G.M.Modular Pvt. Ltd. Vs Registrar of Copyright:

The appeal was filed by M/S G.M. Modular Pvt Ltd (the Appellant) against the order of the Registrar of Copyright (the Respondent) rejecting the Appellant's application for registration of an artistic work titled "CASABLANCA PLATE WITH SWITCH ASSEMBLY-3M PLATE".

The Registrar of Copyright had rejected the application on the grounds that the work was an industrial design within the scope of Section 15 of the Copyright Act, 1957, and the required affidavit stating that the work was neither registered nor capable of being registered under the Designs Act and had not been reproduced more than 50 times was not submitted.

The Appellant contended that it was not afforded an opportunity of hearing before the impugned order was passed. The hearing notices dated 14th February, 2020 and 25th February, 2020 were inadvertently sent to the Appellant's junk email box, and due to this oversight, the Appellant could not attend the hearing scheduled on 25th February, 2020. Immediately upon realizing this, the Appellant sent an intimation on 3rd March, 2020 to the Respondent requesting a fresh hearing, but the Respondent proceeded to pass the impugned order on 6th March, 2020.

Respondent contended that sufficient opportunity was granted to the Appellant to attend the hearing, and the Appellant's absence was due to its own negligence. The impugned order examined the merits of the case and rejected the application as it did not fall within the scope of Section 15 of the Copyright Act. The Appellant's absence on the date of hearing was not the sole basis for the impugned order, as the Registrar had considered the affidavit on record and decided the application on its merits.

The Court noted that the Appellant had sent replies to the earlier examination letters, categorically placing on record its stance regarding the affidavit. However, it appears that at the stage of the final hearing, although the Registrar took note of the affidavit, no opportunity was given to the Appellant to make oral submissions prior to the decision on its application. The Appellant had immediately sent an intimation on 3rd March, 2020, admitting its mistake and requesting a fresh hearing. Accordingly the impugned order was set aside and matter was remanded back to Registrar of copyright for fresh adjudication after granting petition the opportunity of being heard. 

Case Citation: G.M.Modular Pvt. Ltd. Vs Registrar of Copyright: 10.02.2023/CA (COMM.IPD-CR) 7/2022: Delhi High Court:Sanjeev Narula. H.J.

Written By: Advocate Ajay Amitabh Suman

IP Adjutor [Patent and Trademark Attorney]

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