from the right holder on reasonable commercial terms and conditions and that such efforts have not been successful within a reasonable period of time.

In India, we have seen a growth of many foreign companies reason being they hold knowledge and they rule the terms.  Therefore, there exists a chance that these companies can abuse their positions. Compulsory licensing of IPRs in cases of such abuses would be an apt remedy that will deter these companies from abusing their dominant positions. Keeping in mind Indian conditions compulsory licensing will spur growth and development in Indian industrial sectors. Keeping in mind the size of Indian market the incentive for innovation will not erode to the extent that might deter companies from entering in to innovative endeavours as courts have granted reasonable royalties in cases where compulsory licensing has been awarded. Compulsory licensing will make the products more accessible to public and it will be beneficial for public welfare.

The developing and the under developed countries are not much concerned about protection of patent laws as much as developed countries are because they don’t have resources to spend on development of costly mechanism to ensure protection of patents.

There are few reasons behind this:

  • by allowing piracy, developing and underdeveloped countries can ensure availability of needed goods and services to their citizens at affordable prices
  • The local industries which produce counterfeit goods employee thousands of workers and therefore reduce unemployment.
  • In order to advance in science and technology, they need maximum access to intellectual property of advanced nations.

More than 80% patents in developing and underdeveloped countries are owned by citizens of technologically advanced countries. Consequently, their governments are not willing to spend huge amounts in developing effective administrative mechanism to enforce IPRs of citizens of advanced states.

The Government will, however, pay royalty to the patent holder for using his patent without his permission, but this will in turn discourage the patent holder from making any further inventions or innovations. The discouraged Research & Development shall lead to deteriorating economic growth. The developing or under-developed countries shall refrain from investing in R & D, indirectly affecting the economy, and will settle for generic goods. This might increase the risk of goods turning into inferior quality. Ultimately, as a result of weak intellectual property regime, a country becomes less competitive, and brain drain is an obvious result.

Compulsory licensing becomes inevitable to deal with the situations of “patent suppression”. By incorporating an effective mechanism of compulsory licensing, governments of developing countries may pressurize the patent holders to work the patent to maximum national advantage. The threat of non-voluntary licensing may be helpful in negotiating a reasonable price of the needed drug acceptable to both the patent owner and the government. Compulsory licensing might be necessary in situations where its refusal may prevent utilization of another important invention which can be significant for technological advancement or economic growth.

Compulsory licensing ensures that a good number of producers or manufacturers are there to cater to the needs of society; it spurs competition and consumer welfare. Those who argue against it saying that it leads to erosion in incentive for innovation forget that a right is always accompanied by a corresponding duty, and failure to perform that duty might have its implications in law.

The abuse of patents is a very likely to occur where the patentee has its rights protected under Patent laws. The patent holder has monopoly rights but they are more likely to abuse. The patent holders are often tempted to indulge in to anti-competitive practices and they try to extend their monopoly into areas where they do not have rights protected by IPRs. Software companies like Microsoft, several pharmaceutical companies, as discussed above, are protected under the patent laws and most of the time they are the sole manufacturer. So this gives them an opportunity where they can dictate their terms over the entire market which might lead to exploitation of others right in the market. In such a scenario, compulsory licensing comes into play, which acts as a remedy to abuse of patents, where government intervention leads to increase in the versatility of the market leading to a monopolistic market rather than a monopoly, the consumers have a choice and the product will be easily available, where the opponents have argued that compulsory licensing will lead to discouragement for innovations, but this also true that this will lead to a heated competition, which will in return lead to a peer pressure over the patent holder to work more over his product, get distributers, improve his research and product and make it available to the public at large. This will lead to an increase in the economy. There are reasonable apprehensions that FDI may dry up if compulsory licensing is granted as a remedy, to that essential facility doctrine must be adopted, so that only what is essential and necessary should prevail.

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Censorship and Media

– By Apoorva Mishra

Censorship the control of the information and ideas circulated within a society — has been a hallmark of dictatorships throughout history. In the 20th Century, censorship was achieved through the examination of books, plays, films, television and radio programs, news reports, and other forms of communication for the purpose of altering or suppressing ideas found to be objectionable or offensive. The rationales for censorship have varied, with some censors targeting material deemed to be indecent or obscene; heretical or blasphemous; or seditious or treasonous. Thus, ideas have been suppressed under the guise of protecting three basic social institutions: the family, the church, and the state.

Censorship is a global phenomenon. Time and again, there have emerged news of something getting banned somewhere in the world for reasons that seem unreasonable to many while a necessity to the rest. In India, specially, censorship exists in mass abundance. While each country and each culture censors the media in one way or the other, the amount of censorship or the cut-off level which defines what to show and what not, differs.

There are also different types of censorship. One of the most common criteria behind censorship is the age limits for viewing different media. Sometimes the censorship can be a blanket ban on a certain taboo topics and the definition of a taboo topic would be defined according to the governing authority in the country. So, while the levels of media censorship exist, people are still calling for absolute removal of all types of censorship. Then again, there are proponents who think that its use creates a balance in what ought to be said and written, which again, the opponents criticize on the basis of the threat it poses to the right of speech.

Advantages and Disadvantage of censorship

It is true that media is responsible for spreading information about current events all around the world, the need of the hour is balance of information given. Certain times violent speeches and derogatory comments given by people towards a particular race and religion. While the act in itself can be condemned, there is no need of repeated air-time given to the incident. This can only incite the masses against the said person or the organization he/she is associated with. Such media tactics are often used by political parties for selfish means while ignoring the greater good of the society. This can only bring unrest among the masses and disrupt the peace in the society. Some people may try to spread nonsensical propaganda through unsuspecting media. Censorship will prevent the public display of disrespect to any particular individual or community and promote political correctness.

However, Censoring of information may lead to a wrong image perceived by the public. It gives rise to and hides abuse of human rights. If the news coming from a war zone does not show the true nature of the damage inflicted, how can a person be aware of the real situation of the war? If to say that the real death toll and associated imagery should be censored, it will be equivalent to denying even the presence of war. Death is real and people affected in a war zone pay for it with their lives and we owe it to them to know their real stories. Don’t censor the media; rather tackle the issues leading to a situation that might need to be censored. Hiding the complete picture doesn’t erase its presence, merely gives a false perception.

Conclusion

Although the right to freedom of expression does not require an absolute ban on prior censorship, this should be a highly exceptional measure, taken only when a publication threatens grave harm, such as loss of life or serious harm to health, safety or the environment. An article deemed defamatory, blasphemous, obscene or overly critical of the government would rarely if ever meet this threshold. Moreover, a system whereby media content must be officially cleared before it can be released would be unacceptable; its harm to freedom of expression would plainly far outweigh the benefit to its goals. An absence of censorship might not be a perfect notion, as it can cause chaos. But it also doesn’t mean that the government uses it for its own personal gain by suppressing dissent. Ours is a democratic nation, yet has more censorship than most nations.

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Media Content Regulation

– By Apoorva Mishra

In India, media as a whole is regulated through a gamut of statutes and codes. Being one of the largest industries, its regulation is regarded significant in the interest of public and nation as a whole. The real value of such a regulation is to handle the relationship between any segment of media and the public. In case of Television media, the regulation sets the expectations of that relationship and allows the television media to be the “service provider” to be called to account if those standards are not met. On a face value, it works very well if nothing hinders the legal standard and the most importantly the moral standard of the society. It is expected that the Regulatory bodies can mediate relatively informally, away from the court rooms and hopefully effectively to resolve the complaints and improve their performance.

It is known that whenever regulation is introduced in any field where influence on public is huge, there will be a mix of economic, political and cultural concerns and approaches. One could see the impact of visual media to be far more than the print media and hence regulation over it has always been more than its other counter parts. Earlier, broadcasters needed limited access to airwaves, so the state could license away to any private player. This gave an opportunity to increase revenue as well as to regulate the content to be displayed. Technologically, airwaves have also been found to be relatively easier to regulate so the state had full advantage to impose more demanding regulation. Whether there is harm on the right to free trade or free expression, is a later concern, the state was fully aware of its potentially powerful influence over large swathes of audience, hence, former right is allowed to be overridden.[1]

Everything seemed fine till the age of New Economic Policy was introduced in the 1990s which opened the gateway for the private players to serve the public with negligible regulation. This was followed by several consequences both at macro and micro level. Though few hurdles were apprehended but at the same time it pose a problem to protect the much coveted fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression which is guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution. Indian society is now going through a process of transition and media is also responding to the various needs to it. However, the subtle balance between Article 19 freedom and public morality and decency is also a surmountable task to attain. To decide such controversial issues, it is of paramount importance that a genuine and neutral body is judging the process.

Media regulation in India is currently a maze, with multiple agencies involved in formulating and implementing policy, drafting and enforcing legislation. To make matters worse, they often appear to be unaware of each other’s interventions and seem to work at cross purposes. Among the official organisations currently involved in media regulation are the following:

  • Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting: It functions as policy-maker and content
  • Telecom Regulatory Authority of India: At one point it was given the responsibility for regulation of the broadcast sector (in addition to the telecommunications sector) but it backed out and currently it is involved primarily with issues of technology, such as carriage regulation and pricing.
  • Inter-Ministerial Committee: It was constituted by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to look into complaints regarding violations of the programme and advertisement codes connected to the Cable Television Act and Rules.

These are the few bodies which are often encountered when issues regarding regulation of television content surfaces. It is true that the idea of an independent regulatory body to regulate the media content is revolutionizing the entire nation. Moreover, one must also accept and adhere to the fundamental right of freedom of expression granted by our Constitution. However this right be regarded as a license to impede our morality and ethics.

[1] Ammu Joseph, Broadcast regulation in the public interest: A Backgrounder, InfoChange Media, available at

http://infochangeindia.org/Media/Broadcast-Laws-and-Regulations/Broadcast-regulation-in-the-public-interest-A-backgrounder.html

 

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An Article on Freedom of Information

– By Apoorva Mishra

Everyone has a right to seek, impart and receive information under the right of freedom of expression. This right to Freedom of Information is the key to achieving many other rights, securing democracy and enabling development. It is also intended to promote a culture of openness among public authorities and to give people the right to access much of the information they hold.

Governments and public bodies hold masses of important information. They hold it on behalf of the public and should therefore:

  • proactively publish information in the public interest.
  • provide open access to people wanting specific information.

The right of freedom of information is based on the principle that the government is required to serve the people. Information forms a very important part of the democracy. It leads to accountability, transparency and good governance.

Role of Information?

  • Gives people a fair chance to know the information, to know what’s happening and give their opinions and debate on the relevant matters.
  • Keeps a check on the government and makes sure that there is transparency maintained.
  • Ensures free and fair election.
  • Gives authority to the civil society and the journalists to expose corruption and wrong doing.
  • Enables people to have access to their personal information.

‘Information’ should include all information held by a public body, regardless of form, creator, date, or classification. Public bodies include executive, legislative and judicial branches of the state, as well as public corporations and publicly-funded bodies. It should be the responsibility of the information holder to prove that it is legitimate to deny access.

Exemption

Most open records laws are based on the presumption that everything is public, unless specifically exempted. Some states specify certain categories of information that always are public. Many exceptions to public access are subject to agency discretion, so one can always try to convince officials that it would be in the public’s interest to release the requested information. In most states, only a few specifically designated types of records are required to be kept secret, for example:

Law enforcement and investigative files: These may be exempt across the board, or may resemble the federal statute, which permits information to be withheld only when some specified harm to the investigation or an individual involved would result from disclosure.

Commercially valuable information: These exemptions usually protect from disclosure information provided by private companies to the government, such as commercially sensitive or trade secret information in licensing or contract applications.

National security: These exemptions are intended to protect from disclosure those documents that if released could potentially harm security interests. At the federal level, these are often documents containing “classified” information.

Freedom of Information and Media

Freedom of Information should not be misused by the media by generating stories against the Government. Freedom of Information is an important tool to provide better understanding to the people who want to know how the government functions, why or how the government makes a particular decision. Media, on the other hand, would prefer a less open government. It is the job of journalists to hold the government to account on behalf of the public. The Freedom of Information Act is a vital tool in their armoury which should not and must not be removed or weakened.

Conclusion

Despite the remarkable trend towards adoption of Freedom of Information, the public in general still faces a lot of obstacles. There is a need for better effective mechanism to cater to public needs. The principle of maximum disclosure dictates that individuals should be granted access to all information held by public bodies, except for very limited and clearly specified categories, subject to harm and public interest tests. It is not unusual for exceptions, along with the reference to official secret acts, to justify arbitrary denials of information access. Perhaps the greatest challenge of all is the shift from a culture of secrecy to one of transparency. This entails a fundamental change in mindsets of politicians and bureaucrats, as well as building public awareness to encourage active exercise of the right to know.

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Authors Guild Inc. v. Google

– By Apoorva Mishra

In 2004, Google announced two programs: “Partner Program,” involved the “hosting” and display of material provided by book publishers or other rights holders and second “Library Project,” involved the digital scanning of books in the collections of the number of university libraries. The Partner Program and the Library Project together comprise the Google Books program (“Google Books”) where all types of books are encompassed. Google creates more than one copy of each book it scans from the library collections, and it maintains digital copies of each book. Google did not seek or obtain permission from the copyright holders to digitally copy or display verbatim expressions from in-copyright books. Google has not compensated copyright holders for its copying of or displaying of verbatim expression from in-copyright books or its making available to libraries for downloading of digital copies of in-copyright books scanned from their collections. Google also provides snippet view for the books for the users to read. Plaintiffs commenced this action on September 20, 2005, alleging, inter alia, that Google committed copyright infringement by scanning copyrighted books and making them available for search without permission of the copyright holders.

ISSUE

Whether Google’s use of copyrighted work is “fair use” under the copyrighted laws?

Analysis

Doctrine of Fair Use

The Copyright Act gives copyright holders the exclusive right to reproduce works for a limited time period. Fair use is a limitation on this right. Fair use allows people other than the copyright owner to copy part or, in some circumstances, all of a copyrighted work, even where the copyright holder has not given permission or objects.

Copyright law does not give copyright holders complete control of their works. Copyrighted works move into “the public domain” and are available for unlimited use by the public when the copyright term expires. But even before works enter the public domain, the public is free to make “fair uses” of copyrighted works. The Supreme Court has described fair use as “the guarantee of breathing space for new expression within the confines of Copyright law.”[1]

Fair Use – Transformative in nature

Fair use is more likely to be found when the copyrighted work is “transformed” into something new or of new utility, such as quotations incorporated into a paper, or perhaps pieces of a work mixed into a multimedia product for your own teaching needs or included in commentary or criticism of the original and are not simply a reproduction. There are four factors determining fair use:

  1. Purpose and character of use.
  2. Nature of copyrighted work
  3. Amount or Substantiality of Portion Used
  4. The Effect of the Use in the Potential Market or for the Value of Work

The key consideration is:  Whether the use of copyrighted work is transformative or not?

  • Google’s use of the copyrighted works is highly transformative. Google Books digitizes books and transforms expressive text into a comprehensive word index that helps readers, scholars, researchers, and others find books.
  • Google Books has become an important tool for libraries and librarians and cite-checkers as it helps to identify and find books. The use of book text to facilitate search through the display of snippets is transformative.
  • Google uses snippets of text to act as pointers directing users to a broad selection of books.
  • Similarly, Google Books is also transformative in the sense that it has transformed book text into data for purposes of substantive research, including data mining and text mining in new areas, thereby opening up new fields of research. Words in books are being used in a way they have not been used before. Google Books has created something new in the use of book text the frequency of words and trends in their usage provide substantive information.
  • Google Books does not supersede or supplant books because it is not a tool to be used to read books. Instead, it adds value to the original and allows for the creation of new information, new aesthetics, new insights and understandings.
  • Google does not sell its scans, and the scans do not replace the books. While partner libraries have the ability to download a scan of a book from their collections, they owned the books already — they provided the original book to Google to scan.
  • Nor is it likely that someone would take the time and energy to input countless searches to try and get enough snippets to comprise an entire book.
  • Not only is that not possible as certain pages and snippets are blacklisted, the individual would have to have a copy of the book in his possession already to be able to piece the different snippets together in coherent fashion.

Google Provides various significant public benefits:

  • It advances the progress of the arts and sciences, while maintaining respectful consideration for the rights of authors and other creative individuals, and without adversely impacting the rights of copyright holders.
  • It has become an invaluable research tool that permits students, teachers, librarians, and others to more efficiently identify and locate books.
  • It has given scholars the ability, for the first time, to conduct full-text searches of tens of millions of books.
  • It generates new audiences and creates new sources of income for authors and publishers.
  • Many authors have noted that online browsing in general and Google Books in particular helps readers find their work, thus increasing their audiences.
  • Further, Google provides convenient links to booksellers to make it easy for a reader to order a book. In this day and age of on-line shopping, there can be no doubt but that Google Books improves books sales.

 

CONCLUSION

Google is entitled to summary judgment with respect to plaintiffs’ claims based on the copies of scanned books made available to libraries. Even assuming plaintiffs have demonstrated a prima facie case of copyright infringement, Google’s actions constitute fair use here as well. Google provides the libraries with the technological means to make digital copies of books that they already own. The purpose of the library copies is to advance the libraries’ lawful uses of the digitized books consistent with the copyright law. The libraries then use these digital copies in transformative ways. They create their own full-text searchable indices of books, maintain copies for purposes of preservation, and make copies available to print-disabled individuals, expanding access for them in unprecedented ways. Google’s actions in providing the libraries with the ability to engage in activities that advance the arts and sciences constitute fair use.

 

[1] Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 114 S.Ct. 1164, 127 L. Ed. 2d 500 [1994]

 

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Freedom Of Press Vis-À-Vis Freedom Of Speech And Expression

– By Apoorva Mishra

The strength and importance of media in a democracy is well recognized. Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution, which gives freedom of speech and expression includes within its ambit also covers freedom of press. The existence of a free, independent and powerful media plays a very important role in the democracy, especially of a highly mixed society like India. Media is not only a medium to express once feelings, opinions and views, but it is also responsible and instrumental for building opinions and views on various topics of regional, national and international agenda. The pivotal role of the media is its ability to mobilize the thinking process of millions.

Freedom of press is not specifically mentioned in article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution and what is mentioned there is only freedom of speech and expression. In the Constituent Assembly Debates it was made clear by Dr. Ambedkar, Chairman of the Drafting Committee, that no special mention of the freedom of press was necessary at all as the press and an individual or a citizen were the same as far as their right of expression was concerned.[1]

The framers of the Indian constitution considered freedom of the press as an essential part of the freedom of speech and expression as guaranteed in Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution.

Democracy is the rule of the people. A system which has three strong pillars. But as Indian society today has become somewhat unstable on its 3 legs- the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. Therefore, the guarantee of Article 19 (1)(a) has given rise to a fourth pillar- “Media”. It plays the role of a watchdog of the functionaries of society and attempts to attend to the wrongs in our system, by bringing them to the knowledge of all, hoping for correction. It is indisputable that in many dimensions the unprecedented media revolution has resulted in great gains for the general public. Even the judicial wing of the state has benefited from the ethical and fearless journalism and taken suo motu cognizance of the matters in various cases after relying on their reports and news highlighting grave violations of human rights. In such circumstances the media plays a crucial role in not only mobilizing public opinion but bringing to light injustices which most likely would have gone unnoticed otherwise.[2]

However, there are always two sides to a coin. With this increased role and importance attached to the media, the need for its accountability and professionalism in reportage cannot be emphasized enough. In a civil society no right to freedom, howsoever invaluable it might be, can be considered absolute, unlimited, or unqualified in all circumstances. The freedom of the media, like any other freedom recognized under the constitution has to be exercised within reasonable boundaries. With great power comes great responsibility. Similarly, the freedom under Article 19(1) (a) is correlative with the duty not to violate any law.

Every institution is liable to be abused, and every liberty, if left unbridled, has the tendency to become a license which would lead to disorder and anarchy. This is the threshold on which we are standing today. Television channels in a bid to increase their TRP ratings are resorting to sensationalized journalism with a view to earn a competitive edge over the others. Sting operations have now become the order of the day. They are a part of the hectic pace at which the media is evolving, carrying with every sting as much promise as risk. However, technology has its limits. It cannot be denied that it is of practical importance that a precarious balance between the fundamental right to expression and the right to one’s privacy be maintained. The second practice which has become more of a daily occurrence now is that of Media trials. Something which was started to show to the public at large the truth about cases has now become a practice interfering dangerously with the justice delivery system. Both are tools frequented by the media. And both highlight the enormous need of what is called ‘responsible journalism’.[3]

Journalism brings awareness in the society about the democratic and social obligations. Journalists are watchdogs of the society. However, the media is not absolutely free to do whatever seems right to it. Law which regulates the conduct of the State, its institutions and citizens also regulates the media. Like any other profession, journalism is also bound by legal framework. Indian Constitution is the fountain head of laws regulating media in the country

 

[1] Basu, D.D., Law of the Press, Wadhwa Publishers (2002)

[2] Baskhi, P.M., (1985) Press Law: An Introduction, BTRFI Publications

[3]Divan, Madhavi Goradia. (2006) Facets of Media Law. Eastern Book Company Publishing Pvt. Ltd., Lucknow

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Law Firm Certified Certificate Courses: White Collar Crimes, Transportation Laws, CPC, Contract Drafting, Drone Law and More: Apply by June 12

 *June Offer*

Enhelion is delighted to announce the launch of nine new courses on:

1. Certificate in White Collar Crimes and Financial Frauds

2. Certificate in Transportation Laws

3. Certificate on Civil Procedure Code

4. Certificate on Corporate Governance

5. Certificate in Legal Due Diligence

6. Certificate in Blockchain and the Law

7. Certificate in Intellectual Property Contracts

8. Certificate in Technology Contracts

9. Certificate in Legal Aspects of Business

10. Certificate in Competition Law

11. Certificate in Medical Negligence

12. Certificate in Capital Markets

Join any one online certificate course certified by a leading law firm and get the second certificate course absolutely free. You can select any certificate course of your choice from our website.

We have also launched online certificate courses on  Fashion LawInternational Commercial ArbitrationSports Law launched by Enhelion with leading law firms SU Shah and AssociatesCorp Comm LegalScriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants and Vikrant Pachnanda Chambers [Aviation Lawyer], Legal Eye Advocates and Legal Consultants

Please note that these courses are self-paced – which means that you can start the course anytime and complete the course as per your wish.

The new courses that we have launched along with the older popular courses are:

  1. Blockchain and the Law
  2. Intellectual Property Contracts
  3. Technology Contracts
  4. Mergers and Acquisitions [with Free book by Bloomsbury]
  5. Legal Writing and Contract Drafting [with Free book by Bloomsbury]
  6. Aviation Law [with Free book by Bloomsbury]
  7. Intellectual Property Law and Management [with Free book by Bloomsbury]
  8. Cyber Laws [Internet Law] [with Free book by Bloomsbury]
  9. Sports Law [with Free Book by Bloomsbury]
  10. International Commercial Arbitration
  11. RERA
  12. Fashion Law [with Free book by Bloomsbury]
  13. Competition Law
  14. Space Law
  15. Drone Law

Please find below the details of these certificate courses.

The last date to register is June 12, 2019 [at 2500/2750 per certificate course]

1. Certificate Course in White Collar Crimes and Financial Frauds [Click Here]

The course titled “White Collar Crimes and Financial Frauds” by Enhelion in association with Atharva Legal LLP  addresses the exact nuances any law student /lawyer should be apprised of and equipped with in order to understand the legal parameters involved in issues dealing with financial frauds , economic offences, scams and white collar crimes.

Professionally,  this domain area dominates all sectors of legal practice including offences by the lawyers and law firms themselves. The course content is structured in a manner to simply the salient features and concepts and to equip the learners with the acumen to understand and deal with the subject area efficiently as a legal professional.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Atharva Legal LLP [Mr. Siddharth Nayak shall be signing the certificate]
  • Course Fee: INR 2500 [inclusive of GST]
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • You can start the course any time, as per your choice and end anytime as per your choice
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well, shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Siddharth Nayak’s Law firm – Atharva Legal LLP
2. Certificate Course on Transportation Laws – [Click Here]

Enhelion in association with Jurist and Jurist International Advocates, a leading law firm from Delhi, has launched a unique online certificate course on Transportation Law. In this course, Jurist and Jurist International outline the various aspects of Transportation systems and applicable laws in India.

It will give you a broad understanding of regulations and regulatory authorities that are applicable to transportation systems in India.

This self-paced course covers: Overview of the Transportation system, classification of transportation, regulatory authorities of different transportation modes and last but not the least, the very important Motor Vehicles Act of 1988.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Jurist and Jurist International Advocates [Mr. Jatin Sharma shall be signing the certificate]
  • Course Fee: INR 2500 [inclusive of GST]
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • You can start the course any time, as per your choice and end anytime as per your choice
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well, shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Jatin Sharma’s Law firm – Jurist and Jurist International Advocates
3. Certificate Course on Advanced Contract Drafting and Legal Writing [Click Here] – FREE BOOK [CLICK ON THE JOIN NOW BUTTON]

This is a programme dedicated to the Indian audience. Contract drafting is the most important skill that a lawyer should have in today’s day and age.

Contracts are very vital for any long term business relationship. An excellent written contract always fills an organization with tremendous confidence in dealing with business relationships. 

All corporate professionals, business managers, lawyers, law students, entrepreneurs need to understand the nuances of a legal contract and should also know how to write a good contract.

This three month certificate programme looks at contract drafting in a completely different light. Practicing lawyers whose main job is to draft contracts on a daily basis, would be teaching this programme.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mr Rodney D Ryder shall be signing the certificate]
  • Course Fee: INR 2500 [inclusive of GST]
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • Book: Each student shall receive a book written by Mr Ashwin Madhavan and Mr Rodney D Ryder on – “Legal Writing and Contract Drafting” [free of cost], published by Bloomsbury Publishing – www.bloomsbury.com [A world renowned publisher, headquartered at London, the United Kingdom]
  • You can start the course any time, as per your choice and end anytime as per your choice
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well, shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr Rodney D Ryder’s law firm: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants
4. Certificate in Intellectual Property: Law and Management – [Click Here] FREE BOOK BY BLOOMSBURY [CLICK ON THE JOIN NOW BUTTON]

Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants in association with Enhelion Knowledge Ventures Pvt Ltd, bring to you a unique online certificate course on Intellectual Property and Management.

There are many courses and certificate programmes offered on Intellectual Property, but this is a first of its kind in India. This certificate course aims to provide an introduction to the law and management of Intellectual Property (IP) and innovation for those whose future career may involve the management of IP and innovation.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mr. Rodney D Ryder shall be signing the certificate]
  • Course Fee: INR 2500 [inclusive of GST]
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • Book: Each student shall receive a book written by Mr. Ashwin Madhavan and Mr. Rodney D Ryder on – “Intellectual Property: Law and Management” [free of cost], published by Bloomsbury Publishing – www.bloomsbury.com [A world renowned publisher, headquartered at London, the United Kingdom]
  • You can start the course any time, as per your choice and end anytime as per your choice
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well, shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Rodney D Ryder’s law firm: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants
5. Certificate in Cyber Laws [Click here] FREE BOOK BY BLOOMSBURY [CLICK ON THE JOIN NOW BUTTON]
  • Faculty from Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants including Mr. Rodney D Ryder: He has been involved for almost 20 years in the field of Internet Law and Intellectual Property. He advices some of the world’s largest social networking companies on Internet Law matters. He is one of the few, who has written a book on Internet Law, that was published right after the IT Act came into being. He is an authority on Internet Law in India.
  • Free book on Internet Law [Cyber Law] – published by Bloomsbury
  • Fees: INR 2500
  • Duration: Self Paced course. You can start any time and end anytime
  • Mode: Online through our virtual classroom technology
  • Legal Experience of the faculty: 25 years
  • Law Firm: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants
  • Certified by: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants and Enhelion Knowledge Ventures Pvt Ltd
  • The top three students will also receive a recommendation letter from Mr. Rodney D Ryder
6. Certificate Course on Mergers and Acquisitions [Click Here] – FREE BOOK BY BLOOMSBURY [CLICK ON THE JOIN NOW BUTTON]

Mergers and Acquisitions are an exciting area of specialisation and many young law students and law graduates dream of becoming M&A lawyers. But what does it take to become a good M&A lawyer? Does it require an understanding and involvement of company law or does it require a robust understanding of many laws? 

The answer is that it requires an understanding of several laws that need to be looked at and pages upon pages of legal documentation that need to be read before the actual merger or the acquisition takes place.

Many law students and young lawyers do not understand the concept of M&A and with this in mind, Corp Comm Legal in association with Enhelion Knowledge Ventures, has decided to launch a long duration course Mergers and Acquisitions.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Corp Comm Legal [Mr Bhumesh Verma shall be signing the certificate]
  • Course Fee: INR 2500 [inclusive of GST] 
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • You can start the course any time, as per your choice and end anytime as per your choice
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well, shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr Bhumesh Verma’s Law firm: Corp Comm Legal]
7. Certificate Course on Aviation Law [Click Here] – FREE Book by Bloomsbury [CLICK ON THE JOIN NOW BUTTON]

Aviation Law is one of the most lucrative areas of law in the 21st century. With the opening up of the Indian skies to many airlines, India requires a large number of lawyers who have knowledge and understanding of this exciting law. This course has been developed by Mr Vikrant Pachnanda, an alumnus of Cornell Law School and the Leiden University. 

He practices aviation law in India and has an extensive experience. The course deals with Introduction to Air Law. It also looks at the most important conventions vis a vis Aviation Law in the world. We have also focussed on the domestic aviation law and the new Anti Hijacking Act as well. 

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Vikrant Pachnanda Chambers [Mr Vikrant Pachnanda shall be signing the certificate]
  • Course Fee: INR 2750 [inclusive of GST] 
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • You can start the course any time, as per your choice and end anytime as per your choice
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well, shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr Vikrant Pachnanda’s Law firm.
8. Certificate in Sports Law – [Click Here] FREE BOOK BY BLOOMSBURY [CLICK ON THE JOIN NOW BUTTON]

Enhelion in association with Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants, bring to you a unique certificate course on Sports Law. This short course on Sports Law, will cover domestic laws that deal with Sports as well as international legislation.

Sports law as a career option has a tremendous future and students of law and management, will definitely find the contents of this course very useful.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mr Rodney D Ryder shall be signing the certificate]
  • Course Fee: INR 2500 [inclusive of GST]
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • Fees: INR 2500
  • Mode: Online through our virtual classroom technology
  • Legal Experience of the faculty: 25 years
  • The top three students will also receive a recommendation letter from Mr Rodney D Ryder
9. Certificate Course on RERA [Click Here] [CLICK ON THE JOIN NOW BUTTON]

Enhelion Knowledge Ventures Pvt Ltd has launched a certificate programme in Real Estate Regulatory Act along with the Real Estate Practice of Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants.

This course will provide you with the nitty gritty of this new legislation on Real Estate. In a nutshell, this new legislation has plugged in many loopholes in the real estate sector in India.

This course has been meticulously designed by one of India’s leading practicing corporate commercial lawyers through his law firm Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mr Rodney D Ryder shall be signing the certificate]
  • Course Fee: INR 2500 [inclusive of GST] 
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • You can start the course any time, as per your choice and end anytime as per your choice
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well, shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr Rodney D Ryder’s law firm: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants
10. Certificate Course on International Commercial Arbitration – [Click on the Join Now Button]

SU Shah and Associates, a leading law firm specialising in International Commercial Arbitration under its Managing Partner – Mr Sameer Shah, a renowned Arbitrator, has launched a self paced online certificate course on International Commercial Arbitration. Arbitration has gained popularity amongst corporate houses as an economical way of resolving disputes.

Mr Shah who has almost two and a half decades of experience in Arbitration, has carefully developed this online course for the benefit of the young lawyers, business managers and young law students.

The course content deals with Introduction to Arbitration and has separate modules on Arbitral Awards, Emerging issues in International Commercial Arbitration and Recent trends.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: SU SHAH And Associates [Mr. Sameer Shah, Partner SU Shah and Associates shall be signing the certificate on behalf of SU Shah and Associates]
  • Course Fee: INR 2500 [inclusive of GST] 
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • You can start the course any time, as per your choice and end anytime as per your choice
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well, shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Sameer Shah’s law firm: SU Shah and Associates
11. Certificate Course in Fashion Law [Click on the Join Now Button]

Fashion law, as can otherwise be referred to as ‘apparel law’, is indeed an emerging arena of legal specialty, encompassing the legal issues with regard to every aspect of a garment.

Right from the conception of the idea to design a particular garment, to getting it stitched into clothing materials, styling and publishing it and obtaining brand protection on it, legal assistance is needful at every step in order to ensure smooth flow of the work and avoid undesirable complications for the future.

This course elaborately discusses the concepts of IP protection in the fashion industry, negotiations in the fashion industry, the supply chain issues, crimes in the fashion industry as well as the redressal mechanism for the same.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Legal Eyes Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mrs. Sapna Malik shall be signing the certificate on behalf of Legal Eye Advocates and Legal Consultants]
  • Course Fee: INR 2750 [inclusive of GST] 
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • You can start the course any time, as per your choice and end anytime as per your choice
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well, shall receive an internship opportunity with Mrs. Sapna Malik’s law firm: Legal Eye Advocates and Legal Consultants
12. Certificate in Competition Law – [Click on the Join Now Button]

Dhuparr and Associates in association with Enhelion have launched a unique certificate course on Competition Law.

Competition can be defined as a process of economic rivalry between market players to attract customers. Free and fair competition is one of the most important pillars of an efficient business environment. Since the past few decades, the Indian economy has been one of the best performers and is on a high growth trajectory.

In the interest of consumers as well as the economy as a whole, it becomes imperative to promote an environment that facilitates fair competition outcomes in the market, restrains anti-competitive behavior and discourages market players from adopting unfair trade practices. This is where the Competition law comes into the picture.

This course elaborately discusses the evolution of the Competition law in India, the prohibition of anti-competitive agreements under the Competition Act, 2002 and the authorities established under the Act. It also discusses the concepts of abuse of dominant position as well as inquiry and investigation.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Dhuparr and Associates [Ms. Khyati Dhuparr shall be signing the certificate on behalf of Dhuparr and Associates]
  • Course Fee: INR 2500 [inclusive of GST] 
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • You can start the course any time, as per your choice and end anytime as per your choice
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well, shall receive an internship opportunity with Ms Khyati Dhuparr’s law firm: Dhuparr and Associates

OTHER CERTIFICATE COURSES ON OFFER [Join One Get One Free]

SPACE LAW FOOD AND BEVERAGES LAW | INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION LAW NEW MEDIA LAWS | DRAFTING TECHNIQUES IN COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS ART LAW | SOCIAL MEDIA LAW | GST LAW | IP and the INTERNET | BANKING AND INVESTMENT LAWS | INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY LAWS BANKING AND INSURANCE LAWS  FDI LAWS | MARITIME LAWS | PREVENTING SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT THE WORKPLACE | RTI LAW | INFORMATION SECURITY DATA PRIVACY LAW | BLOCKCHAIN AND THE LAW | INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CONTRACTSTECHNOLOGY CONTRACTSDRONE LAW

OUR DIPLOMA COURSES ON OFFER [JOIN ONE GET TWO CERTIFICATE COURSES FREE]

AIR AND SPACE LAW | INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: LAW AND MANAGEMENT  | CYBER LAWS | CORPORATE LAWS | MARITIME LAW | SPORTS LAW | MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS | TECHNOLOGY LAW AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY | CONTRACT DRAFTING | FASHION LAW

If you have any questions then please email us at info@enhelion.com

Contact

If you have any questions, please email us at info@enhelion.com or visit our website.

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Join Law Firm Certified Diplomas and Get Two Certificate Courses Free: Apply by June 12

The registrations for all our popular diploma courses are now open.

  • You can join the diploma course of your choice now and study at your own pace and complete the course as per your convenience.
  • Also, note that with any diploma course you can avail two certificate courses absolutely free. 
  • According to this offer, you can join the diploma course and the two free courses now and study later – after your exams get over.
  • How to avail this offer of two free certificate courses. All you have to do is:
    • Click on the Join Now button of the diploma course that you want to join
    • A pop-up window will appear with a message – “Select your two free certificate courses” along with the course names. All you have to do is click on the “ADD” button and automatically the course will get added in your fee cart. Repeat the process to select the second free course.
    • Fill in all your details and pay the fees, using debit/credit/netbanking facilities using any of our three payment gateways which include PayTM, PAYU and Instamojo [All three gateways allow card payments as well]
  • Registrations continue till June 12, 2019.

Diploma Courses on offer @ INR 5999/6999

  1. Intellectual Property: Law and Management – Click Here.
  2. Air and Space Law – Click Here
  3. Contract Drafting – Click Here.
  4. Cyber Laws – Click Here.
  5. Mergers and Acquisitions Law – Click Here.
  6. Maritime Law – Click Here.
  7. Technology and IP Law – Click Here.
  8. Sports Law – Click Here.
  9. Corporate Laws – Click Here
  10. Fashion Law – Click Here
  11. International Commercial Arbitration – Click Here

The online diploma courses are brought to you by leading law firms – Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants, Corp Comm Legal and Legal Eye Advocates and Legal Consultants respectively.

How to avail this offer [Step by Step process]

Step 1: Go to the Diploma courses page on the Enhelion website

Step 2: Select any diploma course of your choice and pay the fees @ INR 5999 [except Maritime Law and Fashion Law, which are available for INR 6999]

Step 3: After you select the diploma course, you will find a pop-up window that will appear just above the course selection. Choose any two certificate courses from the list.

You can scroll left or right to choose any two certificate courses of your choice. If by any chance you are unable to choose on the website, all you have to do is email us with the course titles and we will allot you the same courses.

Step 4: Click on the Payment button in order to go to the Payment Gateway page. You can pay via debit card, credit card, and netbanking. All three payment gateways – PAYTM, Instamojo and PayU accept debit card, credit card and netbanking facilities.

For any queries, please email info@enhelion.com

Important features of the online diploma courses
  1. Access to the content for life [even after the course ends].
  2. Practical and easy to understand the content.
  3. Affordable: @ 5999/6999 per diploma course [except Maritime Law, Fashion Law, and International Commercial Arbitration, which are for INR 6999].
  4. Early bird offer till June 12, 2019: [Seats are limited]. Registrations on a first come first serve basis.
  5. You can start the course[s] any time, as per your choice and complete as per your choice. All our diploma courses are self-paced, which means that you can start the course as per your convenience and complete the course as per your convenience.
  6. Allotment of Course:  Two days after you enroll

Evaluation System

Students need to complete two MCQ tests and two project assignments as per their convenience. An enrolled student can take as much time as he/she wants to complete the same.

Book Project with Practicing Lawyer

Those students who perform well in their respective project assignments will be selected to work with Practicing lawyers for various book projects, published by our Publishing partner – Bloomsbury Publishing.

The last date to apply and avail the early bird offer is June 12, 2019.

FURTHER DETAILS BELOW

1. DIPLOMA IN INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION

Last Date to apply: June 12, 2019.

SU Shah and Associates, a leading law firm with a special focus on Commercial Arbitration, both international and domestic under its Founder – Mr. Sameer Shah, a renowned Arbitrator, has launched a self-paced online diploma course on International Commercial Arbitration.

With the advent of globalization and liberalization regimes as well as rapid advancement in international business relationships, it is increasingly pertinent to have a flexible and quick method of resolving disputes.

International commercial arbitration refers to the process of solving international commercial disputes among parties from different countries through the services of specially appointed arbitrators by the disputing parties themselves instead of through courts.

This course elaborately discusses the arbitration agreements and regulation of International Commercial Arbitration as well as the legal framework under it. It also discusses in detail, the management of the arbitration process and the emerging issues in Arbitration.

2. DIPLOMA IN FASHION LAW – CLICK HERE – FREE BOOK INCLUDED

Last Date to apply: June 12, 2019.

Fashion Law as a concept is new. The fashion industry across the globe has witnessed significant growth with new markets in China, India, and Africa, enabling global brands to cash in on the ever-growing middle classes which number close to 2 billion people.

This number is a huge opportunity for fashion labels including both domestic and international. With the increase in fashion sense around the globe and with significant competition, brands have become very careful when it comes to protecting their vital Intellectual Property.

International brand labels and leading domestic brand labels have been subject to design theft. ambush marketing and fake products that significantly affect their business. This is where Fashion Law comes into play.

This diploma course goes beyond our popular certificate course on Fashion Law elaborately discusses the concepts of IP protection in the fashion industry, negotiations in the fashion industry, the supply chain issues, crimes in the fashion industry as well as the redressal mechanism.

The diploma also focuses on various Fashion Agreements as well as leading international legal disputes involving famous fashion brands like Christian Louboutin, Tarun Tahiliani, Gigi Hadid, Biba and the like.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Legal Eye Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mrs. Sapna Malik] shall be signing the certificate on behalf of the law firm]
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start and complete as per your convenience]
  • Book: Each student shall receive a book written by Mrs. Sapna Malik on ‘Fashion Law’ free of cost, published by Bloomsbury Publishing – www.bloomsbury.com [A world-renowned publisher, headquartered at London, the United Kingdom].
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well [submit a good and well-researched project assignment], shall receive an internship opportunity with Legal Eye Advocates and Legal Consultants.
2. DIPLOMA IN CONTRACT DRAFTING  – CLICK HERE – FREE BOOK INCLUDED

Last Date to apply: June 12, 2019.

Limited Seats on offer.

Leading Law firm Scriboard launches a carefully crafted Diploma on Contract Drafting in association with Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants. Contract Drafting is a very important and essential skill for any lawyer or law student.

This course will teach students to know the basics of contract drafting, how they are formed and how important contracts are in day to day functions for any business. The course is designed in a very systematic manner by the renowned corporate lawyer and author Mr. Rodney D Ryder and his associates.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mr. Rodney D Ryder shall be signing the certificate on behalf of the law firm]
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start and complete as per your convenience]
  • Book: Each student shall receive a book written by Mr. Ashwin Madhavan and Mr. Rodney D Ryder on ‘Legal Writing and Contract Drafting’ free of cost, published by Bloomsbury Publishing – www.bloomsbury.com [A world-renowned publisher, headquartered at London, the United Kingdom].
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well [submit a good and well-researched project assignment] shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Rodney D Ryder’s law firm: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants.
3. DIPLOMA IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: LAW AND MANAGEMENT – CLICK HERE –  TWO FREE BOOKS INCLUDED.

Last Date to apply: June 12, 2019.

Limited seats are on offer.

Leading law firm SCRIBOARD – Advocates and Legal Consultants in association with Enhelion, has launched a Diploma programme on Intellectual Property: Law and Management for the students and professionals of India. This is a self-paced programme, and the access to the course will be provided to all the registered participants for “Life”.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mr. Rodney D Ryder shall be signing the certificate on behalf of the law firm].
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start and complete as per your convenience]
  • Books: Each student shall receive two books written by Mr. Ashwin Madhavan and Mr. Rodney D Ryder on ‘Intellectual Property: Law and Management’ [free of cost], published by Bloomsbury Publishing – www.bloomsbury.com [A world-renowned publisher, headquartered at London, the United Kingdom] AND book titled ‘Intellectual Property and Business – The Power of the Intangible Asset’, published by Sage Publications – www.sagepub.in.
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well [submit a good and well-researched project assignment] shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Rodney D Ryder’s law firm: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants
4. DIPLOMA IN AIR AND SPACE LAW – CLICK HERE – TWO FREE BOOKS

Last Date to apply: June 12, 2019.

Limited seats are on offer.

Enhelion is proud of launch an online diploma course on Air and Space Law with Vikrant Pachnanda Chambers. The aviation industry, as well as the space industry across the globe, is booming.

With private airlines expanding operations throughout the globe and with the opening up of the space sector to private companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin and many others, a lot of interest has been generated in the legal sector vis a vis Aviation and Space regulations.

The future looks extremely bright for both these nascent career prospects and more and more lawyers will be needed to help companies and governments deal with the complex legal issues involving both air and space. Keeping this in mind, we have launched this diploma course.

This course has been developed by Mr. Vikrant Pachnanda, an alumnus of Cornell Law School and the Leiden University. He practices aviation and space law in India and has extensive experience.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Vikrant Pachnanda Chambers [Mr. Vikrant Pachnanda shall be signing the certificate]
    Duration: Self Paced [You can start any time and end anytime]
  • Books: Each student shall receive two books written by Mr. Vikrant Pachnanda [free of cost], published by Bloomsbury Publishing – www.bloomsbury.com on Aviation and Space Law respectively
  • You can start the course any time, as per your choice and end anytime as per your choice
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well [submit a good and well-researched project assignment] shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Vikrant Pachnanda’s Law firm
5. DIPLOMA IN CYBER LAWS – CLICK HERE – FREE BOOK 

Last Date to apply: June 12, 2019.

Limited seats are on offer.

Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants proudly announces the launch of the one-year Diploma programme in Cyber Laws.

The world of cyberspace is changing and with it, the law that governs the cyberspace is also changing. This Diploma programme will be taught by leading in house experts in the field of Cyber Law who deal with legal issues pertaining to the Internet on a daily basis.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mr. Rodney D Ryder shall be signing the certificate on behalf of the law firm]
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start and complete as per your convenience]
  • Book: Each student shall receive a book written by Mr. Ashwin Madhavan and Mr. Rodney D Ryder on – “Internet Law and Policy” [free of cost], published by Bloomsbury Publishing – www.bloomsbury.com [A world-renowned publisher, headquartered at London, the United Kingdom]
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well [submit a good and well-researched project assignment] shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Rodney D Ryder’s law firm: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants
6. DIPLOMA IN MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS – CLICK HERE – FREE BOOK

Last Date to apply: June 12, 2019.

Limited seats are on offer.

Corp Comm Legal in association with Enhelion has launched an online diploma programme on Mergers & Acquisitions. Mergers and Acquisitions is an area that fascinates young students and professionals.

Corp Comm Legal specialises in Mergers and Acquisitions and has been part of several M&A transactions in the past. M&A’s play an important part in the growth of the corporate sector of any country.

Many business managers/young lawyers and law students are not aware of some of the important nuances of this highly lucrative subject of Corporate Law.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Corp Comm Legal [Mr. Bhumesh Verma shall be signing the certificate on behalf of the law firm]
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start and complete as per your convenience]
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well [submit a good and well-researched project assignment] shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Bhumesh Verma’s law firm: Corp Comm Legal
  • Book: Each student shall receive a book written by Bhumesh Verma on – “Mergers and Acquisitions” [free of cost], published by Bloomsbury Publishing – www.bloomsbury.com [A world-renowned publisher, headquartered at London, the United Kingdom]
7. DIPLOMA IN MARITIME LAW – CLICK HERE

Last Date to apply: June 12, 2019.

Limited seats are on offer.

Enhelion has launched India’s first online diploma in Maritime Law. Those who are interested to join the programme, please go through the content on this page. This programme is dedicated to the Indian and global audience.

With the advent of globalization and also with the growth of the world’s economy, we have witnessed significant growth in trade, both land-based and ocean-based.

It is important to note that a majority of international trade is conducted through the seas and oceans of our planet. Maritime law that governs trade-related aspects on the high seas has gained significant importance in the past few years.

The subject has not been given due importance in India, although India having a vast coastline and having almost all of its trade through the seas and oceans.

Maritime law practice has seen significant growth in the past few years, which has made law universities to take note of this vital practice of law. Unfortunately, not a single law university, be it a national law university or a traditional law university, has launched high-quality diploma programmes on Maritime Law.

Enhelion is the first online education institute to have launched such a unique course.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mr. Rodney D Ryder shall be signing the certificate on behalf of the law firm].
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start and complete as per your convenience]
  • Internship Opportunity:  Those students who do well [submit a good and well-researched project assignment] shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Rodney D Ryder’s law firm: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants.
8. DIPLOMA IN SPORTS LAW – CLICK HERE – FREE BOOK INCLUDED

Last Date to apply: June 12, 2019.

Limited seats are on offer.

Enhelion in collaboration with the Sports Law division of Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants has launched a unique online diploma course on Sports Law.   It is one of its kind course developed by learned academicians and lawyers.

The diploma covers practical issues of Sports Law and it covers topics that are both domestically and internationally relevant.

Modules covered in this diploma include Governance of Sports, the relationship of sports with business. Special focus is given to Sports regulating authorities including the International Olympic Association, the World Anti Doping Agency, the Indian – Anti Doping Agency and others.

A specific chapter on the IP and Media related issues concerning Sports Law are also included. With the advent of Information Technology, a special section on Data Protection also forms a part of this unique online programme.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mr. Rodney D Ryder shall be signing the certificate on behalf of the law firm]
  • Duration: Self Paced – You can start the course as per your convenience and complete the course as per your convenience
  • Access to the course content: For Life [even after the course ends]
  • Book: Each student shall receive a book written by Mr. Ashwin Madhavan and Mr. Rodney D Ryder on – “Sports Law” [free of cost], published by Bloomsbury Publishing – www.bloomsbury.com [A world-renowned publisher, headquartered at London, the United Kingdom]
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well [submit a good and well-researched project assignment] shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Rodney D Ryder’s law firm: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants
9. DIPLOMA IN TECHNOLOGY LAW AND IP LAW – CLICK HERE – TWO FREE BOOKS INCLUDED

Last Date to apply: June 12, 2019.

Limited seats are on offer.

Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants proudly announces the launch of the one-year Diploma programme in Technology Law and Intellectual Property.

With the way we are witnessing the penetration of technology in our daily lives, more and more companies are looking towards having an online presence for promoting and selling their valuable products and services.

Many young law students and professionals are not aware of the technology laws, rules, and regulations that govern Intellectual Property.

This online diploma course is a one-stop solution for anyone to get a broad understanding of not only the IP Laws that govern intangible assets but also how Intellectual Property is looked upon in the Internet age and how to protect vital IP assets on the Internet, which include domain names. The world of cyberspace is changing and with it the law that governs the cyberspace is also changing.

This Diploma programme will be taught by leading in house experts in the field of Cyber Law who deal with legal issues pertaining to the Internet on a daily basis. Through the Diploma programme you will also get an insight into the legal issues related to domain names and Cyber Squatting, UDRP principles, INDRP principles and much more.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mr. Rodney D Ryder shall be signing the certificate on behalf of the law firm]
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start anytime and complete as per your convenience]
  • Access to the course content: For Life [even after the course ends]
  • Books: Each student shall receive two books written by Mr Ashwin Madhavan and Mr Rodney D Ryder on – “Internet Law and Policy” [free of cost] and Intellectual Property: Law and Management”, written by Mr. Ashwin Madhavan and Mr. Rodney D Ryder, published by Bloomsbury Publishing – www.bloomsbury.com [A world-renowned publisher, headquartered at London, the United Kingdom]
  • Allotment of Course:  Two days after you enroll.
  • You can start the course any time and complete the course anytime – as per your convenience
  • Internship Opportunity:  Those students who do well [submit a good and well-researched project assignment] shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Rodney D Ryder’s law firm: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants
10. DIPLOMA IN CORPORATE LAWS

Last Date to apply: June 12, 2019.

Limited seats are on offer.

Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants launches the registration process of the Diploma in Corporate Law launched with Enhelion. In an environment where the world’s progress and development are decided by trade, it is no surprise that business knowledge forms a cornerstone for any professional’s path to success.

Right from understanding the basic concepts to knowing what to do in business, the nuances of entrepreneurship, for making a successful business agreement, you as participants of this programme would get it all.

This advanced diploma programme would help the participants build on the knowledge/skill set that would stay with them and help them enhance their existing skill sets in their chosen career path.

Augmenting the same is the irreplaceable ability of the teachers/faculty teaching the course, who have been some of the most successful lawyers in the business world and have worked for many of the TOP fortune 500 companies.

  • Law Firm certifying the course: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants [Mr. Rodney D Ryder shall be signing the certificate on behalf of the law firm]
  • Duration: Self Paced [You can start anytime and complete as per your convenience]
  • Access to the course content: For Life [even after the course ends]
  • Allotment of Course:  Two days after you enroll
  • You can start the course any time and complete the course anytime – as per your convenience
  • Internship Opportunity: Those students who do well [submit a good and well-researched project assignment] shall receive an internship opportunity with Mr. Rodney D Ryder’s law firm: Scriboard Advocates and Legal Consultants
Contact

If you have any questions, please email us at info@enhelion.com.

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Apple v. Samsung- A Case on Design Patents

On August 24, 2012, a jury on the Apple v. Samsung case returned a verdict in the long, legal battle over several Apple patents relating to Apple’s iPhone and iPad. The jury submitted a verdict awarding Apple 1.05 billion dollars as damages that must be compensated by Samsung.[1] This case brought these two incentives of patent protection in light of design patent protection.

DESIGN PATENT

Unlike utility patents, design patents only protect the ornamental design for an article of manufacture.[2] They do not cover structural or functional elements. In fact, design patents are invalid where the design is dictated by function.[3] Additionally, rather than having a series of written claims at the end of the patent, the figures and, at times, the description, are used to define a single claim to which the design patent is directed.[4]

The infringement analysis for design patents is similar to utility patents—the first step is construing the patented design. However, design patents protect only ornamental designs.

Second step is, ordinary observer test. Under that test, an ordinary observer compares the differences in the patented design and the accused product in view of the prior art to determine if they are substantially the same such as to deceive the ordinary observer into purchasing one believing it to be the other.[5]

THE APPLE V. SAMSUNG CASE

In regards to the Apple v. Samsung case, one of the patents in controversy, the D’677 patent, protects the design of the iPhone. First, the D’677 patent protects the surface design: which consists of a highly polished, reflective surface that covers over the entire front face of the phone, and is considered to be an article of manufacture. In addition, the D’677 patent applies to the shape or configuration of the phone’s reflective surface, which consists of a large rectangular display occupying most of the phone’s front face.[6]  The corners of the phone are rounded. The latter part could be considered the shape and configuration of the whole part of the phone. Therefore, design patent D’677 covers both aspects of a design patents.

Samsung claimed that, Apple’s D’677 patent was invalid because it was not patentable in light of the prior design in Japanese Patent No. 1,241,638.43 The court concluded that the ′638 design was sufficiently different from the D′677 patent, because it would not have been obvious to a designer to adopt certain features contained in the D’677 patent.[7] The jury found that none of Apple’s patents were invalid.

 

Infringement under Design Patent

An infringement of a design patent includes, “during the term of a patent for a design, without license of the owner, (1) applies the patented design, or any colourable imitation thereof, to any article of manufacture for the purpose of sale, or (2) sells or exposes for sale any article of manufacture to which such design or colourable limitation has been applied shall be liable to the owner to the extent of his total profit.[8] Infringement does not require absolute identity between the patented design and the accused design. The patentee must prove, however, that the accused design appropriates aspects or features in the patent design that distinguishes it from the prior art.[9]

In other words, in order for an infringement claim to be a valid infringement claim the infringer cannot include only a part of the patented design.[10] Instead, the infringer must incorporate the overall design. Furthermore, it must be the claimed elements of the design, not the commercial embodiment of the design.[11]

In the battle between Apple and Samsung, the jury found that Samsung’s smart phones had not passed the Ordinary Observer Test, and that a consumer would find no difference in the designs of Apple’s D’677 patent and Samsung’s smart phones. Therefore, the jury concluded that that Samsung’s smartphones had infringed on Apple’s D’677 patent

 

CONCLUSION

The case determines the power of patent holders to obtain protection, and how they can use it to maintain advantage over competitors. In essence, Samsung’s argument that Apple has now used the courts to shut down competitors that tried to advance upon functional designs that result in more competition and better products can be construed as a partially valid theory. The case does not directly impact any particular design patent law or overrule a prior decision but it speaks more to patents’ influence over the products the public uses every single day. In the current case, Apple has several utility and design patents in addition to other related causes of action. The fact that Apple can take rectangular corners and round corners and use it to stop a competitor from selling a smart phone that consumers around America use, demonstrates the potential power of such protection. This not only makes competitors reluctant to risk a negative reputation and money in extended litigation over a controversial design, but it can inhibit new start-ups to create competing designs in fear of litigation from Apple or any other large corporation with several thousands of patents and millions of dollars allocated just for litigation

 

[1] Apple, Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., 678 F.3d 1314, 1317 (Fed. Cir. 2012)

[2] 35 U.S.C. § 171. See also OddzOn Prods. Inc. v. Just Toys Inc., 122 F.3d 1396, 1405 (Fed. Cir. 1997).

[3] OddzOn Prods. Inc. v. Just Toys Inc., 122 F.3d 1396, 1405 (Fed. Cir. 1997); Lee v. Dayton-Hudson Corp., 838 F.2d 1186, 1188 (Fed. Cir. 1988).

[4] Elmer v. ICC Fabricating, Inc., 67 F.3d 1571, 1577 (Fed. Cir. 1995).

[5]  Gorham Co. v. White, 81 U.S. 511, 528 (1871).

[6] Alan F., Jury Verdict Form from Apple v. Samsung Patent Trial Is Released, PHONE ARENA

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Jury-verdict-form-from-Apple-v.-Samsung-patent-trial-is-released_id33703.

[7] Supra note 1

[8] 35 U.S.C.A §289 (2010).

[9] Robert S. Katz, Infringement of Design Patents in the United States, 10 U.BALT.INTELL.PROP.L.J.117 (2002)

[10] ContessaFood Prods., Inc. v. Conagra, Inc., 282 F.3d 1370, 1378-79, 1382 (Fed. Cir. 2002).

[11] Payless Shoesource, Inc. v. Reebok Int’l, Ltd., 998 F.2d 985, 990 (Fed. Cir. 1993)

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