A Policy Workshop on Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, was organised jointly by Amity Institute of Public Policy and Amity Law School, Noida, in partnership with iPLeaders Delhi, on 15^th  of March, 2016 at Amity University Campus Noida.

The attendees to the workshop were law students and working professionals from social and public organizations and the Panel consisted of eminent  lawyers, chartered accountants, corporate executives and representatives of Social organizations, the workshop focused on highlighting the Amendments made to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act in May 2010 which came into force on The 1^st of May, 2011 and the Most Recent Amendments in December  2015, the Act came into existence in 1976.

First to address the workshop was Mrs. Siboni Sagar on the Legal Challenges to Act, she Started by providing  a brief background of the Act and the objectives with which it was initially enacted in 1976 which were to control foreign funding and foreign hospitality, ensuring consistency by not taking a corporate structure and for regulating personal life, next she raised the present day challenges faced by Non-Governmental Organizations after the Amendments in 2010 and 2015, notices for cancellation of registration under the Act for  Non-Compliance of Annual Return which is Mandatory for every Organization under Section 18 of the Act, further, she raised the legal challenges to Sections 9, 12 ,14 & 19 of the Act raising an important question that the money collected is for profit or not as the Act only governs Non Profit Non Governmental Organizations and not Corporates, she further supported the challenges raised by her by a case law “Shreya Singh Vs. Union of India AIR 2015 SC 1523”through which the main  questions raised by the court which were to be determined is that if the law being infringed is paramount or not and also the point that if state interest is same as political interest. As cutting access to resources is restricting their intentions which are not just financial but also subjective and objective raising the crucial question that is such measure aligned to State Interest or Political Interest.

The second panelist to address the workshop was Mr. Rajesh Malani a chartered accountant by Profession who briefed on the Latest Amendments made to the Act in 2015, with the main objective to make the procedures paper free as every process for filing of forms and returns were made Online, he stated the Act to be a Security Lock than a Financial one, he further highlighted the amendments which were related to Forms, Annual Returns , Financial Transactions and duties of banks and in regard to compliances to be made while changing more than 50% of Board members/ Office bearers,  as previously there were 10 Forms under the Act but now they have been merged into 6 Forms, in terms of Annual Return it is now mandatory to upload online every three months of every transaction of more than Rs. one crore  with details of donor also banks need to report every transaction exceeding one crore within 48 hours to Ministry of Home Affairs , also previously there were 56 purposes were stated under the Act now they have been categorised into 5 broad categories social, economical, cultural, religious and Educational, but the Most Controversial of all is the one which proposes to alter the definition of “Foreign Source” and make it Retrospective which will Shadow Political Parties Like BJP and Congress who have been held by Delhi High Court in 2014 for accepting foreign fund which is prohibited under Section 3(1)F of the Act.
Next to the podium was Dr. Jyotna M Singh who is presently associated with voluntary Action Network India (VANI) and addressed the workshop on Implications of the Act on Indian CSO and NGO, she started by raising the fact that out of 40000 of civil society organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations only 20000 are reporting under the Act,which shows that there is a unawareness among such organizations related to foreign funding, she further pointed out the new Arbitrary search and seizure powers against such organizations which makes the Act go against National Policy of Voluntary Sectors, next she brought up the issues faced by CSO’s and NGO’s after the Amendments which are some technical snags related to Filing of the Online Form FC4, a question about the Security of the online data submitted by the  organizations, and also the lack of clarity in communications between the organizations and Ministry of Home Affairs was addressed by her but she was also humble enough to point out that the Team in Ministry of Home Affairs controlling the aspects related to the Act were short on manpower and are working to resolve the technical snags on the online portal, she ended with suggesting certain recommendations which were, a check to be kept on MHA regarding the functionality of the Act, the Search & Seizure provisions under the Code of Criminal Procedure shall be repealed, the Re-registration policy should also be checked and there should be more transparency, regular capacity building and  better communications between the Government and the Organization.

The fourth panelist was Mr. Prakash Sinha, who spoke on  the Legal Remedies, he started by highlighting two different Act’s FEMA & FCRA, the former applies on For-Profit or Corporate Organization which is much  lenient in respect to compliances to be followed then the latter which is to govern Non-Profits and Non-Governmental Organizations is much stricter, he further highlighted issues of visible & invisible hospitality, consolidation for purpose of regulation which can be of difference of interest and ended on the note that procedural compliance can overlook national compliance.

To follow was Mr. Sachin Sinha who covered the aspects related to Maintenance & Audit of Accounts, he started by emphasising on the roles of Chartered Accountants which is very important as under Form FC4 the Financial Statements of the Organizations needs to be prepared which needs a C.A certificate certifying the organization, and it’s Purpose being fulfilled he also covered the various deadlines to be followed for filing the audits.

Next to the podium was Mr. Kabir Dixit putting a litigator’s perspective, he started by regarding the Act as a nascent law and pointing out that there are certain provisions which have nuances to it and even the authorities have a lesser understanding of how to deal with them and how they are to be implemented, further emphasizing on the Doctrine of Regidem Generous he stated the Act exceeds far more restriction than any other.

The last speaker was  Mr. Arunava Mukherjee who raised the point that not many of the groups approach the Court as many licences were cancelled but not everyone approached the courts, he also emphasised on the difference between FEMA & FCRA as some previous panellist also did on the far exceeding restrictions put on FCRA than FEMA as FCRA was implemented in the emergency era.

To Conclude the Panelist Mr. Ramanuj Mukherjee co-founder of iPLeaders came with the question regarding the future of NGO’s, to which the Panelist came to view that the Foreign donations are decreasing, and that organization are taking the route of For-Profit under FEMA which has fewer Compliances to be followed especially by Mr. Vivek Jain who said there is this trend nowadays to go for the For-Profit Structure, with this lunch was called, Post Lunch Session was more of an interactive session with first Mr. Ramanuj Mukherjee enlightening the audience about various initiatives to reform Legal Education in the country in the light of the project LawSikho, ClickLawyer and SuperLawyer club then  High Tea was arranged for the Attendees following which, Mr. Anjani Kumar hosted a problem-based interactive session with the Attendees to clear out any remaining doubts of the attendees.
The workshop provided a very detailed insight to the Act and the complications attached to it,and raised many important questions some being  is the Act really necessary? is there a security threat? Why isn’t corporates and For Profit Organizations dealt with such heavy compliance regarding foreign funding and the most important one challenging the latest proposed amendment to make the definition of  foreign source retrospective, which clearly shows how political interest is given importance over state interest which raises a question on the strictness implemented through the Act.

In this blogpost, Priyanka Kansara, Student, National Law University, Jodhpur, writes about Government Procurement Agreement, legal rules and regulations and statutes and the pros and cons of Government Procurement Agreement.

 Introduction

Government Procurement Agreement (hereinafter the GPA) is a voluntary kind of Plurilateral Agreement, the obligation of which depends on the discretion of the member State[1]. The term GPA is considered as a synonym to public procurement, which is cumulatively meant by purchasing by the government, public utilities and state-owned enterprises etc., for certain non-commercial purposes i.e. public purposes etc[2].  It is said that Government Procurement is of considerable economic significance at both the national and international level as well because it is accountable for a significant portion of national GDP[3]. GPA is the principle instrument in WTO, which is providing a systematic framework for the conduct of International trade in government procurement.

The key objectives for countries anticipating accession to the WTO GPA-

• To enhance export markets as provided by GPA member countries;
• To embrace reforms to the internal market and administration so as to benefit from good governance aspects of the WTO GPA.

The plus point of GPA is that it provides a transparent framework of laws, regulations, procedures and practices regarding government procurement. It also encourages transparency in members’ procurement agencies and commits each party to provide non-discriminatory, timely, transparent and effective procedures enabling suppliers to challenge alleged breaches of the Agreement[4].  The WTO GPA may provide a legal right to access member’s government procurement market; the meaning is that by joining the agreement, the member state gives the signal to rest of the world or rather member state of a willingness to give stability, predictability, and credibility to the system, which it has adopted. Moreover, it is also sad that the differential treatment in public procurement is given only to the member states, which have acceded to the GPA, not to all the member states. The government procurement law may not apply to procurements relating to the military, emergency, national security, international loan and mechanical & electronic products. It depends on the State as to which sector they limit their procurement, for example, Russia has limited it to military and national security issues; similarly, India prefers to focus on fair competition and transparency[5].

The GPA and India

Government Procurement can be understood in a simple way; if India and EU has signed a Foreign Trade Agreement (FTA) and in the same they had incorporated a GPA clause; the meaning of the clause is that India will have to allow companies from EU to bid for contracts for all government procurement; where tenders are floated to procure some goods or services, for example, medicines for public health facilities, companies based in EU would have right to bid for such contract[6]. It, sometimes, helpful for a country to grow their economy and market access; for India, it is a fifty-fifty situation. Though, India has not yet acceded to the GPA.

The GPA, as a part of Plurilateral Agreement within WTO system, provides a framework for the progressive liberalization of the market for procurement in goods, services and constructive services etc. The GPA can be helpful on enhancing Competition regime in India, strengthen the producers and Consumers relations; though the lack of transparency and accountability, which can create problems in the effective and efficient functioning of the country’s economy.

India, being a welfare State, has an additional duty to protect and promote the local producers and traders and balance the developmental agenda besides ensuring the pragmatism of procurement[7]. India’s position can be said unique as it has provided the platform for the Government procurement to the International trades though it is not providing any internationally binding commitment.

India became Observer State with regard to GPA in 2010 and as of now, it has not progressed from the same status. India’s GP scheme is being handled by various rules, such as, General Financial Rules of 2005, and executive instructions by some executive bodies i.e. Ministry of finance, Central Vigilance Commission.

It is said that prior to any commitment towards any International obligation for Government Procurement, what India needs is a thorough assessment of competitiveness in different sectors of Indian Economy and financial policy goals.  Moreover, there are various structural and practical procurement challenges faced by public authorities. These include inadequate control measures, inefficient spend management, poor data reporting and management and inadequate spend analytics. Further, developing nations are facing enormous pressure from foreign players for relaxation of policies and incentives.

In India, Government Procurement comprises of about 25 to 30 percent of its Gross Domestic Product. Government Procurement forms at least 50 percent of the expenditure budget of Central Government departments such as the defence, railways and telecom.[8]The Government Procurement machinery in India is plagued with issues ranging from lack of transparency and accountability to failure to safeguard rights of domestic companies and firms.[9] It is, therefore, imperative that the governmental ability to restrict competition through discrimination is not waived in the light of domestic interests.[10]

Legal rules & regulations and statutes

Article XXIV: 5 (a) of the Agreement provides that each acceding party shall ensure the conformity of its laws, regulations and administrative procedures and the rules, procedures and practices applied by the entities contained in its list annexed hereto, with the provisions of this Agreement[11]. Interestingly, most of the obligations are already mandated in the Indian Laws and Legislations. But, somewhere lack of single implementation system creates problems. It is considered that if India accedes to the GPA, then the problem can be resolved through the application of the uniform law for the same matter.

The general perspective with regard to the rules & regulations for GPA is that there is no uniform legal law exclusively for public procurement of goods/services in India[12]; though there are certain federal regulatory frameworks do exist for the same, such as, (i) the General Financial Rules (GFR), (ii) the Delegation of Financial Powers Rules (DFPR), (iii) the Manual on Policies and Procedures for Purchase of Goods issued by the Ministry of Finance (Manual), (iv) the Government order regarding price and purchase preference or other facilities to seller in the handloom sector, cottage, and small scale industries and to central public undertakings etc., (v) the Central Vigilance Commission to increase transparency and objectivity in public procurement[13].

Rule 137 of the GFR 2005 lays down the basic principles of the regime and provides that every authority delegated with the financial powers of procuring goods in the public interest shall have the responsibility and accountability to bring to bring efficiency and economy and transparency in matters relating to procurement and for fair and equitable treatment of suppliers and promotion of competition in public procurement[14]. Rule 11 of the Manual for Policy and Procedure for Purchase of Goods provides for tender’s right to question the purchaser on improper procedure or rejection of tender[15]. Most importantly, the assistance of judiciary can be taken by way of writ jurisdiction under Articles 32 and 226 of the Constitution in the case of violation of fundamental rights. Article 299 of the same provides that contracts are legally binding on the Government have to be in writing by officers specifically authorized to do so. India has also adopted Integrity Pact, which is a tool designed by Transparency International, to fight corruption in public procurement.

As per the UN Convention against Bribery and Corruption and the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transaction, corruption is one of the key issues in procurement. For that matter, India has initiated with the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 (amended in 2008), which penalizes bribery, extortion and abuse of offices by government servants, besides this, we have certain additional legislations such as Prevention of money Laundering Act 2002, Right to Information Act 2005, which also aims to reduce corruption by way of providing access to information for all, which ultimately leads to transparency and obligate the government officials to furnish the information asked by the public within the prescribed time. Public Interest Disclosure Bill 2010 is also tabled by Central Vigilance Commission to register complaint corrupt public officials[16]. There are certain other rules and legislations also, but the meaning is to say that we have an ample number of regulations to curb the corruption, though we are reluctant to access WTO GPA because this is not the only problem we have in the way towards procurement arena.

Whether we need the GPA: Pros and Cons

India should consider the following points while deciding on GP-

• India’s ability to compete with other member countries;
• The willingness of other countries to make their procurement, market available to Indian firms.

As per Keynesian macroeconomics orthodoxy, national economy can be expanded by way of reducing government expenditure on imports[17]; we can infer on important principle through this theory i.e. reduction in government expenditure by way of strengthening local market can be proved as a positive sign for the country’s economy. For that matter, our local market should be capable enough, and it might be helpful to eradicate unemployment, to promote & support SMEs, to promote specific industries, and to generate healthy competition in the market etc[18]. Moreover, it is analyzed that greater domestic competition on government procurement market and more and more transparency will improve the economic policy in the country[19]. On the other side of the argument, as India is one of the premier importers in the defence sector, GPA can hamper better opportunities for Indian defense sector because allowing foreign bidders would enhance the choices and competition among the bidders also and ultimately would cause benefit to our domestic economy only. In the same way, the Agreement can be proved beneficial for the Government’s Make in India Campaign, at the one go, it seems it would suppress the domestic traders by way of allowing foreign traders to enter into the Indian Market, but at the same time, it will also provide them the opportunities to market themselves in other member states for procuring contract. But again, in the trend of Regional Trade Agreements and Bilateral Trade Agreement, the attractiveness of the GPA is getting diminished as those agreements provide for the same benefits without many complexities and mandates.

There are certain internal weaknesses also i.e. as most of the procurement framework is being decentralized with full power provided to the ministries i.e. defense, finance, railway, etc. somewhere, lack of uniformity and different implementation at different level i.e. state level and central level lead to inconsistency in the procurement framework[20]. Moreover, India’s trade and industry is surrounded by several socio-economic aspects such as protection of minority, labourers, equal treatment etc. requires differentiated treatment, which bars the uniformity. Above all, India’s dispute settlement mechanism is not that strong as it is needed i.e. strong bid dispute settlement mechanism. If India wants to join the GPA, it would have to comply with all the WTO GPA rules and dispute settlement, which would be further requiring compliance with the transaction cost i.e. negotiation, implementation, and adjustment cost[21]. It would also have to comply with the transparency and legal review commitment. So, it is clear that an immediate or urgent move towards joining the WTO GPA would incur a massive cost, which is not feasible for our Indian economic perspective.

On the other hand, joining WTO GPA could open the new door towards lower cost & effective mechanism and provide greater opportunities to the Indian firms at the global procurement level[22]. It would also lead to harmonization and uniformization in the domestic procurement regulations[23].

It is a threat to the India domestic market that due to the inclusion of the developed countries in the domestic market through GPA, they would not be able to compete with the foreign suppliers due to their lack of stringent policy framework, financial strength & quality[24]. As we have earlier discussed, India’s trade and industrial policy is strongly attached with the socio-economic strata of the society; joining WTO GPA would mean that India might have to reduce the connectivity with those policies and would have to undermine the policy support towards the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Article 39 (b) and (c) of the Indian Constitution mandates directing policy towards ensuring that the ‘ownership and control of material resources are distributed as best to serve the common good’ and that the ‘operation of the economic system do not result in the concentration of wealth and mean of production to the common detriment’.[25] It is also one of the arguments as to why developing countries like India does not want to accede to the WTO GPA, though not that strong, that they would lose their bargaining power[26].

Conclusion

It is now clear that India, as a developing country, has sufficient laws to come par with the WTO GPA obligations, but what we don’t have is the uniformity and transparent mechanism. Besides, the uniformity and transparency, we also need certain effective anti-corruption measures to curb anti-competitive interruptions. And what we need, ultimately, is the willingness, which India does not have right now. India will have to decide sooner on this matter, but national security and operational safety should be properly looked into.

[1] Agreement on Government Procurement, Marrakesh Agreement establishing WTO, Annex 4, (April 15, 1994) (hereinafter the GPA).

[2] Sangeeta Khorana, Potential accession to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement: A case study in India, Journal of International Economic Law,10.1093/ijel/jg008, pp. 1-23, Oxford University Press, 2012, https://www.academia.edu/1929889/POTENTIAL_ACCESSION_TO_THE_WTO_GOVERNMENT_PROCUREMENT_AGREEMENT_A_CASE-STUDY_ON_INDIA, accessed on March 26, 2016.

[3]General Overview of WTO work on government procurement, https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/gproc_e/overview_e.htm, accessed on March 25, 2016.

[4]Article XX, Government Procurement Agreement (hereinafter the GPA), Annex 4, Marrakesh Treaty establishing WTO.

[5] Government Procurement Law and Policy, the Law Library of Congress, Global Legal Research Centre, March 2010, https://www.loc.gov/law/help/govt-procurement-law/government-procurement.pdf, accessed on March 26, 2016.

[6] Amit Sengupta, Do not trade away with our life, Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, Vol. 9, No. 2 (2012), http://www.issuesinmedicalethics.org/index.php/ijme/article/view/88/1047, accessed on March 26, 2016.

[7] Government Procurement in India: Domestic Regulations & Trade Prospects, at p. 26, CUTS International: 2012, https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/186988/GovtProcurementinIndiaDomesticRegulations-1.pdf, accessed on March 24, 2016.

[8]Pratyush Sinha, CVC, Enhancing value in public procurement, Conference on Competition, Public Policy and the Common Man, 16^th November 2009. Available at: http://www.cci.gov.in/menu/speechesbypratyushsinhacvc.pdf  retrieved on 26^th March 2016.

[9] Government Procurement in India:  Domestic Regulations and Trade Prospects (CUTS International, 2012), available at: http://www.cuts-citee.org/pdf/Government-Procurement-in-India_Domestic-Regulations-Trade-Prospects.pdf, retrieved 26^th March 2016.

[10] The contrary view is supported by proponents of the theory of Fair and Equitable Treatment in Government Procurement. CfRoland Klager, ‘Fair and Equitable Treatment’ in International Investment Law(Cambridge University Press, 2011) p. 188

[11] Supra Note 4; GPA, Article XXIV:5 (a).

[12] The WTO Regime on Government Procurement: Challenge and Reform, Sue Arrowsmith and Robert D. Anderson (eds.),  Cambridge University Press: 2011, https://books.google.co.in/books?id=XNtfY7zbvYQC&pg=PA117&lpg=PA117&dq=bilateral+trade+agreement+and+GPA+in+India+WTO&source=bl&ots=Nrm0HfxcAj&sig=AEXkOkt_R-U-TlTCronAOyAZnQg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjx_cH4497LAhVBTI4KHYvWD80Q6AEILTAD#v=onepage&q=bilateral%20trade%20agreement%20and%20GPA%20in%20India%20WTO&f=false, accessed on March 26, 2016.

[13] A. Kapur & V. Sudarsan, ‘India’ in Global Legal Group, International Comparative Legal Guide to Public Procurement 2010, Ch. 20.

[14] General Financial Rules 2005, Government of India: Ministry of Finance, July 1^st,2005, http://finmin.nic.in/the_ministry/dept_expenditure/gfrs/GFR2005.pdf, accessed on March 25, 2016.

[15] The Government of India: Manual for Policy and Procedure for Purchase of Goods 2006, http://www.finmin.nic.in/the_ministry/dept_expenditure/gfrs/mpproc4progod.pdf, accessed on March 26, 2016.

[16] Central Vigilance Commission, Government of India Resolution on Public Interest Disclosures and Protection of Informers, Office Order No. 33/5/2004.

[17] Simon Evenett, Multilateral Discipline and Government Procurement, (Bernard Hoekman, et al., eds.), Development, trade and WTO, (World Bank, Washington D.C.: 2002), p. 417.

[18] Simon Evenett & Bernard Hoekman, Government Procurement, market access, transparency and multilateral trade rules, (2004), World Bank Policy Working Paper, 3195, http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2004/04/19/000009486_20040419110851/Rendered/PDF/wps3195govtprocurement.pdf, accessed on March 26, 2016.

[19] Sangeeta Khorana & Sujitha Subramaniam, Potential Accession to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement: A Case Study in India, Journal of International Economic Law, 1-23, 10.1093/jiel/jgs008, https://www.academia.edu/1929889/POTENTIAL_ACCESSION_TO_THE_WTO_GOVERNMENT_PROCUREMENT_AGREEMENT_A_CASE-STUDY_ON_INDIA, accessed on March 25, 2016.

[20] WTO: India Trade Policy Review, WT/TRP/S/182/Rev. 1, 2007, at p. 56.

[21] Supra Note 15.

[22] Robert Anderson and William Kovacic, Competition Policy and International Trade Liberalization: Essential Complements to Ensure Good Performance in Public Procurement Market, 18 (2), Public Procurement Law Review, 67 (2009).

[23] Sue Arrowsmith, Towards a Multilateral Agreement on Transparency in Government Procurement, 47, International and Comparative Law 793 (1997).

[24] Vivek Srivastava, India’s Accession to the Government Procurement Agreement: Identifying Costs and Benefits (New Delhi: NCAER, 1990).

[25] A. Bhattacharjee, The Constitutional Dilemma: Liberal and Socialist Economy, The Hindu Business Line (New Delhi, 25^th January, 2002).

[26] Supra Note 9.

In this blogpost, Priyanka Kansara, Student, National Law University, Jodhpur, writes about the section 236 of the Companies Act 2013, loopholes in the provision, judicial interpretation and judicial intervention

General introduction

Section 236 (corresponding section 395, Companies Act 1956) talks about the purchase of minority shareholding by the majority shareholding; it says that if an acquirer has ninety percent or more of the issued equity share capital of the company, he can make an offer to the company by a notification to purchase the remaining shares[1]. Thoroughly reading of this provision gives an impression that there is nowhere mentioned any right of the minority shareholders as to whether they can be informed properly about the same; whether the interest of the dissenting shareholders shall be looked into etc.

Loopholes in the provisions

There are certain other loopholes in this provision, such as-

• Whether the minority shareholders are ‘bound to accept the offer’ e. it is mandatory or optional is not clear;
• Certain companies are facing problem in share valuation in the absence of prescribed valuation guidelines;
• It does not contemplate and address several other scenarios including drawing distinction between acquisition of shares in the same or different classes;
• The vagueness in the content of the Offer notice and lack of the provision for serving the notice to the minority shareholders;
• There are also no prescribed timelines within which the minority shareholders must tender their offers to the majority shareholders, unlike the UK Act. Simply put, it is doubtful whether the 2013 Act actually provides for compulsory minority squeeze-out mechanism[2];
• It is also unclear as to whether Indian judiciary would be able to protect the rights of minority shareholders, as in other countries such as the USA[3];
• The statutory provisions is needed to ensure a separate meeting of minority shareholders where the majority shareholder cannot participate;
• Even more strangely, this majority who approve the scheme need not be those whose shares are being boughtback; the law needs to be amended to specifically prohibit such buybacks without the consent of the shareholders.

Judicial interpretation and Judicial intervention

The Madhya Pradesh High Court in the case of In Re Indian National Press[4] has put forth the general principle i.e. the company has the right to determine the extent, the mode and incidence of the reduction of its capital. But the court, before it proceeds to confirm the reduction of capital, must see that the interests of the minority and that of the creditors are adequately protected and there is no unfairness to it, even though it is a domestic matter of the company. The power of confirming or refusing to confirm the special resolution of a company to reduce its capital is conferred on the court in order to enable it to protect the interest of person who dissented or even of persons who did not appear[5]. In another language, the Bombay High Court in the case of In Re Pmp Auto Industries[6] has held that the Court has the power to approve the scheme, which is in benefit of the Company. A single judge bench in Bombay High Court in the case of Sadvik Asia Ltd.[7], while relying on the judgement of British And American Trustee And Finance Corporation v. Couper[8], which held that ‘there may be no inequality in the treatment of a class of shareholders, although they are not all paid in the same coin, or in coin of the same denomination’; the same Court also relied on another English judgment of Westburn Sugar Refineries Ltd.[9], wherein the Court has emphasised that the Court has to safeguard the interest of the shareholders who may be in a minority[10]. On the other hand, the division bench in the case of Sadvik Asia Ltd. vs. Bharat Kumar Padamsi & Ors.[11] has reversed the verdict and stated that once it is established that non-promoter shareholders are being paid fair value of their shares, at no point in time it is even suggested by them that the amount that is being paid is anyway less and that even overwhelming majority of the non-promoters shareholders having voted in favour of the resolution shows that the court will not be justified in withholding its sanction to the resolution[12].

Furthermore, Hon’ble Bombay High Court in the case of Organon (India) Ltd.[13] has stated about the fair valuation that the court’s obligation is to be satisfied that the valuation was in accordance with the law, and it was carried out by an independent body. The present Act provides for the ‘independent body’, which is prescribed under Section 247 of the Act and known as registered valuer. In another judgment of Cadbury India Limited v. Samant Group & Ors.[14] the Bombay High Court has itself appointed a valuer for providing a fair value to the shareholder for its shares and approved a squeeze out through capital reduction at a price that was determined by an independent valuer appointed by the court itself[15].

For the question of forceful acquisition and fair & justifiable manner, Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Ramesh B. Desai v. Bipin Vadilal Mehta[16] held that a proper and fair scheme would have been one where all other shareholders, other than the promoters, who wanted to retain their shares, were excluded from the scheme so that their shares would not be subject to the forcible reduction of capital by compulsory acquisition[17].

In several cases, the Court has come with the idea that the interest of the minority shareholders will be looked into as a class[18]; whereas in another judgment, it is said that the Court can, in case of minority squeezing out, each shareholder’s interest shall be looked into and the scheme can be rejected if it is unfair for the interest of even one shareholder[19].

Author’s Remark

Therefore, through several case-laws of several jurisdictions, it is clear that the Company can pass any resolution if it is just and fair and in the interest of minority shareholders. Hon’ble Bombay High Court stated the same in the case of Elpro Interational Ltd., In re[20], held that the court has to look two matters namely: (i) that the transaction is not unfair, (ii) all creditors subject to reduction have either consented or been paid or secured[21].

In the said provision, as above-mentioned, there is nowhere mentioned that there should be a prescribed format of notice, or the serving of notice to each and every minority shareholders personally, whose shares are to be reduced/purchased; though it is mentioned under section 236 (2) as the majority shareholder shall offer to the minority shareholders…., or whether it is mandatory for them to accept the ‘offer’ by the majority shareholders i.e. promoter shareholders, or in case of grievances, the minority shareholder can go to the tribunal as it is prescribed in  section 235 (2) of the Act. Moreover, it is also not mentioned in this provision that before the ‘acceptance’ of the offer the transferor company shall conduct a meeting, wherein the minority shareholders can take part, and the future of the offer shall be decided by voting; even if the voting is being done, and 75% majority approved the scheme that does not mean the remaining minority shareholders has approved the same.

The legislature, while making a law, should look for a balancing approach between the rights of the promoter shareholders’ group and non-promoter shareholders’ group i.e. majority shareholders and minority shareholders respectively. As per SEBI’s Listing Agreement, Cl. 24 (f) says that the company shall file any scheme/petition proposed to be filed before any Court or Tribunal for any scheme of arrangement/ amalgamation/ merger/ reconstruction/ reduction of capital, etc. with the stock exchange, for approval, at least a month before it is presented to the Court or Tribunal[22]; here the role of SEBI arises as to put an eye on the companies because what companies do before the squeezing out of the rights of the minority shareholders is that they make unlisted (and privatized) themselves for escaping the legal procedure for the same for the listed companies.

[1] Section 236 (1), Indian Company Act 2013.

[2]Aakash Choubey and Sukanya Hazarika, Minority Squeeze-Out | Impact of the Companies Act 2013, Khaitan & Co., December 2013, https://kcomail-web.sharepoint.com/Documents/ERGO-Perspective-P4-Dec-2013.pdf,  (last accessed on April 13, 2016).

[3] Guth v. Loft (1939); Sinclair Oil Corporation v. Levien (1971); In Re Wheelabrator Technologies, Inc. Shareholders Litigation (1995

[4] MANU/MP/0068/1986.

[5] id.

[6] 1991(4)BomCR387.

[7] (2004) 121CompCas58(Bom.).

[8] (1891-4) All England Law Reports Reprint 667.

[9] (1951) 1 All England Law Reports 881

[10] Supra Note 4.

[11] 2009(3)BomCR57.

[12] id.

[13] (2010) 101 SCL 270 (Bom).

[14] Company Petition No 1072 of 2009, Decided on 25th February. 2014 (Bombay High Court).

[15] id.

[16](2006) 5 SCC 638.

[17] id.

[18] Miheer H. Mafatlal v. Mafatlal Industries Ltd., JT 1996 (8) 205.

[19] In Re Panruti Industrial Co. (P) Ltd., AIR 1960 Mad 537.

[20] (2009) 149 Comp Cas 646 (Bom).

[21] id.

[22] SEBI Circular 17/2003, dtd. May 8, 2003, http://www.sebi.gov.in/circulars/2003/smdcir17.html, (last accessed on April 13, 2016).

In this blogpost, Anjali chopra, a brand and business analyst at GreyB Research (www.greyb.com), a patent based consultancy where some of the most brilliant minds delve on patents to derive world class insights writes about Patent Analytics- A tool that can help IP Law firms win more clients.

A lawyer managing a law firm is no less than a CEO of a tech company.  He is also an entrepreneur. He is smart, hard working, insanely capable and a great problem solver. And like every other CEO of a tech company, a lawyer managing a law firm also wants a big clientele.

The question that stares at face directly, however, is: how to increase the clientele? By paid marketing or advertising, you uttered? No. The answer is something else.

But before I divulge the answer, consider asking yourself this question- Why will a potential client or company choose your law firm over your competitors’ firm? What advantages would the client gain by choosing you over your competitor?

There are various factors that would set you apart from your competitors – reputation, experience and a successful track record being few of them. But what if there exists a facet that is capable enough to overpower all the above-mentioned factors. Sounds great, isn’t it?

The facet is none other than Patent Analytics (i.e.,) using technology to scrutinize patents in order to derive quality insights. These quality insights can help a law firm in all the stages of a patent lifecycle, be it procurement, litigation or maintenance. The advantages that analytics has to offer are multi-fold ranging from identifying significant prior art in a crowded area to identifying white spaces that could strategically be captured via patenting, or identifying potential patents that could be licensed to distinguishing low-quality patents that could be discarded to save millions in maintenance costs.

And there’s more to it. Whether you are an in-house IP counsel or an external law firm assisting companies secure IP, analytics can provide you an edge over your competition. Without further ado, join me on the ride to explore the power of analytics and how leveraging it can help you stay steps ahead of your competition in every aspect of the patent lifecycle. Brace up, here we go.

Before and during Procurement phase:  Securing a patent is comparatively easier than making money over it. When the goal of the client is to secure a revenue flow by means of licensing the patent instead of just protecting the invention, it gets important that patents be filed after conducting a thorough research on the technological area. Research suggests that patents which are filed after scouting an entire technological area tend to be more successful and are often sources of steady income from licensing.

For instance, consider the following chart depicting the filing trend in various technologies for a period of five years. It could be clearly seen that Technology H, O and Q have the highest number of patent filings whereas technology A has lowest. In case, if a company develops products or performs R&D using technology A, it can get very easy for the company to build a toll-gate over the technology ensuring a continuous source of licensing revenue when the technology takes off.

In addition to identifying technological areas, future competitors could be identified based on the patent filings in a particular area. Moreover, based on detailed analysis, it could further be decided whether any existing patents should be designed around or a license should be seeked. Based on such insights, law firms could easily share the knowledge with their clients which would benefit both the parties mutually. While the clients can benefit by deciding just the perfect patent filing strategy by means of these insights, law firms reap the ROI by retaining and gaining clients.

During Litigation Phase: Litigation is the most important phase in the lifecycle of a patent and often considered as a phase of prime importance where lawyers and law firms are involved. Though most firms and attorneys seek the help of technology to perform infringement searches, it is noticed that the use of technology is often constrained.

With the sharp rise in the field of analytics, the better approach is to employ a data-driven approach to study the behavior of both plaintiff and defendants based on which further action could be taken. In the US, with the availability of public records, it has become a common practice for law firms to take decisive actions based on insights derived from the study of patents and other publically available legal information.

Referred to as moneyball for lawyers, a term coined by Owen Byrd, leveraging the power of analytics can help law firms take a certain number of calculated decisions based on the statistics derived from the study of legal information. And as they say it, one calculated decision is way more powerful than hundred random decisions. Combining the power of analytics with years of experience in law industry is the most fruitful combination that assures success for both the client and law firms.

During Maintenance phase: The maintenance phase is a stage in which significant decisions for the accumulated portfolio should be taken to reap benefits from the investment.  Analytics play a major role in this phase as the insights can be helpful in deciding the next strategic move to increase ROI.

For instance, consider the below chart depicting the macro level analysis of a patent portfolio of a particular manufacturing company. It could clearly be seen that the company has significant authority in steel manufacturing domain with a lot of patents filed in the last few years. In order to reap a large ROI, the company can license its patents to its competitors or totally monopolize the market by enforcing all the patents it has in its portfolio.

Different actions could be taken based on the objective of the client, be it monetization of the patents in the form of licensing, signing mergers or acquisitions to get a stronger hold in the market or weeding out low-quality patents to save millions in maintenance costs. No matter what the objective of the client is, analytics can always help decide the right move.

Whether you are an in-house IP counsel for an organization or an external law firm assisting companies secure IP, analytics can provide you and your clients an edge over your competition. The quality insights derived won’t just help you gain more clients but also help end-users in deciding the next strategic move that should be taken to reap maximum benefits out of the investment made on IP, be it in the form of monetization, litigation or attaining a monopoly. Leveraging the power of analytics will ensure that you and your clients emerge as winners.

 After all, winning is what leaders strive for.

Keep winning!

In this blogpost, Megha Singh, student, UPES, Dehradun, writes about the procedure which has to be followed to get a license for possessing or owning a firearm.

India is a country where owning and possessing a gun is considered as a privilege and not a right. Only the licensed persons can legally obtain, own or exchange a firearm or ammunition.

The Arms Act of 1959, and the Arms Rules 1962, of India, disallows the deal, fabricate, ownership, procurement, import, export and transport of guns and ammunition unless under a permit and is a stringent procedure. The government of India has a restrictive policy over generating and offering guns, except for some breach stacking smooth bore shotguns, of which a set number may be created and imported.

There are two categories of firearms classified by The Arms Act: Prohibited Bore (PB) and Non- Prohibited Bore (NPB). All the semi- automatic and fully automatic firearms fall under the Prohibited Bore category.[1]

Before 1987, licenses for securing and owning of both PB and NPB guns could be given by the State Government or area officer, but later issuing the licenses for PB guns turned into the obligation of the central government. The license is valid for 3 years and should be renewed after that period.

Restrictions on possession

Just authorized gun owners might legitimately gain, have or exchange a gun or ammunition.[2]

The minimum age for firearm proprietorship in India is 21 years. Candidates for a weapon proprietor’s permit in India are required to set up a criterion to have a gun, for example, individual insurance, security, pest control, target shooting, chasing and so on. A candidate for a gun permit must pass a personal investigation which considers criminal, mental and abusive behavior at home records. In India, third party character references for every firearm permit candidate are not required, and permitting powers are not required to lead interviews with, or to prompt a candidate’s mate, accomplice, or closest relative before issuing a weapon permit. In situations where past history or the probability of family violence exists, the law stipulates that on account of any conviction for a brutal offense, a firearm permit ought to be denied or renounced.[3]

A candidate does not require an understanding of gun security and the law, or experience any hypothetical or practical training class, with a specific end goal to get a weapon permit. A weapon permit is valid for 3 years, and firearm proprietors must re-apply and re-fit the bill for their gun permit like clockwork.

Powers keep up a record of every individual non-military personnel authorized to get, have, offer or exchange a gun or ammunition. The authorized gun proprietors are allowed to have a maximum of three guns. An authorized firearm proprietor can buy a maximum of 25 rounds of ammunition for each buy, subject to a sum of 50 rounds for each annum.[4]

Private ownership of self-automatic attack weapons and handguns (guns and pistols) is allowed under permit for target shooting and assurance, although just particular gauges are allowed Regular citizen ownership of rifles and shotguns in additionally allowed. Be that as it may, ownership of programmed guns by regular folks is disallowed.[5]

Official procedure to be followed:

1.An application for the grant of the permit should be made to the concerned authority and might be in such frame, contain such particulars and be joined by such charge, if any, as may be prescribed.

For example, if you live in Delhi, the concerned authority for you would be the A.D.C.P (Licensing), Delhi. His office is at the Defence Colony Police Station, found right alongside the Moolchand flyover. The charges for granting a new permit would depend on upon the type of firearm for which the permit is being sought. The maximum amount is charged for a handgun (gun/gun) and rehashing rifle (Rs. 100), and the least for a Muzzle loading weapon (Rs. 10). The charges for renewal of the permit are half of the application charge. The application charge can be submitted directly along with your application.

Individuals living in different metros would likewise have to apply at the workplace of the regional D.C.P (Licensing). For individuals living in non-metro urban areas, they would have to apply at the workplace of their nearest S.D.M (Sub-Divisional Magistrate).

2. On receipt of an application, the person having the authority might ask for the report of the responsible officer from the closest police headquarters, and such officer should send his report within the stipulated time.

The candidate must mention all the locations that he/she has lived at, amid the most recent 5 years along with the time period and length of time from-to for every location. A confirmation report will be asked for from the pertinent nearby Police Stations at all the locations given by him. This is the place where most permit application records “get lost” in transit.

3.The Licensing Authority, after such request, if any, as it may consider important, and after considering the report as mentioned above, and subject to the provisions of the Act, may either give the permit or decline to give the same.

4.However, where the officer accountable for the nearest police headquarters does not send his report as required within the recommended time, the authorizing authority might, if it considers fit, make such request, after the expiry of the endorsed time, instead of waiting for the report.A license must be granted by the licensing authority only if it is satisfied that the individual by whom the permit is required has a justifiable reason behind getting the same.

5.A license must be granted by the licensing authority only if it is satisfied that the individual by whom the permit is required has a justifiable reason behind getting the same.[6]

[1]  “The arms Rules, 1962” (PDF). Delhipolicelicensing.gov.in. Retrieved 18 February 2015.

[2] India.2010.‘Record Keeping.’ National Report of India on its Implementation of the International Instrument to Enable States to Identify and Trace, In a Timely and Reliable Manner, Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons (and the UNPoA).New York, NY: Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations,31 January.

[3] United Nations.1999.‘Analysis of Country Responses.’ United Nations International Study on Firearm Regulation.Vienna:UN Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division,30 August. (Q1).

[4] Singh, Gurmail.2000.‘Arms Act (1959) and Arms Rules (1962).’ Personal interview with Philip Alpers.Delhi:GunPolicy.org,1 March. (Q2097).

[5] India.1959.‘Prohibition of Acquisition or Possession, or of Manufacture or Sale, of Prohibited Arms or Prohibited Ammunition.’ Arms Act (1959), Act No. 54, An Act to Consolidate and Amend the Law Relating to Arms and Ammunition.New Delhi:Parliament of the Republic of India,23 December. (Q1494).

[6] https://www.indiansforguns.com/viewtopic.php?t=504.

In this blogpost, Shipra Prashant, student, UPES, Dehradun, writes about the concept of Community Policing, and tries to analyse as to why it is needed. Further, she goes on to analyse the problem attached with it, and the possible steps which can be taken to resolve them.

Community Policing

The concept of Community Policing

The real meaning of Community Policing is the alliance between the local Police and the community which is involved in solving the problem of that particular area. Taking the example of Residential Welfare Association (RWA), they are formed in a residential area as a representative of the people living in the area; the RWA’s are involved in solving the problems of the people as well as creating a link between the community and higher authorities.

Community policing here would be when the RWA is backed by the police in the area. Community policing has a wider implication since it is formed for various purposes such as control of crime and its prevention. Also there is an emphasis on making the community members active participants in the process of problem-solving.  Furthermore, if the neighbourhood patrol is backed by the police of the area, it would provide efficiency in problem-solving as well as prevention of crime.  A structure of partnership is formed between the community and the police of the area.

The movement of community policing

Community Policing is a phenomenon which has gained quite a momentum in the recent years. The police and the community leader have thus come up with a more effective way to promote public safety and enhancement of quality of life. The strategies to community policing may vary from place to place, depending upon the demography and the requirement of the area. Therefore, there is no set of regulations that has been established.

Need for community policing

One of the major objectives behind the genesis of the idea of Community Policing has been that the policing strategies of the past have proven to be redundant. The practitioners have agreed that there is a pressing need for innovative ideas in order to curb the crimes in the communities. The level of crime and nature of the crime have changed character resulting in need for a more effective method.

Furthermore, there has been a radical change in the social fabric of our country.  In this rapidly changing environment, where the police have to deal with plenty of crimes and increased level of violence, the concept of community policing seems like an ideal solution.

Problem areas

The need for community policing arises from the fact that the citizen do not have goodwill towards police. The relation between the Police and the citizen hasn’t been cordial, and their actions are often accused of being mala Fide in nature.

The police was considered to be an instrument of oppression wanting to curb the nationalist movement. The Indian Police was formed during the colonial rule; it was considered to be an instrument of oppression wanting to curb the nationalist movement. Therefore, it is important to change the mindset that has been formed regarding the police.

In the present time as well, there have been various issues in regard to the Police. The Police have many a times come under the scrutiny of the citizens by way of media. There are reports of police brutality, mishandling of the cases, corruption. Therefore, there is a lack of trust in the functioning of the Police. One of the major potholes in the police functioning has been noticed in the handling of registration of First Information Reports (FIRs) in the police stations.  In a recent case wherein it took two hours for a Supreme Court Judge to get the FIR registeredand tedious situation.

There is a major lack of accountability of the police; hence, Community Policing is seen as a way of curbing it.

Then there have been incidents which highlight the lack of respect for law as well as humanity from the side of Police towards the citizen. A case of ‘fake encounter’ of Sohrabuddin Sheik and his wife Kauser Bi in Ahmedabad in the year 2005, revealed that the Sohrabuddin was murdered on the suspicion of being a terrorist, planning to kill the Chief Minister of Gujarat. It, later on, turned out that the inspector had no proof of the allegation and only did it for the personal gain. [2] Also, the corruption charges against police have proved their purpose rather counter-productive as the citizens do not trust them.

Suggestions for community policing

There are various drawbacks in the policy of Community Policing. But the impression that the police have in the mindset of the Indian society results in the implementation of the idea of community policing rather difficult. There is a requirement of a major transformation in the structure of the police system so that they are capable of regaining the trust of the people in the society.

A few measures that can be taken are-

• Efforts must be made to improve the relationship between police and public. Mutual trust must be present so that people feel more comfortable to approach the police.
• The reputation of the police is severely damaged due to political interference, corruption and the various negative reports regarding them. Therefore, there is a need for proper recruitment process for recruiting a police force. Like in the case of military services where scientific as well as psychological methods are used in the recruitment process.

This was even realized by the National Police Commission (NCP) Report[3] as recommendations were made to change the recruitment process.

 There have been instances where Community Policing has been applied by various cities.  In Hyderabad, the community policing initiative proved to be a success since it helped in controlling the crime rate.

The number of cases related to drug trafficking came down from 26 to 16; there has been a drop in rape cases as well from 132 to 108. There has been a drop of 14% in the overall crime rate in the city in the year 2015. Community Policing has been considered as a major factor which helped in reducing crime. [4]

In Howrah, community policing has been used in order to fight terrorism, after a raid on suspected ISI agent Mohammad Illyas’s home in Tikiapara[5].

Community Policing in various instances have proved to be an effective method, it has not only affected in a safer environment but also has been able to develop a better relationship between the people and the police. Thus, it can be said that Community Policing is a beneficial step towards making a better and crime-free society.

[1] Kotwal, Navaz, “Beasts in Uniform : Make police accountable for every wrongdoing:,

The Tribune, New Delhi, June 24, 2007.

[2]https://www.academia.edu/11749207/ROLE_OF_COMMUNITY_POLICING_IN_INDIA_ISSUES_AND_CHALLENGES

[3] http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/programms/aj/police/india/initiative/npc_recommendations.htm; last visited on 19-02-07

[4] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Hyderabad-sees-14-fall-in-overall-crime-rate/articleshow/50360828.cms

[5] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Keeping-terror-at-bay-Community-policing-in-Howrah/articleshow/50100413.cms

In this blogpost, Sudhi Ranjan Bagri, Student, National Law institute University, Bhopal, writes about what is copyright and what are the rights of a copyright owner.

Introduction

Granting copyright seeks to protect the creative endeavor of an owner. Copyright gives an exclusive right to the owner to do certain acts in relation to literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, cinematography and sound recordings. Copyright is valid till the life of the originator plus 50 years after his death. In the case of cinematographic work, the copyright is valid until 50 years after the work has been made available to the public while for photographic works 25 years after the making of the work.

In India matters related to copyright are governed by the Copyright Act in 1957, which was subsequently amended in the year 1994 and 2002. Copyright cannot be granted in some cases like:

1. Copyright cannot be said to be violated if the idea or concept of any person is used in a different manner.
2. Copyright is not granted for ideas.
3. Copyright is not granted in live events.

So, basically for granting the copyright, the work which is being sought to be protected by copyright must be original. However, this standard of originality to be determined varies in countries. In countries which follow common law jurisdictions like United Kingdom and India, the standard of originality that is needed to be proven is low, while in countries which follow civil law jurisdictions like France and Germany, the standard of originality to be proven is high as certain minimum amount of creativity and author’s intellectual expression is required to be shown to acquire a copyright protection.

Indian perspective on copyright protection:

The Copyright Act, 1957 provides copyright protection in India. It confers copyright protection in the following two forms:

(A) Economic rights of the author, and

(B) Moral Rights of the author.

Rights of the copyright owner

Right of Reproduction

This is the most prominent right which is acquired after the copyright protection. This right authorizes the person having such copyright to make copies of the protected work in any form. In the modern context copying, a song on a Compact Device or any sound and visual recording can be considered as a reproduction of the content. Prior to copying the permission of the author is required unless it can be shown that such copying is not intended to make any commercial benefits out of it.

Right to Distribute

Right to distribute is an off-shoot of the right of reproduction. The person who owns the copyright owner may distribute his work in any manner he deems fit. The owner is also entitled to transfer the whole or some rights in favor of any other person while retaining others. For example, he can entitle any person to translate his work.

Right to make Derivative Works

The copyright has the right to use his work in various ways, for instance making adaptations or translations. One example of adaptation is making a movie based on a novel, so here to make any derivative work the consent of the owner is mandatorily required. In these situations, certain other rights of the owner also come into play, like the right to integrity which protects the owner against deformation, defacement or modification of his work in a way that it is harmful for his reputation.

Right to Publicly Perform

The owner of the copyright has the right to publicly perform his works. Example, he may perform dramas based on his work or may perform at concerts, etc. This also includes the right of the owner to broadcast his work. This includes the right of the owner to make his work accessible to the public on the internet. This empowers the owner to decide the terms and conditions to access his work.

Right to Follow

This right is granted generally only to the authors and artists. This empowers the authors to obtain a percentage of the subsequent sales of his work and is called Droit de Suite or Right to Follow. The right is also available to artists on resale of their work.

Right of Paternity

The Right of Paternity or Attribution gives the copyright owner a right to claim authorship of the work. Under the Right of Paternity a copyright owner can claim due credit for any of his works. Thus, if a movie is produced based on a book by an author, and he hasn’t been given due credit in it, he can sue the makers to acknowledge his work.

Sui Generis Rights

The ordinary copyright law often fails to protect the computer software and databases since the essential element of creativity is not present in such databases. Therefore, there was a need for new law to protect such software and databases. The law of sui generis was introduced to resolve the problem of resolving databases on the whole. A database is a compilation or arrangement of information which may not be creative; it may still require protection from unauthorized copying. However, this may require certain modifications such as the making of copies has to be excluded from such copyright protection. Such database right exists for a fifteen year period.

Private Copying

This is an exception to the reproduction rights which are attained by the owner. According to this right, any person can make copies of the copyright protected work if it is proved that such copying is for educational purpose and that there is no commercial motive behind such copies being made.

Conclusion

In conclusion is maybe said that copyright law adequately protects the rights of the copyright owners. The law has kept pace with the changing times and has accommodated a number of new things in its ambit, including digital reproduction and sui generis rights. India has also risen up to the challenge and updated its copyright law from time to time.