The Hon'ble Delhi High Court in HMD Mobile India Private Limited v. Mr Rajan Aggarwal & Anr., C.O.[(COMM.IPD-CR) 1/2024 I.A. 3142/2024 I.A. 3143/2024, dated May 14, 2024], held that the impugned copyright registration for a literary work titled "Advertisement" was not copyrightable as it lacked originality, and directed it to be removed from the Register of Copyright.
Facts of the Case:
The Petitioner, HMD Mobile India Private Limited, is a company incorporated in India and a subsidiary of the Finnish company 'HMD Group Oy'. The petitioner is licensed to use the 'NOKIA' brand name for mobile phones and related accessories.
The issue arose when the Petitioner launched an advertisement/promotion for Nokia products through a small clip stating 'Coming Soon', followed by the Nokia mark and its associated tune. In response, the Respondent No. 1, Mr. Rajan Aggarwal, filed a suit (CS (COMM) 213/2022) before the District Court, Karkardooma, claiming rights in the subject copyright registration titled "Advertisement."
Surprised by the registration granted for the statement titled "Advertisement," the Petitioner conducted a search and sought to verify the legitimacy of the copyright registration. Upon inspection on December 22, 2023, a digital record of a Discrepancy Report dated November 19, 2015, was shown to the Petitioner's representatives. In the report, the Deputy Registrar of Copyrights had objected to the registration, asking the Respondent No. 1 to clarify 'how an idea can be copyrighted.' However, no subsequent communication was found during the inspection to indicate that the Respondent No. 1 had responded to the Discrepancy Report.
Aggrieved by the subsistence of the registration despite the Discrepancy Report, the Petitioner filed a rectification petition under Section 50 of the Copyright Act, 1957, read with Rule 71 of the Copyright Rules, 2013, seeking to expunge the impugned copyright registration in favor of the Respondent No. 1.
Issue:
Whether the impugned copyright registration for the literary work titled "Advertisement" was copyrightable and should subsist on the Copyright Register?
Held by the Court:
The Hon'ble Delhi High Court in HMD Mobile India Private Limited v. Mr Rajan Aggarwal & Anr., C.O.(COMM.IPD-CR) 1/2024 I.A. 3142/2024 I.A. 3143/2024, held as under:
The Hon'ble Delhi High Court observed that the impugned copyright was "obscure and abstract in its narration and is titled as 'Advertisement', at best expressing an idea or a concept."
The Court held that the text of the impugned copyright was a generic idea narrating the concept behind "Coming Soon" advertisements, which is widely used and available in the public domain, striking at the root of its originality under Section 13(1)(a) of the Copyright Act, 1957.
The Court opined that the work lacked any degree or modicum of creativity, investment, labour, or sweat, and was merely a short narration plucked out of the public domain.
The Court noted that the Discrepancy Report dated November 19, 2015, had rightly raised an objection to the registration of the impugned copyright. However, despite the objection, the registration was granted, which remained unexplained.
Applying the precedents and statutory provisions discussed in the judgment, the Court held that the impugned copyright registration was not copyrightable and directed its removal from the Register of Copyright within a period of 4 weeks.
Relevant Sections:
Section 13(1)(a) of the Copyright Act, 1957 - "copyright shall subsist throughout India in original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works"
Section 50 of the Copyright Act, 1957 - rectification of the Register by the Copyright Board
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