ITV

Category: High Court

  • Bombay high court orders committee to oversee government ad funds

    Bombay high court orders committee to oversee government ad funds

    Mumbai: The Bombay high court directed the Maharashtra government to form a three-member committee to monitor the use of public funds in government advertisements, ensuring that funds are not used for unrelated purposes. This directive stems from the state’s delay in adhering to a supreme court mandate focused on enforcing accountability in public advertising. The court ordered that the committee must be set up by 14 December.

    This order, issued by a bench comprising justice MS Sonak and Justice Jitendra Jain, highlighted concerns over the lack of active oversight within Maharashtra, deeming this absence of monitoring “unjustifiable.” The court referred to the Supreme Court’s judgment in the “Common Cause vs. Union of India case”, which deemed political promotion through government advertising as contrary to the principles of fairness and constitutional rights outlined in articles 14 and 21.

    The ruling came in response to a petition by the Editors’ Forum, which raised issues regarding compliance with various government guidelines related to advertising practices by entities such as the Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC), City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC). The petition highlighted concerns around ad placements and the use of unapproved agencies.

    Representatives of the Maharashtra government argued their adherence to current guidelines; however, the court found the State’s explanations insufficient. The judges underscored that, had a committee as mandated by the Supreme Court been established, it could have actively reviewed the alleged issues.

    The chief secretary of Maharashtra has been specifically instructed to oversee the formation of this committee, ensuring stringent accountability in the use of public funds. The petitioners were represented by advocates SB Talekar, Madhavi Ayyappan, Chagan Thakare and Neha Lalsare, with additional government pleader Abhay Patki representing the state. 

  • Mudrex wins court order against fraudulent websites

    Mudrex wins court order against fraudulent websites

    Mumbai: Mudrex, a global crypto investment platform has secured an order in its favor against a network of fraudulent websites that have been illegally using Mudrex’s trademarks to deceive the public. The Delhi high court under Justice Mini Puskarna issued a directive on 23 August 2024 for the immediate takedown of 38 websites that were found to be exploiting Mudrex’s brand name to carry out scams and defraud innocent individuals.

    Mudrex received numerous complaints from the public, who reported being lured into investing substantial sums of money on these fraudulent platforms. These websites promised users various work opportunities, such as completing Google reviews, and offered monetary rewards upon task completion. However, these promises were part of a broader scam designed to extract money, and sensitive personal information, including Aadhar cards, PAN cards, bank statements, and property papers, from unsuspecting victims. Once these documents were obtained, the fraudsters ceased all communication, causing significant financial loss to these innocent individuals.

    After becoming aware, Mudrex has taken proactive steps to protect its community by issuing advisories across its official social media channels and via email to its registered users, warning them of potential scams and fraudulent activities.

    Moreover, Mudrex acted promptly by seeking an injunction to halt the fraudulent activities. The company’s legal team contended that the defendants had unlawfully exploited Mudrex’s trademarks, causing significant harm to innocent individuals by luring them into investing their hard-earned money through the misuse of Mudrex’s reputation and goodwill. Driven by a commitment to provide a safe and secure environment for its users, Mudrex approached the high court of Delhi to obtain the necessary relief and protect its community.

    The court, recognising the severity of the situation and believing in Mudrex’s earnest efforts, has directed the defendants to take down the infringing websites within 48 hours of the order. If the defendants fail to comply, the court has empowered other relevant parties to block access to these websites immediately.

    Commenting on this, Mudrex CEO & co-founder Edul Patel said, “We are committed to protecting our users and upholding the integrity of our brand. Most platforms in India face this issue, but we wanted to make sure it is addressed and solved for our users. Our focus remains on maintaining the trust of our users and reinforcing our commitment to a safe and reliable platform”.

    Mudrex stands out as one of the virtual asset service providers in India to actively pursue legal action to ensure consumer protection. By taking a strong stance against fraudulent activities and safeguarding its brand integrity, Mudrex underscores its commitment to protecting its users from scams and malicious schemes. This proactive approach not only highlights Mudrex’s leadership in the industry but also sets a precedent for other service providers in prioritizing the security and trust of their consumers.

  • The One Club’s Young Guns 22 jury includes two in India

    The One Club’s Young Guns 22 jury includes two in India

    Mumbai: The One Club for Creativity announced 101 creatives from around the world who will serve on the jury for the global Young Guns 22, including two based in India.

    Young Guns is the industry’s only global, cross-disciplinary, portfolio-based awards competition that identifies and celebrates today’s vanguard of young creatives.  The program is open to creatives ages 30 and under who have been working for at least two years, full-time or freelance. Eligible entrants can submit a combination of professional and personal work.

    Jury members in India are Arnab Rey, ECD at Landor Mumbai, and Neha Tulsian, ECD at NH1Design in Delhi.

    The complete list of Young Guns 22 judges can be viewed here.

    The online entry system is open, with a reduced-fee early deadline of June 27, 2024, a regular deadline of July 11, 2024, and a final deadline 25 July 2024.  Winners will be announced in the fall.

    The submission deadline for COLORFUL, a separate YG grant program to help young BIPOC creatives around the world advance their careers, is June 27, 2024.  There is no fee to apply, and the grant is open globally to BIPOC creatives who qualify for YG22.

    Program branding and design of the YG Cube award itself is reimagined each year by a past Young Gun winner.  This year’s YG22 branding was created by renowned New York-based designer, illustrator, muralist, and author Timothy Goodman (YG7).

    All Young Guns winners receive a unique version of the iconic Young Guns Cube, designed exclusively for this year’s incoming class, and have their permanent profile page added to the Young Guns website.  Winners also receive a complimentary one-year One Club for Creativity membership, permanent membership in the Young Guns network, a chance to be featured in Young Guns events and an assortment of career-boosting opportunities from Young Guns sponsors.

    Past Young Guns include rising stars who went on to become leaders in their chosen fields, including Oscar-winning film director duo DANIELS (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) (YG14),  “Top Gun Maverick” director Joseph Kosinski (YG4); graphic designers James Victore (YG1), Stefan Sagmeister (YG1), Natasha Jen (YG4) and Jessica Walsh (YG8); artist/designer Rich Tu (YG8); ad creatives Rei Inamoto (YG4) and Menno Kluin (YG6); illustrators Christoph Niemann (YG2) and Deanne Cheuk (YG4); fashion designer Kerby Jean-Raymond (YG14); artist/filmmaker Calmatic (YG16); director/photographer India Sleem (YG17); photographer Ryan McGuinness (YG2); typographers Alex Trochut (YG6) and Gemma O’Brien (YG13); animation artist Todd St. John (YG1), and others.

    Levine/Leavitt Artist In Residence Award

    For the 10th consecutive year, international artists’ management agency and Young Guns sponsor Levine/Leavitt will bestow one talented winner with the Artist In Residence Award.

    The honour is presented annually to a newly crowned Young Gun whose body of work truly stands out, as judged by an advisory board of industry professionals across various disciplines.  The winner receives a full year of professional development, guidance and mentorship from Levine/Leavitt to help advance their career.  

    The One Club for Creativity, home of The One Show, ADC Annual Awards, Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE), ONE Asia Creative Awards, Type Directors Club and competition, TDC Ascenders, Young Guns, Young Ones Student Awards, Next Creative Leaders, ONE Screen Short Film Festival, and more, is the world’s foremost non-profit organisation whose mission is to support and celebrate the global creative community.  Revenue generated from entries to its global awards shows go back into the industry to fund programming under the organisation’s four pillars: Education, Inclusion & Diversity, Gender Equality, and Creative Development.  

  • India TV’s Rajat Sharma wins personality rights and trademark case in Delhi High Court

    India TV’s Rajat Sharma wins personality rights and trademark case in Delhi High Court

    Mumbai: India TV and Rajat Sharma have achieved a significant legal victory, protecting their trademark and personality rights from misuse of the India TV logo and the “Aap Ki Adalat” show and mark. The Delhi High Court has ruled, in an interim order, in favour of the senior journalist, Shri Rajat Sharma, recognizing his personality rights and India TV’s trademarks/logos.

    India TV and Shri Rajat Sharma initiated legal action by filing a suit for a permanent injunction before the Hon’ble Delhi High Court, seeking relief against an infringer who was unlawfully using trademarks/logos resembling “India TV” and “Aap Ki Adalat.” The infringing party, identified as “Jhandiya TV ” was utilizing an identical logo and the name ” Baap ki Adalat ” Additionally, the plaintiffs sought an injunction to prevent the unauthorized use of any photograph, video, or name of Shri Rajat Sharma, in violation of his personality rights, across various mediums including trademarks/logos, trading styles, domain names, social media posts, audio-video content, and related services.

    Recognizing the merits of the case, the court issued an interim order granting protection in the following terms:-

    1- Trademark and Logo Use Restrained: The infringing party and its representatives are barred from using the disputed trademark/logo, such as “Baap ki Adalat,” or any deceptively similar marks/logos to “India TV” and “Aap Ki Adalat” across various mediums including trademarks, trade names, logos, trading styles, domain names, social media posts, audio-video content, and related services.

    2- Protection of Personality Rights: The infringing party and its representatives are prohibited from using the photograph, video, or name of Shri Rajat Sharma in any form (e.g., trademarks, logos, trading styles, domain names, social media posts, audio-video content, or related services) to prevent the violation of Shri Rajat Sharma’s personality rights.

    3- Content Removal: Internet platforms [‘X’ (formerly Twitter), YouTube (Google India Private Limited), and Facebook (Meta)] have been directed to remove the disputed content, including social media posts/links containing the infringing trademarks/logos and any other deceptively similar marks/logos identified in the court application. Additional links identified by India TV must also be removed.

    India TV and Shri Rajat Sharma stand resolute in safeguarding their intellectual property and personality rights. In the dynamic digital realm, where information spreads swiftly, preserving these rights is imperative. Emerging technologies underscore the crucial need for robust intellectual property protection, ensuring the preservation of reputation, integrity, and commercial interests. The commitment to pursue all legal avenues underscores the determination to maintain the integrity of its brand and identity in an ever-evolving digital landscape.

  • Delhi high court refuses to restrain Parle from using the trademark ‘For The Bold’

    Delhi high court refuses to restrain Parle from using the trademark ‘For The Bold’

    Mumbai: The Delhi high court on 18 September 2023 refused to restrain Parle from using the trademark ‘For the Bold’ on its products in a suit filed by PepsiCo. PepsiCo had sought to restrain Parle from using PepsiCo’s registered trade mark ‘For the Bold’ on its products. In response, Parle challenged the validity of PepsiCo’s trademark ‘For the Bold’ and sought framing of the issue of invalidity of PepsiCo’s trade mark.

    The Delhi high court while allowing the aforesaid plea of Parle raising the issue of invalidity, rejected the prayer of PepsiCo to restrain Parle from using the trademark ‘For the Bold’ on its products. However, it has directed Parle to not use the tagline ‘For The Bold’ as the predominant part of its advertising campaign and not to alter the label on its “B Fizz” bottle without prior approval of the court.

    Ankur Sangal, Pragya Mishra and Shashwat Rakshit from Khaitan & Co appeared for Parle.

  • Madras High Court grants interim relief to Disney+ Hotstar in Google Play Store

    Madras High Court grants interim relief to Disney+ Hotstar in Google Play Store

    Mumbai: The Madras High Court has granted interim relief to Star India’s subsidiary Novi Digital Entertainment after it filed a plea against Google Play Store’s new billing system, according to media reports. The court has restrained Google from delisting Disney+ Hotstar from the app store.

    The court has also asked Novi Digital to pay a four per cent commission to Google on the downloads through the Play Store.

    The company has told the court that as per the new billing policy app developers have to pay 11 per cent fee to Google Pay even if they opt for a third-party payment system.

  • Vulgar language and content on OTT platforms need to be regulated : Delhi HC

    Mumbai: The Delhi High Court stated that appropriate legislation or guidelines to regulate content on social media and OTT platforms are urgently needed in the context of the use of vulgar language in the public domain and on social media platforms, as this content is accessible to children of a vulnerable age.

    “This court draws the attention of the ministry of information and technology to situations which are fast emerging on a daily basis and to take steps for enforcing stricter application of its rules qua the intermediaries as notified in the Information Technology Rules, 2021, and make any law or rules as deemed appropriate in its wisdom, in light of the observations made in this judgment,” the single bench of Justice Swarna K Sharma said.

    The court criticised the language used in the TVF web series College Romance, stating that it fails the moral decency community test of a common man and crosses the line into obscenity.

    The bench further said that the words and language used in the web series would certainly be found by many as naturally disgusting and sexual and that they are not part of “standard Hindi or any other Indian language”.

  • Kerala HC grants AIDCF one week to submit a rejoinder

    Mumbai : As per reports in the media, the Kerala High Court has ordered the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) to submit a rebuttal in the NTO 3.0 case within a week.

    The next hearing, according to the court, will take place on 3 March.

    According to sources, the IBDF attorney objected to the AIDCF’s request for two weeks to file a response.

    After the cable operators agreed to sign the new Reference Interconnection Offer, both parties reached an agreement late on Wednesday (RIO).

    Also read : Fight between broadcasters &  AIDCF members to end ?

    According to our previous report, AIDCF and the cable operators agreed that the interconnection agreement could be revised based on a court order.

  • Bombay HC stays parts of new IT rules

    Bombay HC stays parts of new IT rules

    New Delhi: The Bombay high court has granted an interim stay to the implementation of parts of the Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021 which require that all online publishers follow a “code of ethics” and norms of conduct.

    According to the court, “prima facie” (on the face of it), sub-clauses 1 and 3 of clause 9 of the Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules, 2021 violated the petitioners’ constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19. Provisions of clause 9 also went beyond the scope of the substantive law (the Information Technology Act of 2000), it added further, according to PTI.

    The court was hearing two petitions filed by digital news portal `The Leaflet’ and journalist Nikhil Wagle which had challenged the new regulations notified by the government in February this year. According to the petitions, the new rules are “vague”, “draconian”, and bound to have a “chilling effect” on the freedom of press and right to free speech guaranteed by the Constitution. The petitioners had also contended that the rules “go beyond the parameters set by the Information Technology Act and limits set under Article 19 of the Constitution”, and sought an interim stay on the implementation of the new IT Rules till the court gives its final decision in the matter.

    Meanwhile, the high court has refused to stay clause 14 that pertains to the setting up of an inter-ministerial committee with powers to regulate online content and deal with grievances and breach of rules, and clause 16 which is about blocking of online content in case of an emergency.

    The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 seek to regulate dissemination and publication of content in cyber space, including social media platforms. The rules notified in February, also recommend a three-tier mechanism for the regulation of all online media. Under the rules, the digital publishers are required to take urgent steps for appointing a grievance officer, if not done, and place all relevant details in the public domain. They also need to constitute self-regulatory bodies through mutual consultation so that the grievances are addressed at the level of publishers or the self-regulating bodies themselves.

    It is significant to note that similar petitions opposing the new rules have been filed in high courts across the country.

  • Bombay HC seeks government’s response over stay on IT media rules

    Bombay HC seeks government’s response over stay on IT media rules

    New Delhi: The Bombay high court has asked the central government to submit a response as to why an interim stay should not be given to the implementation of the Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021, as demanded by two petitions.

    “File a short affidavit on why interim relief should not be granted,” the HC told the Union government, adjourning the hearing to 13 August.

    The court was hearing two petitions filed by digital news portal `The Leaflet’ and journalist Nikhil Wagle who had challenged the new regulations notified by the government in February this year. According to the petitions, the new rules are “vague”, “draconian”, and bound to have a “chilling effect” on the freedom of press and right to free speech guaranteed by the Constitution.

    The petitions had also contended that the rules “go beyond the parameters set by the Information Technology Act and limits set under Article 19 of the Constitution.”

    It is significant to note that similar petitions opposing the new rules have been filed in high courts across the country. The government has been asked to submit its response by 13 August.

    In a separate case, the government told the Delhi high court on Tuesday, that Twitter was prima facie in compliance with the new IT Rules by appointing a chief compliance officer (CCO), resident grievance officer (RGO) and nodal contact person on permanent basis.

    The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 seek to regulate dissemination and publication of content in cyber space, including social media platforms.

    The rules also recommend a three-tier mechanism for the regulation of all online media. Under the rules, the digital publishers are required to take urgent steps for appointing a grievance officer, if not done, and place all relevant details in the public domain. They also need to constitute self-regulatory bodies through mutual consultation so that the grievances are addressed at the level of publishers or the self-regulating bodies themselves.