9911796707
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Issues Involved:
1. Infringement of Copyright 2. Applicability of First Sale Doctrine and its Impact 3. Jurisdiction of the Court 4. Relief under the Specific Relief Act Detailed Analysis: Infringement of Copyright: The plaintiffs, comprising corporations and their exclusive licensees, allege that the defendants are infringing their copyrights by exporting low-price editions of their books, which are meant for sale only in specific territories, to countries outside these designated regions. The plaintiffs argue that such acts violate the territorial restrictions imposed by the copyright owners and cause substantial financial losses. The court examined the relevant provisions of the Copyright Act, 1957, particularly Sections 13, 14, and 51, which outline the rights of copyright owners and what constitutes infringement. The court noted that the rights of the owner of the copyright are broader than those of an exclusive licensee, and infringement must be assessed from the perspective of the owner's rights. The court found that the defendants' actions of selling and exporting books beyond the specified territories violated the rights of the copyright owners under Section 14(a)(ii) of the Act, which grants the owner the exclusive right to issue copies of the work to the public, not being copies already in circulation. The court held that these acts amounted to primary infringement under Section 51(a) of the Act. Applicability of First Sale Doctrine and its Impact: The defendants argued that the first sale doctrine, which limits the copyright owner's control over the distribution of a work after the first sale, should apply, thereby exhausting the plaintiffs' rights once the books were sold in India. They cited various US case laws and the judgment in Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. v. Santosh V.G. to support their argument. The court, however, distinguished the present case from the cited judgments, noting that the doctrine of first sale would only exhaust the rights of the exclusive licensees, not the broader rights of the copyright owners. The court also expressed doubts about the applicability of international exhaustion of rights in India, suggesting that the principle should be confined to regional exhaustion due to the absence of express provisions in Indian law. The court concluded that even if the first sale doctrine were applicable, it would not defeat the rights of the copyright owners to complain about infringement in unauthorized territories. Jurisdiction of the Court: The defendants contended that the court lacked jurisdiction as the acts of infringement occurred outside India. The court rejected this argument, stating that it had jurisdiction under Section 20 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, as the defendants were carrying on business in Delhi, and essential parts of the cause of action, such as taking orders and dispatching books, occurred within its territorial jurisdiction. The court also clarified that the acts of primary infringement, such as offering for sale and exporting books from India, violated the rights of the copyright owners within India. Therefore, the court had the authority to entertain the suit. Relief under the Specific Relief Act: The defendants argued that the suit for injunction was not maintainable under the Specific Relief Act, 1963, and that the plaintiffs' actions constituted unfair trade practices. The court dismissed these arguments, noting that the plaintiffs had established a prima facie case of infringement and were entitled to seek injunctive relief to protect their statutory rights. Conclusion: The court concluded that the defendants' acts were prima facie infringing in nature and warranted the grant of a temporary injunction. The plaintiffs had successfully demonstrated ownership of the copyrights and the violation of their rights by the defendants. The balance of convenience favored the plaintiffs, and they would suffer irreparable harm if the defendants were not restrained. The court allowed the plaintiffs' application for a temporary injunction and dismissed the defendants' application for vacation of the ex-parte injunction. The defendants and their agents were restrained from advertising, offering for sale, or exporting any publications of the plaintiffs to countries outside the specified territories until the disposal of the suit.
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