factual and procedural background New Bharat Overseas has been processing and exporting rice since 1978 and holds long standing trademarks and copyright for its Taj Mahal brand which features an artistic drawing of the Taj Mahal on its packaging. In 2019 Bhagwati Lacto Vegetarian Exports obtained copyright registration for its own artistic packaging label named Garimaa Gold which also prominently shows the Taj Mahal along with rice. New Bharat had earlier filed police complaints and FIRs against Bhagwati alleging that the Garimaa Gold packaging copied its Taj Mahal design. New Bharat only learnt about the copyright registration during related court proceedings and then filed a rectification petition in the Delhi High Court asking to cancel the registration because Bhagwati had not given it any notice before obtaining the copyright.
dispute in question The main dispute was whether Bhagwati’s copyright registration for the Garimaa Gold artistic work should be cancelled because Bhagwati failed to send mandatory notice to New Bharat who already had a clear interest and ongoing dispute over the very same type of Taj Mahal packaging design.
reasoning and decision of court The court examined the Copyright Rules which require anyone applying for copyright to give notice to every person who claims an interest in the work or disputes the applicant’s rights. The judge found that New Bharat was clearly such a person because of its earlier trademarks FIRs and complaints against Bhagwati over the identical artistic element. Bhagwati had not disclosed these disputes while applying for copyright and had not sent any notice to New Bharat. This breach of the mandatory notice rule made the registration procedurally invalid. The court therefore cancelled the Garimaa Gold copyright registration revived Bhagwati’s original application and gave New Bharat four weeks to file its objections so the Registrar can decide the matter afresh on merits within three months while leaving all other issues open for future hearing.
one important legal point settled in this case When someone applies for copyright registration they must give prior notice to any person who has a genuine claim or dispute over the artistic work otherwise the registration is procedurally invalid and can be cancelled by the court.
New Bharat Overseas Vs Bhagwati Lacto :08.09.2025, Case Number: C.O.(COMM.IPD-CR) 843/2022, Neutral Citation: Not Provided, Name of court and Judge: High Court of Delhi, Hon’ble Ms. Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora.
Disclaimer: Donot treat this as substitute for legal advise as it may contain subjective errors. Written By: Advocate Ajay Amitabh Suman, IP Adjutor [Patent and Trademark Attorney], High Court of Delhi
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