Raj Shamani Moves Delhi HC Against AI ‘Deepfakes’
Podcaster and entrepreneur Raj Shamani has moved the Delhi High Court seeking urgent protection of his personality and IP rights. He wants all deepfake and AI-generated content using his name, face, voice or likeness taken down, and enforcement of his trademarks and copyrights. The petition is listed on 17 November before Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora.
SC Leaves Crocs Suits Intact, Delhi HC Revival Stands
The Supreme Court has rejected special leave petitions by Bata and Liberty, effectively affirming a July 2025 Delhi High Court order that revived Crocs Inc.’s suits. Crocs’ passing-off claims under the Trade Marks Act and design infringement actions under the Designs Act now return to the trial court for a fresh, uninfluenced decision against Bata, Liberty, Relaxo and Action.
Delhi HC Backs Dream11, Orders ‘American Dream11’ Offline
The Delhi High Court has granted interim relief to fantasy-sports giant Dream11 by restraining American Dream11 from using the “Dream11” name and logo. The defendant has been ordered to pull down all infringing pages from Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Instagram and other platforms. The Court has also referred the trademark dispute to mediation on 17 November 2025.
Delhi HC Bars ‘Bukhara Inn’ From Riding on ITC’s BUKHARA
The Delhi High Court has passed an ex parte ad-interim injunction restraining Bukhara Inn from using the mark BUKHARA or any deceptively similar variant for its hotel and restaurant services. ITC Limited argued that its iconic Bukhara restaurant mark is a well-known trademark and that the defendant was riding on its long-standing reputation and goodwill.
Bombay HC Clips ‘New Indian Express’ Use Outside South
The Bombay High Court has temporarily restrained Express Publications (Madurai) Pvt. Ltd. from using the mark The New Indian Express, or any Indian Express-formative mark, for events and commercial activities outside five southern States and specified Union Territories. The court held that such use breached a binding consent decree dividing territorial rights in the Indian Express family of marks.
Madras HC Backs ‘Officer’s Choice’, Axes ‘Original Choice’
The Madras High Court has upheld Allied Blenders’ flagship whisky mark OFFICER’S CHOICE and cancelled the rival registration for ORIGINAL CHOICE. Finding the two marks deceptively similar in overall commercial impression including the shared abbreviation “OC” the court applied the anti-dissection rule and held that even common words cannot dilute a long-established brand under the Trade Marks Act.
Delhi HC Keeps ‘BRO CODE’ Film Injunction in Place
A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court has refused to stay an injunction restraining Ravi Mohan Studios from using “BRO CODE” as a film title. The single judge had held the title to be identical and confusingly similar to Indospirit’s well-known alcoholic-beverage brand, and that continued use would dilute its distinctiveness and goodwill in the market.
Bombay HC Stays FIR Move Against Flipkart in Shemaroo Row
The Bombay High Court has stayed a lower court’s direction to register an FIR against Flipkart based on a copyright complaint by Shemaroo Entertainment. Shemaroo alleges Flipkart used its film content on social media promotions without a licence. The interim stay gives Flipkart temporary relief while the High Court examines the legality of the order.
Delhi HC Shields Jaya Bachchan’s Personality Rights Online
The Delhi High Court has granted sweeping interim protection to actor Jaya Bachchan’s personality rights, restraining online platforms, e-commerce sites and social-media accounts from exploiting her name, image or AI-generated likeness for commercial gain. Tech giants including Google, Meta, YouTube, Amazon and eBay have been directed to identify, block and take down infringing links and listings.
WIPO Data Puts India’s IP Growth in Global Spotlight
The World Intellectual Property Organization’s 2025 World Intellectual Property Indicators report records a record 3.7 million patent applications filed globally in 2024. India added 12,274 filings, clocking 16.5% growth and pushing resident applicants to 60% of total filings. The report also flags India’s fast-rising design filings, growing GI portfolio and 16th rank worldwide on patents-to-GDP.
InterDigital Sues Amazon in US Over Video-Codec Patents
US-based InterDigital has sued Amazon in a Delaware federal court, accusing it of infringing video-compression and HDR patents through devices and services such as Fire TV, Kindle and Prime Video. The suit, which follows Amazon’s earlier actions against InterDigital in the UK and Brazil, centres on alleged use of the technology without a licence.
German Court Raps OpenAI Over Unlicensed Song Lyrics
Munich’s Regional Court has ruled in favour of German collecting society GEMA, holding that OpenAI unlawfully used copyrighted song lyrics in training ChatGPT without a licence. Finding both internal memorisation and lyrical output to be infringing, the court ordered OpenAI to pay damages. The decision is expected to shape future licensing models for European generative-AI systems.
USPTO Chief Tightens Real-Party Disclosure in IPRs
USPTO Director John Squires has tightened disclosure norms in America’s patent trial system, reinstating a strict requirement that petitioners in Inter Partes Review and Post-Grant Review proceedings must name all real parties-in-interest at the institution stage. Framed partly as a national-security measure, the move targets undisclosed foreign state-backed actors allegedly funding US patent challenges.
Morgan & Morgan Drops Mickey Mouse Fight With Disney
US plaintiffs’ firm Morgan & Morgan has abruptly withdrawn its copyright lawsuit accusing Disney of misusing a client’s voice in a Mickey Mouse–themed commercial. Court filings show the case was voluntarily dismissed following a confidential settlement between the parties, bringing an end to the short-lived dispute without any findings on liability or public terms
ABKCO Sues Behr for Using ‘Paint It, Black’ in Instagram Ad
ABKCO Music & Records has sued paint major Behr in a California federal court, alleging copyright infringement over the unlicensed use of the Rolling Stones’ 1966 hit “Paint It, Black” in a 2022 Instagram advertisement. The suit seeks damages and an injunction, underscoring the risks brands face when using iconic music without securing synchronisation licences.
OpenAI Fights Order to Hand Over 20 Million Chat Logs
OpenAI has asked a New York federal judge to overturn an order compelling it to hand over 20 million anonymised ChatGPT chat logs in a copyright suit brought by The New York Times and other publishers. OpenAI argues the demand is grossly overbroad, raises serious user-privacy concerns and covers conversations overwhelmingly irrelevant to the case.
