INSIGHTS

Introduction : The value of a patent portfolio is directly related to the certainty of title. In India, the most common dispute regarding title relates to the documentation of the assignment of the patent. Unlike the Copyright Act, 1957 which has an automatic work for hire provision under section 17, Indian Patent Law does not allow an employer to file an application as inventor, if they were not involved in invention. They can only file as an assignee. If the assignment clau

Introduction : In a merger or acquisition, the closure of the transaction does not mean that the deal is finished. The representations and warranties may continue to remain valid, the possibility of making compensation claims might arise, the amount of purchase price may be adjustable, and liabilities related to the target’s pre-closing activities may arise long after that. One of the main contractual instruments that enables the parties to provide coverage of this residual r

Introduction : The Special Economic Zones Rules, 2006 is an important statute to regulate the establishment, operation and administration of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in India. On 15 October 2026, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry notified the Special Economic Zones (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026 and Special Economic Zones (Fourth Amendment) Rules, 2026. The latter Amendment made changes to Rules 18, 19, 21B and 22. These Rules apply to units and funds in an Internatio

Introduction : Transaction agreed upon in the term sheet, is unenforceable according to Indian legislation. India serves as a clear illustration of what is expected. The laws surrounding exits in this country account for more than just the commercial aspects. If a foreign investor is selling to a resident buyer or enforcing the right of sale through a put option, for example, this will automatically involve compliance with exchange control regulations and company law, legisla

Introduction : Online retail has revolutionised the way Indian consumers purchase products and services, but it has also led to a constant flow of disagreements over what happens when a purchase goes wrong. Among the most common complaints are refused returns, delayed reimbursements and refunds given as shop credit rather than cash. The legal difficulty for businesses stems from the fact that a single refund is subject to 3 overlapping regimes. Consumer Protection Act of 2019

Introduction : Imagine a brand commissions a photographer for a weekend to shoot its new product range. The images are further uploaded to the brand’s website. Six months later, the same photographs eventually appear on third-party e-commerce platforms, in paid Instagram advertisements, in a distributor’s brochure and in a new agency’s pitch deck. No one appears to have checked whether the original arrangement permitted any of these uses. In e-commerce, a photograph rarely r

Introduction : In India, most trademark disputes are primarily determined through adjudication. The Application is advertised through the journal; the notice of opposition may be filed by the proprietor of an earlier mark, and the Registrar decides whether registration of the new mark is likely to confuse the public or not. The process is very slow, expensive and, because confusion is assessed on impression, it is uncertain. A coexistence agreement offers an alternative, a pr

Introduction : Imagine a company that wants to bring back a TV advertisement that it ran ten years ago. However, the public still remembers that the agency finished its work long ago and the original video is sitting safely in the company’s archive. On the face of it nothing could be easier than putting it back on air. But a closer look at the ad shows the problem. The song was licensed only for a fixed period, and that period may have ended years ago. The model signed a rele

Introduction : Nowadays, in our digital era, photos get dispersed at a speed of lightning - in social media, blogs, and websites, and news feeds as well. But to those involved with creation, it leaves a question to both the creators and the users: can you just repost? The answer is far from simple. Photography overlaps with copyright, image rights (or publicity rights), privacy, licensing and social media conventions. To law students, practitioners and other creators of digit

Introduction : Special Economic Zones are set up in India to attract export-led manufacturing. To facilitate the exports, the Special Economic Zones Act 2005 was enacted. Units inside the zone receive duty-free imports, duty-free domestic procurement and zero-rated GST supplies. The income-tax holiday under section 10AA of the Income-tax Act 1961 is not open to new units. For new manufacturers, the main benefits are therefore customs and GST concessions, and these depend on c

Introduction : Buying immovable property from a foreign non-resident seller means more than looking up titles, negotiating purchase prices and registering the sale deed. There can be issues of tax deducted at source (TDS), in view of the applicability of withholding tax by virtue of the rules of payments made to non-residents in India. For the individual buying a residential flat from NRI, prior compliance can be as involved as taking TAN (Tax Deduction and Collection Account

Introduction : The rapid growth of generative artificial intelligence (“AI”) has raised an important copyright question: can copyrighted works be used for training AI models without obtaining permission from their owners? The Delhi High Court recently dealt with this issue in ANI Media Pvt. Ltd. v. Open AI OpCo LLC. ANI alleged that OpenAI had used its copyrighted news content for training the Large Language Models (“LLMs”) underlying ChatGPT without authorisation. At the int