Dispute Related To Infringement Of Copyright Is Arbitrable, Arbitrator Can Be Appointed U/S 11 Of Arbitration Act: Orissa High Court
Mohd Malik Chauhan
15 Dec 2024 2:45 PM IST
The Orissa High Court bench of Chief Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh has held that dispute related to infringement of copyright is arbitrable for which arbitrator can be appointed by the court under section 11 of the Arbitration Act.
Brief Facts
The present application has been filed under section 11(6) of the Arbitration Act, seeking appointment of an Arbitrator to resolve the dispute between the parties.
The application was opposed by the other party on the ground that the dispute as evident from the petitioner's notice seeking the appointment of an Arbitrator regards to infringement of copyright which is non-arbitrable. In support this submission, the opposite party relied on the Supreme Court judgment in Vidya Drolia and Others v. Durga Trading Corporation (2020).
Observations:
The court noted that in Vidya Drolia (supra), the Supreme Court has held that “a claim for infringement of copyright against a particular person is arbitrable, though in some manner the arbitrator would examine the right to copyright, a right in rem. Arbitration by necessary implication excludes actions in rem.”
While applying the above ratio to the facts of the present case, the court observed that “the submission advanced on behalf of opposite parties is wholly misconceived. I do not find at any place in the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Vidya Drolia (supra), it has been held that dispute relating to infringement of copyright is non-arbitrable.”
Accordingly, the present application was allowed and the Arbitrator was appointed.
Case Title: Shri Binaya Kumar Naik VersusSanjay Kumar Naik and another
Case Number:ARBP No. 9 of 2024
Judgment Date: 11/12/2024
