Law Firm Articles
Patent Landscaping
A patent is an exclusive right granted by a sovereign authority for an invention. It can be a product, process, a novelty or an improvement, or a solution to a problem. It plays an essential role in encouraging innovation and development across all sectors. Inventors gain exclusive rights to the process or design for a fixed period (which varies per jurisdiction), In exchange, the creator must provide particulars regarding the invention. Patents both incentivize and protect companies in...
Online Gaming Advertisements To Be Self Regulated
There has been a flurry of online gaming apps in the recent past in India. As highlighted in our recent article about the rise of fantasy sports in India, there seems to be a huge rush in the market to cash in on the online gaming wave which has been received pretty well and has also seen huge investment flowing in. Background:With the spurt of new entrants in the market and the rising competition, online gaming apps have used the TV commercials route i.e., both cable TV as well OTT ...
First Response: Computer Forensics
In the electronic era, information is left behind as digital footprints in cyberspace. The trail of digital evidence is searched, identified and analyzed to link and reconstruct the chain of events. Forensic Investigation of cybercrime cases is complex and depends on evidence identified, recovered and reasoning. The first responder is the first person to arrive at the scene and can even be a complainant to the crime. Once the physical boundaries or electronic scope of the crime are...
Labour Law Case Summary- Half Yearly Update Part-1
This compilation is the first part of the two-part series through which we seek to provide a brief overview of the recent judicial decisions on labour laws rendered in the period, April, 2020 to September, 2020, by the Supreme Court and various High Courts of India For the purposes of the instant part, we shall be covering judicial decisions rendered under the following legislations: Employee's Compensation Act, 1923 ("Employee's Compensation Act");Employees' State Insurance Act,...
Interpretation And Enforcement Of Parallel Arbitration Clauses
The Hon'ble Supreme Court of India ("SC"/"Apex Court") in one of its most recent judgment laid down the law on interpretation and enforcement of parallel arbitration clauses. In the case of Balasore Alloys Ltd. Vs Medima LLC[1] decided on 16.09.2020, the Apex Court held that in such a situation, principle of harmony and reconciliation should be used as to determine as to which of the clauses would be relevant. In this case, the SC was faced with a situation where there were following two...
IRDAI Notifies Minimum Information For Insurers, Intermediaries And Insurance Intermediaries
On November 23, 2020, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India ("IRDAI") exercising its power under Sections 33(7) and 114A(2)(j) of the Insurance Act, 1938 ("Act") read with Sections 14 and 26 of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act of India, 1999 ("IRDAI Act") notified the IRDAI (Minimum Information Required for Investigation and Inspection) Regulations, 2020 ("Notification")[1]. The Notification will come into force from May 24, 2021. The objective of...
Types Of Cyber-Crime & Cyber-Laws
The technological revolution has ushered in new platforms and methods for a variety of crimes in and though cyber-space. Cyber-crimes can be perpetrated against the government or individual agents, on physical or intangible properties. The borderless nature of cybercrime poses an immediate, grave threat globally, taking on forms ranging from electronic versions of traditional robbery, scamming, fraud, and identity theft to entirely new crimes as phishing, hacking, cyber-bullying, etc. ...
RERA Regime – Landowners & Promoters
Since the advent of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 ("RERA"), the authorities constituted thereunder ("Authority(ies)") have shown great resilience and adaptability in their approach in dealing with complex issues arising in matters of real estate, wherein multiple parties and stakeholders are involved. More often than not, joint development agreements between landowners and promoters contemplate complex area sharing arrangements, revenue sharing arrangements, or...
India's Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 And EU's General Data Protection Regulation – A Comparison
In 2017, the Apex Court of India, in the matter of Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India, 2017 (10) SCALE 1 recognized the right to privacy as a fundamental right emerging from Article 21 of the Constitution of India. In light of this, Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee Report on 'A Free and Fair Digital Economy: Protecting Privacy, Empowering Indians' stated that the state had a duty to put in place a data protection framework which, "while protecting citizens from dangers to...
Big Data, Law & Regulating Big Data
The term "Big Data" has been labelled amongst other things as a buzzword or a new-age "marketing term"[i], but a reading of the World Economic Forum's write up on Big Data clarifies that Big Data is not a "new or isolated phenomenon", but another phase (albeit a rather crucial phase that will change the way businesses and society functions) in a long evolution of how data is captured and used[ii]. But first, what is Big Data? Simply put, Big Data refers to very large and often...
Govt. Takes The First Step Towards Regulating OTT Platforms In India
The recent news about the Government issuing a notification thereby bringing online content providers (OTT platforms) such as Netflix, Hotstar, Amazon etc. under the ambit of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting was more of an overenthusiastic reporting of the matter. As the news spread, more questions and concerns arose about the methods and ways of regulation and control. Though the message was not completely incorrect as the notification did bring these two categories under...
