Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973


Section 482
Complaint— Quashing of.

The complaint which was essentially about violation of the complainant's registered design was made to appear as if the infringements were of its trademarks and copyright

HELD "The IO appears not to have considered either Section 15 (2) of the Copyright Act or the relevant provisions of the Designs Act, 2000 or the fact that the Respondent No. 2 in fact holds the registration of the design in respect of its products. Respondent No. 2 admittedly held four registrations under the Designs Act in respect of the product in question even as of that date. Under Section 15 (2) of the Copyright Act, a copyright granted in respect of a product for which a registration has been granted under the Designs Act, would cease as soon as any article to which the design has been applied has been reproduced more than fifty times by an industrial process by the owner of the copyright. There can be no manner of doubt that the product of Respondent No. 2 has been reproduced more than 50 times. Therefore, any copyright in such design would cease by operation of law. "



In the considered view of this Court, the FIR and chargesheet when examined as a whole do not even prima facie make out a case for violation of the Copyright Act 1957. In other words, the offence under Section 63 of the Copyright Act is not even prima facie attracted. FIR and all proceedings consequent thereto, quashed.

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