as this presentation uses newsletter - clasis la law newsletter-august edition.pdf · as this...

11
1 Welcome to the August Edition of the Clasis Law Newsletter This edition brings to our readers a featured article titled Blockchain A New Technological Genie”. This article emphasizes on the evolving blockchain technology and the role it could play in transforming several industry verticals. The article explores uses of blockchain technology and highlights the legal challenges which could arise with the usage of blockchain in the current legal landscape. The article also briefly discusses Indian outlook on blockchains and mentions instances where blockchain technology has already been used in India. We continue to highlight certain key judgements passed by the Hon’ble Court as well as changes in Corporate and Commercial laws and updates on Intellectual Property. Your inputs and feedback are always welcome and we look forward to our interactions with you. Contents Blockchain A New Technological Genie Page 2 Legal Alerts Page 5 Corporate and Commercial Page 6 IP Update Page 7 Recent Events Page 9 Offbeat Page 10 www.clasislaw.com Newsletter August 2018 “Clasis Law’s Managing Partner & Head of Corporate Practice, Vineet Aneja is recognized as one of India’s Most Trusted Corporate Lawyers by ICCA, 2017” Clasis Law has been ranked amongst the Top 40 Indian Law Firms by RSG Consulting Rankings 2017

Upload: others

Post on 08-Jun-2020

4 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: As this presentation uses Newsletter - Clasis La Law Newsletter-August Edition.pdf · As this presentation uses ‘special’ fonts the presentation should always ... blockchain technology

As this presentation uses

‘special’ fonts the

presentation should always

be saved as a PDF before

circulating externally.

To save as a PDF…

>Office Button

>Save As

>PDF or XPS

(Save as PDF)

Failure to do this will result

in PowerPoint replacing the

fonts and the presentation

will not display correctly.

To check you have the

latest version of this

template go to the

Marketing Tool Kit

http://oursharedtoolkit/des

ign/Pages/DIY-

PowerPoint-

Templates.aspx

A number of pre-designed

layouts have been

created for this

presentation. To choose

the right layout go to

>Home

>New Slide

Choose the most

appropriate layout for

your slide content.

To change the grey panel to

another colour.

>Right Click over slide

>Format Background

>Fill

>Solid Fill

>Colour

Select an alternative colour from

the top line of the colour palette

(do not select white).

>Close

To format the body text, simply

highlight the specific line(s) of

text and click ‘tab’ or press

‘increase/decrease list level’

button. If you continue to click the

‘Tab’ button and the text turns

red you have tabbed too far and

should use the ‘decrease level’

button to return to compliant text.

Do not use the bullet point button

to format your text.

For printed documents avoid text

being smaller than 11pt. For

Presentations avoid text being

smaller than 14pt.

1

Welcome to the August Edition of

the Clasis Law Newsletter

This edition brings to our readers a featured article titled “Blockchain – A New Technological Genie”. This article emphasizes on the evolving blockchain technology and the role it could play in transforming several industry verticals. The article explores uses of blockchain technology and highlights the legal challenges which could arise with the usage of blockchain in the current legal landscape. The article also briefly discusses Indian outlook on blockchains and mentions instances where blockchain technology has already been used in India. We continue to highlight certain key judgements passed by the Hon’ble Court as well as changes in Corporate and Commercial laws and updates on Intellectual Property. Your inputs and feedback are always welcome and we look forward to our interactions with you.

Contents

Blockchain – A New Technological Genie Page 2

Legal Alerts

Page 5

Corporate and Commercial

Page 6

IP Update

Page 7

Recent Events

Page 9

Offbeat

Page 10

www.clasislaw.com

Newsletter

August 2018

“Clasis Law’s

Managing Partner &

Head of Corporate

Practice, Vineet

Aneja is recognized

as one of India’s

Most Trusted

Corporate Lawyers

by ICCA, 2017”

Clasis Law has been ranked amongst the Top 40 Indian Law Firms by RSG Consulting

Rankings 2017

Page 2: As this presentation uses Newsletter - Clasis La Law Newsletter-August Edition.pdf · As this presentation uses ‘special’ fonts the presentation should always ... blockchain technology

As this presentation uses

‘special’ fonts the

presentation should always

be saved as a PDF before

circulating externally.

To save as a PDF…

>Office Button

>Save As

>PDF or XPS

(Save as PDF)

Failure to do this will result

in PowerPoint replacing the

fonts and the presentation

will not display correctly.

To check you have the

latest version of this

template go to the

Marketing Tool Kit

http://oursharedtoolkit/des

ign/Pages/DIY-

PowerPoint-

Templates.aspx

A number of pre-designed

layouts have been

created for this

presentation. To choose

the right layout go to

>Home

>New Slide

Choose the most

appropriate layout for

your slide content.

To change the grey panel to

another colour.

>Right Click over slide

>Format Background

>Fill

>Solid Fill

>Colour

Select an alternative colour from

the top line of the colour palette

(do not select white).

>Close

To format the body text, simply

highlight the specific line(s) of

text and click ‘tab’ or press

‘increase/decrease list level’

button. If you continue to click the

‘Tab’ button and the text turns

red you have tabbed too far and

should use the ‘decrease level’

button to return to compliant text.

Do not use the bullet point button

to format your text.

For printed documents avoid text

being smaller than 11pt. For

Presentations avoid text being

smaller than 14pt.

2

BLOCKCHAIN – A NEW TECHNOLOGICAL GENIE

After the internet era, an emerging technology which has grabbed eyeballs across the globe in recent years is the blockchain

technology. Usage of blockchain technology by cryptocurrencies (particularly Bitcoin) is one of the major factors for

popularity of blockchain. If we talk about blockchain, the first thing which crosses a layman’s mind is Bitcoin. However, the

usage of this technology is not only restricted to cryptocurrencies, it is considered that the technology has the potential to

transform several industry verticals by expediting the processes and making them more transparent and democratic.

What is blockchain?

While the technology is complicated, the main idea is simple. To give a birds-eye view, blockchain is a decentralized /

distributed ledger which resides on each participant’s device and leverages the resources of a large peer-to-peer network to

verify and approve each transaction. Each individual copy of the ledger is updated on real time basis whenever a transaction

is completed. The blockchain technology eradicates the need of an intermediary in concluding transactions and a central

server to store information.

The Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (established by Reserve Bank of India), in its white

paper1, described blockchain as a tamper-evident ledger shared within a network of entities where the ledger holds a record

of transaction between the entities. To achieve tamper-evidence in ledger, blockchain exploits cryptography2. In blockchain,

cryptography is primarily used for two purposes (i) securing the identity of the sender of transactions and (ii) ensuring that

the past records cannot be tampered with.

The new information can be written on to this distributed ledger, but the previous information, stored in blocks, cannot be

edited, adjusted or changed. This is accomplished by using cryptography to link the contents of the newly added block with

each block before it, such that any change to the contents of a previous block in the chain would invalidate the data in all

blocks after it.

Types of blockchain

Blockchain can be broadly classified into two categories:

1. Public / Permission less blockchain – It can be categorized as a fully decentralized ledger where anyone can read, send

transactions and participate in the consensus process. The process of generation and verification of transactions is

publicly available so that anyone in the network may perform these actions.

2. Private / Permissioned blockchain – In case or private blockchain, while the process of generation and verification of

transactions may be access controlled and restricted to only a fraction of members on the network who have the

authority to verify the transactions, the information can be read by all the participants of blockchain.

Usage of blockchain

It is predicted that blockchain will transform several industry verticals in the coming years. The blockchain technology has

already been adopted by banks in India. ICICI bank was the first in the country and among the first few globally to use

blockchain technology way back in 2016 to execute its first banking transaction relating to international trade finance on

blockchain in partnership with Emirates NBD based in Dubai. The parties used custom made blockchain application (which

enabled all the parties including banks, importer and exporter) to exchange and authenticate remittance transaction

messages as well as original international trade documents related to purchase order, invoice, shipping & insurance, among

others, electronically on blockchain in real time.

1 http://www.idrbt.ac.in/assets/publications/Best%20Practices/BCT.pdf 2 Cryptography is the method of encrypting and decrypting, information through complex mathematics. This means that the information can

only be viewed by the intended recipients and nobody else. 3 https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2018/04/05/what-is-blockchain-and-what-can-businesses-benefit-from-it/#44526888675f

Page 3: As this presentation uses Newsletter - Clasis La Law Newsletter-August Edition.pdf · As this presentation uses ‘special’ fonts the presentation should always ... blockchain technology

As this presentation uses

‘special’ fonts the

presentation should always

be saved as a PDF before

circulating externally.

To save as a PDF…

>Office Button

>Save As

>PDF or XPS

(Save as PDF)

Failure to do this will result

in PowerPoint replacing the

fonts and the presentation

will not display correctly.

To check you have the

latest version of this

template go to the

Marketing Tool Kit

http://oursharedtoolkit/des

ign/Pages/DIY-

PowerPoint-

Templates.aspx

A number of pre-designed

layouts have been

created for this

presentation. To choose

the right layout go to

>Home

>New Slide

Choose the most

appropriate layout for

your slide content.

To change the grey panel to

another colour.

>Right Click over slide

>Format Background

>Fill

>Solid Fill

>Colour

Select an alternative colour from

the top line of the colour palette

(do not select white).

>Close

To format the body text, simply

highlight the specific line(s) of

text and click ‘tab’ or press

‘increase/decrease list level’

button. If you continue to click the

‘Tab’ button and the text turns

red you have tabbed too far and

should use the ‘decrease level’

button to return to compliant text.

Do not use the bullet point button

to format your text.

For printed documents avoid text

being smaller than 11pt. For

Presentations avoid text being

smaller than 14pt.

3

Further, it allowed all the parties to check online status of the application, transfer of title and transmission of original trade

documents through a secure network, while preserving client and commercial confidentiality. According to the bank, usage of

blockchain technology simplified the process and made it instant to only a few minutes which typically take a few days’ time4.

ICICI Bank has now successfully on-boarded over 250 corporates on its blockchain platform for domestic & international trade

finance5. India now has a consortium of its own, called 'Bankchain'. Bankchain has 37 members and it is meant to be a

community of banks for exploring, building and implementing blockchain solutions.“6Blockchain has also been used by the state

government of Andhra Pradesh for maintaining land registries of the residential and commercial plots allotted to farmers7.

It is expected that blockchain technology will be used by several industry verticals for various other purposes such as record

keeping and supply chain management in future.

Recordkeeping

At its most basic level, blockchain is a new type of database system that maintains and records data in a secure and

unchangeable manner and allows multiple stakeholders to securely access the same data and information. Blockchain can be

used for the purposes of maintaining land records and by the companies to maintain their necessary records such as registers

of shareholders, minutes of meetings, records of encumbrances which can be verified and easily accessed by the company,

regulator and other stakeholders. The advantage would be that the information cannot be edited or changed easily.

Supply chain

As the blockchain holds records in a digitized and distributed manner that make them tamper-resistant and easily traceable,

blockchain is an attractive option for supply chain as it can store and exchange contract details, coordinate logistics and

streamline disjointed processes8.

Legal Challenges

Though blockchain technology appears to be attractive which could increase security and authenticity of transactions and

expedite the processes, it has its own challenges which may have serious implications. We analyse below few of the key legal

challenges which would have an impact on the usage of blockchain technology:

1. Jurisdictional issues

As the basic premise of this technology is decentralization (which means the transaction may be approved by people from

different parts of the world and the servers are likely to spread throughout the world), determining the appropriate

jurisdiction in case of dispute, would pose a challenge as the principles of contract and title vary across jurisdictions.

Complying with the legal requirements of every jurisdiction where servers are located or transactions are executed seems to

be unlikely.

2. Data Privacy

Using of blockchain will have an implication on data privacy, particularly personal data as the existing law in India, which is

Information Technology Act, 2000 and rules made thereunder, only have the legal framework relating to collection and

usage of personal data by a ‘body corporate’. Considering that data will be decentralized while using blockchain technology,

there would be no body corporate having control of such data. In the event of breach in the usage of personal data there

may be no protection available under law for the participant. Further, considering the nature of blockchain technology, any

amendments in the Information Technology Act, 2000 may not be successfully able to provide adequate remedies unless

there is a global law or policy regulating the blockchain technology.

4 https://www.icicibank.com/aboutus/article.page?identifier=news-icici-bank-executes-indias-first-banking-transactions-on-blockchain-in-

partnership-with-emirates-nbd-20161210162515562 5 https://www.icicibank.com/aboutus/article.page?identifier=news-icici-bank-onboards-over-250-corporates-on-its-blockchain-platform-for-trade-

finance-20181704141936142 6 http://www.bankchaintech.com/index.php 7 https://qz.com/1325423/indias-andhra-state-is-using-blockchain-to-build-capital-amaravati/ 8 https://www.rockwellautomation.com/global/news/blog/detail.page?pagetitle=Blockchain-Can-Transform-Your-Supply-Chain-%7C-

Blog&content_type=blog&docid=605e9b7dcd4d7836bfbbe2cfe8d7618a

Page 4: As this presentation uses Newsletter - Clasis La Law Newsletter-August Edition.pdf · As this presentation uses ‘special’ fonts the presentation should always ... blockchain technology

As this presentation uses

‘special’ fonts the

presentation should always

be saved as a PDF before

circulating externally.

To save as a PDF…

>Office Button

>Save As

>PDF or XPS

(Save as PDF)

Failure to do this will result

in PowerPoint replacing the

fonts and the presentation

will not display correctly.

To check you have the

latest version of this

template go to the

Marketing Tool Kit

http://oursharedtoolkit/des

ign/Pages/DIY-

PowerPoint-

Templates.aspx

A number of pre-designed

layouts have been

created for this

presentation. To choose

the right layout go to

>Home

>New Slide

Choose the most

appropriate layout for

your slide content.

To change the grey panel to

another colour.

>Right Click over slide

>Format Background

>Fill

>Solid Fill

>Colour

Select an alternative colour from

the top line of the colour palette

(do not select white).

>Close

To format the body text, simply

highlight the specific line(s) of

text and click ‘tab’ or press

‘increase/decrease list level’

button. If you continue to click the

‘Tab’ button and the text turns

red you have tabbed too far and

should use the ‘decrease level’

button to return to compliant text.

Do not use the bullet point button

to format your text.

For printed documents avoid text

being smaller than 11pt. For

Presentations avoid text being

smaller than 14pt.

4

3. Smart contracts

Smart contracts are blockchain based contracts which are executed by computer network that uses consensus protocols

to agree upon the sequence of actions resulting from the contractor’s code. With a shared database running a blockchain

protocol, smart contracts auto-execute and all parties validate the outcome instantly and without need of a third party

intermediary9.

The moot question to consider in relation to smart contracts is whether it would be able to capture elements of a

traditional contract which are drafted on a case-to-case basis considering the requirements of the parties and of relevant

jurisdiction. Further, specifically in case of public blockchains, how will the governing law and dispute resolution

mechanism be determined? In the absence of a process for smart contract adjudication, it is recommended that the

parties also retain a natural language version of the contract supplementing the digital contract and having an overriding

effect until the legal system provides some clarity on smart contract adjudication.

4. Litigation and dispute resolution

As discussed above, since determining the jurisdiction and dispute resolution mechanism would be challenging, it would

be difficult to resolve a dispute. Further, considering that transactions executed on blockchain are immutable and

irreversible, it would be challenging for courts to grant a remedy in case of any participant of blockchain conducting a

fraudulent transaction as such fraudulent transactions could not be reversed. It would also be difficult for a court to track

the participant at fault.

5. Liability

The manner in which blockchain technology operates, the allocation and attribution of risk and liability in relation to a

malfunctioning blockchain (particularly public blockchain) may not be established easily as it is difficult to control and stop

its functioning. In case of a private blockchain, the lack of control on the functioning of the platform does not apply but

whether or not this would be sufficient to trigger a liability of the company managing the platform has not yet been

tested.10

Indian outlook on blockchains

The blockchain is an emerging technology and India, being a technology hub, is aggressively exploring business

opportunities in the blockchain network. However, in the absence of any legal framework governing blockchains in India and

considering the conservative approach adopted by Indian regulators, resident Indians are incorporating companies in

countries like Singapore, Estonia, the UK, Switzerland and Japan which realise the importance and want to take a lead in the

blockchain ecosystem.11

Conclusion

Blockchain has the potential to become part of businesses and a radical change is expected in in the coming years due to

use of this technology. However, as this technology is complex, one should consider the risks and legal challenges before

realizing the potential benefits of blockchain. Further, the Indian regulators should also adopt a practical and liberal approach

and make required changes in law from time to time to promote the blockchain ecosystem.

9 http://www.idrbt.ac.in/assets/publications/Best%20Practices/BCT.pdf 10 https://www.dlapiper.com/en/denmark/insights/publications/2017/06/blockchain-background-challenges-legal-issues/ 11https://factordaily.com/india-blockchain-ico-companies-migrate-estonia/

For any clarification or further information, please contact

Vikram Bhargava Lovejeet Singh

Partner Senior Associate

E: [email protected] E: [email protected]

Page 5: As this presentation uses Newsletter - Clasis La Law Newsletter-August Edition.pdf · As this presentation uses ‘special’ fonts the presentation should always ... blockchain technology

As this presentation uses

‘special’ fonts the

presentation should always

be saved as a PDF before

circulating externally.

To save as a PDF…

>Office Button

>Save As

>PDF or XPS

(Save as PDF)

Failure to do this will result

in PowerPoint replacing the

fonts and the presentation

will not display correctly.

To check you have the

latest version of this

template go to the

Marketing Tool Kit

http://oursharedtoolkit/des

ign/Pages/DIY-

PowerPoint-

Templates.aspx

A number of pre-designed

layouts have been

created for this

presentation. To choose

the right layout go to

>Home

>New Slide

Choose the most

appropriate layout for

your slide content.

To change the grey panel to

another colour.

>Right Click over slide

>Format Background

>Fill

>Solid Fill

>Colour

Select an alternative colour from

the top line of the colour palette

(do not select white).

>Close

To format the body text, simply

highlight the specific line(s) of

text and click ‘tab’ or press

‘increase/decrease list level’

button. If you continue to click the

‘Tab’ button and the text turns

red you have tabbed too far and

should use the ‘decrease level’

button to return to compliant text.

Do not use the bullet point button

to format your text.

For printed documents avoid text

being smaller than 11pt. For

Presentations avoid text being

smaller than 14pt.

5

Legal Alerts

Advocates Can File Petition On Behalf Of The Financial Creditors Before The National Company Law Tribunal

The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India (“Supreme Court”) in its

recent judgment dated August 3, 2018 passed in Sunrise 14

A/S Denmark vs Ravi Mahajan C.A. No. 21794 – 21795 of

2017 has clarified that Advocates can file Petition under

section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016

(“Insolvency Code”) on behalf of the Financial Creditor.

The brief facts of the case are that Danish Company (Sunrise

14 A/S Denmark) (“Financial Creditor”) filed a Petition under

Section 7 of the Insolvency Code before the National

Company Law Tribunal, Chandigarh (“Adjudicating

Authority”) against one Ravi Mahajan (“Corporate Debtor”).

The Adjudicating Authority, vide its order dated July 28,

2017, admitted the petition after considering the ample

evidence of default in the debt by the Corporate Debtor.

An appeal was preferred before the National Company Law

Appellate Tribunal (“NCLAT”) against the aforementioned

order passed by the Adjudication Authority. By its order

dated December 06, 2017, the NCLAT set aside the order on

the following grounds that;

a) The mandatory requirement of Section 7(3) (a) of the

Insolvency Code, which includes the filling up of a

statutory form not having been done, and

b) The Petition was made by an advocate and not by the

party in person. Therefore, the appeal was allowed.

Section 7 (3) (a) of the Insolvency Code states that;

(3) The financial creditor shall, along with the application

furnish-

a) record of the default recorded with the information utility

or such other record or evidence of default as may be

specified;

b) the name of the resolution professional proposed to act

as an interim resolution professional; and

c) any other information as may be specified by the

Board……..”

The Financial Creditor preferred an appeal before the

Supreme Court against the order passed by the NCLAT. The

Supreme Court observed that in the case of Macquarie

Bank Limited vs. Shilpi Cable Technologies Limited

(2018) 2 SCC 674, it has been held that in the case of

Operational Creditors, the petition filed by a foreign company

need not observe such requirements of a statute which are

impossible of compliance, namely, of getting a certificate

from Indian financial institutions evidencing default in

repayment of debt and that the Petition/Notice filed by an

advocate would be maintainable. In conclusion, the Supreme

Court held that the judgment of Macquarie Bank (supra) is

also applicable to the case of Financial Creditors and the

petition filed by an advocate on behalf of Financial Creditor

would be maintainable. Accordingly, the Supreme Court

allowed the appeals and set aside the judgment passed by

the NCLAT and restored the judgment passed by the

Adjudicating Authority.

Page 6: As this presentation uses Newsletter - Clasis La Law Newsletter-August Edition.pdf · As this presentation uses ‘special’ fonts the presentation should always ... blockchain technology

As this presentation uses

‘special’ fonts the

presentation should always

be saved as a PDF before

circulating externally.

To save as a PDF…

>Office Button

>Save As

>PDF or XPS

(Save as PDF)

Failure to do this will result

in PowerPoint replacing the

fonts and the presentation

will not display correctly.

To check you have the

latest version of this

template go to the

Marketing Tool Kit

http://oursharedtoolkit/des

ign/Pages/DIY-

PowerPoint-

Templates.aspx

A number of pre-designed

layouts have been

created for this

presentation. To choose

the right layout go to

>Home

>New Slide

Choose the most

appropriate layout for

your slide content.

To change the grey panel to

another colour.

>Right Click over slide

>Format Background

>Fill

>Solid Fill

>Colour

Select an alternative colour from

the top line of the colour palette

(do not select white).

>Close

To format the body text, simply

highlight the specific line(s) of

text and click ‘tab’ or press

‘increase/decrease list level’

button. If you continue to click the

‘Tab’ button and the text turns

red you have tabbed too far and

should use the ‘decrease level’

button to return to compliant text.

Do not use the bullet point button

to format your text.

For printed documents avoid text

being smaller than 11pt. For

Presentations avoid text being

smaller than 14pt.

6

Corporate and Commercial

The Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014

On July 31, 2018, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs issued a

notification amending the Companies (Accounts) Rules,

2014. The amendments include:

a) In rule 8 (matters to be included in the Board Report)

these three rules have be added – (i) a disclosure as to

whether maintenance of cost records as specified by the

Central Government under section 148(1) of the

Companies Act, 2013 is required by the company and

accordingly such accounts and records are made and

maintained ; (ii) a statement that the company has

complied with the provisions relating to the constitution

of the Internal Complaints Committee under the Sexual

Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention,

Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013; (iii) these rules

mentioned in rule 8 shall not apply to a one person

company.

b) A new rule 8A is inserted to specify the Matters to be

included in Board's Report for One Person Company and

Small Company. In terms of this rule, the Board's Report

of One Person Company and Small Company shall be

prepared based on the stand alone financial statement of

the company, which shall be in abridged form and contain

the following:

• the web address , if any, where annual return referred

to in section 92(3) has been placed;

• number of meetings of the Board;

• Directors' Responsibility Statement as referred to in

section 134(5);

• details in respect of frauds reported by auditors under

143(12) other than those which are reportable to the

Central Government;

• explanations or comments by the Board on every

qualification, reservation or adverse remark or

disclaimer made by the auditor in his report;

• the state of the company’s affairs;

• the financial summary or highlights;

• material changes from the date of closure of the

financial year in the nature of business and their effect

on the financial position of the company;

• the details of directors who were appointed or have

resigned during the year;

• the details or significant and material orders passed by

the regulators or courts or tribunals impacting the going

concern status and company's operations in future.

c) Further the Report of the Board shall contain the

particulars of contracts or arrangements with related parties

referred to in section 188(1) in the Form AOC-2.

The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018

On August 6, 2018, the Indian Parliament passed the

Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018 (“Bill”) and approved a

legislation further to amend the Indian Penal Code, 1860

(“IPC”) Indian Evidence Act, 1872, the Code of Criminal

Procedure, 1973 and the Protection of Children from Sexual

Offences Act, 2012. The highlights of the Bill are as follows:

a) The Bill amends the IPC, 1860 to increase the minimum

punishment for rape of women from seven years to ten

years.

b) Rape and gang rape of girls below the age of twelve years

will carry minimum imprisonment of twenty years and is

extendable to life imprisonment or death.

c) Rape of girls below the age of sixteen years is punishable

with imprisonment of twenty years or life imprisonment.

d) The Bill amends the IPC, 1860 to increase the punishment

for rape of girls. However, punishment for rape of boys has

remained unchanged. This has resulted in greater difference

in the quantum of punishment for rape of minor boys and

girls.

e) The Bill imposes death penalty for rape of girls below the

age of twelve years. There are differing views on death

penalty for rape. Some argue that death penalty has a

deterrence effect on the crime and therefore helps prevent it.

Others argue that death penalty would be disproportionate

punishment for rape.

Amendment to SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure

Requirements) Regulations, 2015 mandating transfer of

securities in dematerialized form with a depository

On August 10, 2018, SEBI amended Regulation 40 of SEBI

(Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements)

Regulations, 2015 wherein it was intimated that transfer of

securities shall not be processed unless the securities are

held in the dematerialized form with a depository with effect

from December 5, 2018.

Pursuant to the amendment, several initiatives were taken by

SEBI to spread awareness about the proposed change. In

view of the applicability of the amendment, the following is

hereby clarified:

a) The amendment does not prohibit the investor from

holding the shares in physical form, investor has the option of

holding shares in physical form even after December 5,

2018.

b) The amendment is not applicable for transmission (i.e.

transfer of title of shares by way of inheritance / succession)

and transposition (i.e. re arrangement / interchanging of the

order of name of shareholders) cases.

c) Any investor who is desirous of transferring shares (which

are held in physical form) after December 5, 2018 can do so

only after the shares are dematerialized.

Page 7: As this presentation uses Newsletter - Clasis La Law Newsletter-August Edition.pdf · As this presentation uses ‘special’ fonts the presentation should always ... blockchain technology

As this presentation uses

‘special’ fonts the

presentation should always

be saved as a PDF before

circulating externally.

To save as a PDF…

>Office Button

>Save As

>PDF or XPS

(Save as PDF)

Failure to do this will result

in PowerPoint replacing the

fonts and the presentation

will not display correctly.

To check you have the

latest version of this

template go to the

Marketing Tool Kit

http://oursharedtoolkit/des

ign/Pages/DIY-

PowerPoint-

Templates.aspx

A number of pre-designed

layouts have been

created for this

presentation. To choose

the right layout go to

>Home

>New Slide

Choose the most

appropriate layout for

your slide content.

To change the grey panel to

another colour.

>Right Click over slide

>Format Background

>Fill

>Solid Fill

>Colour

Select an alternative colour from

the top line of the colour palette

(do not select white).

>Close

To format the body text, simply

highlight the specific line(s) of

text and click ‘tab’ or press

‘increase/decrease list level’

button. If you continue to click the

‘Tab’ button and the text turns

red you have tabbed too far and

should use the ‘decrease level’

button to return to compliant text.

Do not use the bullet point button

to format your text.

For printed documents avoid text

being smaller than 11pt. For

Presentations avoid text being

smaller than 14pt.

7

Two identical trademarks can coexist in same class

dealing in different kind of goods

Supreme Court passed an order dated 26th July, 2018 in a

landmark case allowing two identical trade marks to coexist in

the same class. M/s. Nandhini Deluxe (the “Appellant”)

aggrieved with the decisions of Intellectual Property Appellate

Board (“IPAB”) and High Court for refusing to allow the

Appellant to use the mark “Nandhini” under classe 29 of the

Trade Marks Rules, 2009, have filed this appeal against

Karnataka Co-operative Milk Producers Federation Limited

(the “Respondent”). The Respondent’s claim was that the

mark “Nandini” belongs to it by way of its long and sustained

use and has acquired a distinctive character and the public

associate “Nandini” only with the Respondent. This contention

led the Respondent to file an appeal in the IPAB against the

order of the Deputy Registrar who granted registration of

“Nandhini” in favour of the Appellant by rejecting the opposition

filed by the Respondent. The IPAB allowed the appeal and the

writ petition filed by the Appellant in the High Court was

dismissed thereby confirming the order of the IPAB.

The Appellant’s contention was that it had honestly conceived

and adopted the mark in Kannada, with artistic work design

and get up, for running an Andhra style restaurant. It has six

branches all over Bangalore and it has been in the business by

using the trademark “Nandhini” since 1989. The stylised mark

“Nandhini” is different from the stylised mark “Nandini” adopted

by the Respondent and therefore the Appellant stated that

there was no question of any confusion arising in the mind of

people as regards the usage of the trademark “Nandhini” by

the Appellant. Further, the Appellant also claimed that the

customers of both the trademarks are entirely different. The

Appellant submitted that as per Section 9 of the Trademarks

Act, 1999 (“Act”), generic words cannot be registered as a

trademark unless they have acquired distinctiveness and are

associated with the person using the said mark. The Appellant

stated that its trademark “Nandhini” is a distinctive mark. The

Appellant also stated that the word “Nandhini” is not an

invented word and the word “Nandhini” represents the name of

a goddess and a cow in Hindu mythology. It was observed by

the Court that the mark “Nandini” adopted by the Respondent

is for dairy product such as milk and milk products, however,

the goods for which the registration was sought by the

Appellant was different even though the goods under both the

marks fall in the same class i.e. class 29. As the Respondent’s

goods are of milk and milk products which fall in class 29, the

Appellant agreed to delete the words milk and milk products

from the specification of goods in its application as per the

directions of the Deputy Registrar and had filed necessary

applications in this regard. The Court examined the facts of the

case including various case laws and relied on the principle

applied in National Sewing Thread Co. Limited Vs. James

Chadwick and Bros which states as follows: The principles of

law applicable to such cases are well settled. The burden of

proving that the trademark which a person seeks to register is

not likely to deceive or to cause confusion is upon the

applicant. It is for him to satisfy the Registrar that his trademark

does not fall within the prohibition of Section 8 and therefore it

should be registered. Moreover, in deciding whether a

particular trademark is likely to deceive or cause confusion that

duty is not discharged by arriving at the result by merely

comparing it with the trademark which is already registered

and whose proprietor is offering opposition to the registration of

the mark. The real question to decide in such cases is to see

as to how a purchaser, who must be looked upon as an

average man of ordinary intelligence, would react to a

particular trademark, what association would he form by

looking at the trademark, and in what respect he would

connect the trademark with the goods which he would be

purchasing. While applying the aforesaid principle to the

present case, the Court observed that the mark “Nandini” and

“Nandhini” are not only different in visual appearance but also

relate to different products. The court also observed that it is

difficult to imagine that an average man of ordinary intelligence

would associate the goods of the Appellant as that of the

Respondent due to the different trade channels of both the

parties. The court also discussed Section 12 of the Act, which

prohibits registration of identical or similar trademarks in

respect of goods which are similar to the trademark already

registered. The court noted that under Section 12(3) of the Act,

honest concurrent use and/or in other special circumstances,

same and deceptively similar trademarks may be permitted to

be registered by the Registrar subject to such conditions as the

Registrar may deem fit. The Court while discussing various

case laws noted that the proprietor of a trademark cannot

enjoy monopoly over the entire class of goods when he is not

using the said trademark in respect of certain goods falling

under the same class. The Court held that the Appellant has

not adopted the trademark to take unfair advantage of the

trademark of the Respondent, and the use of the mark

“Nandhini” by the Appellant in respect of different goods would

not be detrimental to the Respondent. The court also noted

that the Appellant has adopted the trademark in respect of its

restaurant business in the year 1989, soon after the

Respondent started using the mark “Nandini”. The Respondent

could not produce any evidence to substantiate the claim that

by the year 1989 it had acquired distinctiveness in respect of

its trademark. The IPAB and High Court orders were set aside

by the Court and the Court restored the order of the Deputy

Registrar granting registration in favour of the Appellant subject

to deletion of milk and milk products from the description of the

goods pertaining to the mark “Nandhini”.

IP Updates

Page 8: As this presentation uses Newsletter - Clasis La Law Newsletter-August Edition.pdf · As this presentation uses ‘special’ fonts the presentation should always ... blockchain technology

As this presentation uses

‘special’ fonts the

presentation should always

be saved as a PDF before

circulating externally.

To save as a PDF…

>Office Button

>Save As

>PDF or XPS

(Save as PDF)

Failure to do this will result

in PowerPoint replacing the

fonts and the presentation

will not display correctly.

To check you have the

latest version of this

template go to the

Marketing Tool Kit

http://oursharedtoolkit/des

ign/Pages/DIY-

PowerPoint-

Templates.aspx

A number of pre-designed

layouts have been

created for this

presentation. To choose

the right layout go to

>Home

>New Slide

Choose the most

appropriate layout for

your slide content.

To change the grey panel to

another colour.

>Right Click over slide

>Format Background

>Fill

>Solid Fill

>Colour

Select an alternative colour from

the top line of the colour palette

(do not select white).

>Close

To format the body text, simply

highlight the specific line(s) of

text and click ‘tab’ or press

‘increase/decrease list level’

button. If you continue to click the

‘Tab’ button and the text turns

red you have tabbed too far and

should use the ‘decrease level’

button to return to compliant text.

Do not use the bullet point button

to format your text.

For printed documents avoid text

being smaller than 11pt. For

Presentations avoid text being

smaller than 14pt.

8

Christian Louboutin SAS (the “Plaintiff”) was successful in

obtaining an order in its favour against the infringers Ashish

Bansal & Anr. (the “Defendant”) for violating its world famous

‘Red Sole’ trademark by the Defendant. The Plaintiff has

presence in more than 60 countries in the world including in

India. It is also the registered proprietor of the “Red Sole”

trademark in India. The Plaintiff has used a specific tone of

red colour to the outsole of the shoe which has made it

unique and it has become the signature of the Plaintiff. The

Indian consumers have access to the website of the Plaintiff

which has made the Indian customers aware of the various

luxury products offered by the Plaintiff including the shoes

and the “RED SOLE” trademark. The Plaintiff found that the

Defendant has been dealing in counterfeit shoes bearing

“Red Sole” trade mark of the Plaintiff. In the court, the

Plaintiff relied on the worldwide reputation of its well-known

brand “Red Sole” including in India and submitted various

documents, such as, print outs of official website, print outs

of international magazines, print outs of the orders passed in

its favour etc. to substantiate its claim. The Plaintiff

contended that consumers at large can identify a shoe with

red colour sole only with the Plaintiff which is well known for

its high end luxury products. The Court relied upon the case

of Kaviraj Pandit Durga Dutt Sharma vs. Navarattana

Pharmaceutical Lab which stated that if a defendant’s mark

is closely, visually, phonetically similar, then no further proof

is necessary. The Court noted that the essential features of

rival marks are to be considered in determining infringement.

The Court held that the Plaintiff has proved that the

Defendant’s adoption and using of the counterfeit registered

trademark, trade dress, deceptively similar domain name

amounts to infringement of the Plaintiff’s domain name,

trademark trade dress, etc and amounts to passing off

without the authorisation of the Plaintiff and therefore the

Plaintiff is entitled to relief. The Delhi High Court vide its

order dated 31st July, 2018 disposed the suit by passing a

decree in favour of the Plaintiff and against the Defendants

with costs. The Delhi High Court in addition to granting

compensatory damages also awarded punitive damages due

to the loss to goodwill and reputation suffered by the Plaintiff

considering the mala fide conduct of the Defendants.

Relief for Louboutin against trademark infringement

and passing off

Page 9: As this presentation uses Newsletter - Clasis La Law Newsletter-August Edition.pdf · As this presentation uses ‘special’ fonts the presentation should always ... blockchain technology

As this presentation uses

‘special’ fonts the

presentation should always

be saved as a PDF before

circulating externally.

To save as a PDF…

>Office Button

>Save As

>PDF or XPS

(Save as PDF)

Failure to do this will result

in PowerPoint replacing the

fonts and the presentation

will not display correctly.

To check you have the

latest version of this

template go to the

Marketing Tool Kit

http://oursharedtoolkit/des

ign/Pages/DIY-

PowerPoint-

Templates.aspx

A number of pre-designed

layouts have been

created for this

presentation. To choose

the right layout go to

>Home

>New Slide

Choose the most

appropriate layout for

your slide content.

To change the grey panel to

another colour.

>Right Click over slide

>Format Background

>Fill

>Solid Fill

>Colour

Select an alternative colour from

the top line of the colour palette

(do not select white).

>Close

To format the body text, simply

highlight the specific line(s) of

text and click ‘tab’ or press

‘increase/decrease list level’

button. If you continue to click the

‘Tab’ button and the text turns

red you have tabbed too far and

should use the ‘decrease level’

button to return to compliant text.

Do not use the bullet point button

to format your text.

For printed documents avoid text

being smaller than 11pt. For

Presentations avoid text being

smaller than 14pt.

9

Recent Events

Conference on Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code: Learnings, Challenges and Way Forward

18th August 2018, Mumbai

Aniketh Nair, Senior Associate,Clasis Law attended a conference organized by Confederation of Indian Industry on

Learnings, Challenges and Way Forward of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code at Hotel Taj Mahal, Colaba on August

18, 2018. The conference focused on the change of the business landscape in current times, the effects of the

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2018, the recommendations of the Committee on bad

loans resolution, lending standards, allocation of capital, valuation, time management and global experiences; litigation

in latest cases and learnings from successful cases under IBC.

Page 10: As this presentation uses Newsletter - Clasis La Law Newsletter-August Edition.pdf · As this presentation uses ‘special’ fonts the presentation should always ... blockchain technology

As this presentation uses

‘special’ fonts the

presentation should always

be saved as a PDF before

circulating externally.

To save as a PDF…

>Office Button

>Save As

>PDF or XPS

(Save as PDF)

Failure to do this will result

in PowerPoint replacing the

fonts and the presentation

will not display correctly.

To check you have the

latest version of this

template go to the

Marketing Tool Kit

http://oursharedtoolkit/des

ign/Pages/DIY-

PowerPoint-

Templates.aspx

A number of pre-designed

layouts have been

created for this

presentation. To choose

the right layout go to

>Home

>New Slide

Choose the most

appropriate layout for

your slide content.

To format the body text, simply

highlight the specific line(s) of

text and click ‘tab’ or press

‘increase/decrease list level’

button. If you continue to click the

‘Tab’ button and the text turns

red you have tabbed too far and

should use the ‘decrease level’

button to return to compliant text.

Do not use the bullet point button

to format your text.

For printed documents avoid text

being smaller than 11pt. For

Presentations avoid text being

smaller than 14pt.

10

World Photography Day

Offbeat

August 19 marks the World Photography Day to celebrate the passion of photography worldwide since 2010. Photography is an amazing art of holding on to something forever. A photograph is a way to feel the emotion and context of that exact moment. Here we bring you some interesting known facts for you to know if you also love to take photographs.

The date celebrates August 19, 1839, when the French government bought

the patent for the daguerreotype and released it “free to the world”.

Daguerreotype, invented in 1837 by Louis Jacques

Mandé Daguerre, was the first practical photographic

process

The earliest known permanent photographic image, however, was created by a more

complex process called heliography invented by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1826.

The minimum exposure time required to create a photograph was approximately eight hours

The world's first color picture was a photograph of a tartan ribbon produced by photographing it

three times through red, blue, and yellow filters, then recombining the images into one color

composite.

The first ever photo of the Moon was taken in 1851 and the first photo of its dark side was

taken in 1959

Astronomer Sir John Herschel made the earliest known use

of the word ‘photograph’ in 1839

The earliest known use of the abbreviation ‘photo’ was

by Queen Victoria in a letter in 1860

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had a darkroom installed

at Windsor Castle to indulge their passion for

photography.

Thanks to digital cameras on mobile phones,

more than 350 billion photos are now taken

worldwide every year.

Around 250 billion photographs have been uploaded to Facebook.

And, this is how photography was born……

Page 11: As this presentation uses Newsletter - Clasis La Law Newsletter-August Edition.pdf · As this presentation uses ‘special’ fonts the presentation should always ... blockchain technology

As this presentation uses

‘special’ fonts the

presentation should always

be saved as a PDF before

circulating externally.

To save as a PDF…

>Office Button

>Save As

>PDF or XPS

(Save as PDF)

Failure to do this will result

in PowerPoint replacing the

fonts and the presentation

will not display correctly.

To check you have the

latest version of this

template go to the

Marketing Tool Kit

http://oursharedtoolkit/des

ign/Pages/DIY-

PowerPoint-

Templates.aspx

A number of pre-designed

layouts have been

created for this

presentation. To choose

the right layout go to

>Home

>New Slide

Choose the most

appropriate layout for

your slide content.

New Delhi | Mumbai

New Delhi

14th Floor

Dr. Gopal Das Bhawan

28, Barakhamba Road

New Delhi 110 001

T: +91 11 4213 0000

F: +91 11 4213 0099

Mumbai

1st Floor, Bajaj Bhawan

226, Nariman Point

Mumbai 400 021

T: +91 22 49100000

F: +91 22 49100099

[email protected]

www.clasislaw.com

To change the grey background

to another colour.

>Right Click over slide

>Format Background

>Fill

>Solid Fill

>Colour

Select an alternative colour from

the top line of the colour palette

(do not select white).

>Close

This publication is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all

developments in the law and practice, or to cover all aspects of those referred

to herein. Readers should take legal advice before applying the information

contained in this publication to specific issues or transactions.