Bombay HC: JustDial to approach TDSAT in Copyright Infringement Case

Bombay High Court, JustDial copyright Infringement Case

Shivangi Prakash-

Published on: August 09, 2021, at 12:37 IST

Just Dial Ltd. was granted permission by the Bombay High Court to approach the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) for directives to Indiamart Intermesh Ltd. to submit documents and data in a copyright infringement lawsuit between the two companies.

Just Dial had applied as part of an appeal contesting the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal‘s (TDSAT) judgment of April 5, 2, 2021, which stayed proceedings related to suspected Information Technology Act violations.

Advocate Sanjay Jain, appearing for Indiamart stated that “As per their internal process, a cleanup process periodically takes place and various information uploaded by its users/suppliers are deleted by applicant’s systems.”

The Bench of Justices KR Shriram and Abhay Ahuja noted that there was an appeal pending before the TDSAT, after briefly hearing the parties.

JustDial may file a petition in the Tribunal to order Indiamart to release all papers and data that JustDial alleged Indiamart had erased as part of their internal procedure, according to the Court.

The Tribunal was also ordered by the Court to evaluate the case on its merits as soon as practicable.

Indiamart was one of the country’s leading online B2B marketplaces and informational hubs for small and medium businesses. When JD Mart, JustDial’s independent B2B online marketplace, was due to open, Indiamart went to the beta version of the website as regular industry practices.

Indiamart claimed that the beta version of JustDial had copied proprietary and copyrighted material in bulk, infringing on Indiamart’s Intellectual Property Rights.

As a result, a copyright infringement suit was filed against JustDial in Delhi High Court, and the Court granted an ad-interim injunction.

JustDial filed a complaint under the IT Act with the Adjudicating Officer (AO) alleging data theft. JustDial requested that Indiamart provide certain documents for scrutiny per the AO’s direction.

TDSAT suspended the proceedings and AO’s order after AO’s order was challenged.

The present appeal before the Bombay High Court was filed challenging the TDSAT’s order. However, the High Court refused to intervene in TDSAT’s order.

Also Read: Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2021 notification issued

Related Post