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Japan Tobacco Inc. & Anr. vs. The Central Warehouse & Anr.

Rectification Petition (Commercial IPD, Copyright) · 2026:DHC:8713Decided 5 Oct 2026New Delhi Bench
C.O.(COMM.IPD-CR) 814/2022CNR: DLHC010298962022
Justice Tushar Rao Gedela

Background

The petitioners, Japan Tobacco Inc. and its affiliate Worldwide Brands Inc., own rights in various 'CAMEL' trademarks and artistic works used for tobacco products. They sought the rectification of the Register of Copyrights to remove the copyright registration No. A-54242/97 (dated 22 October 1997) for an artistic work held by the respondent. The judgment was reserved on 25 April 2026 and delivered on 5 October 2026.

Decision Breakdown

The Court held that the petitioners had not established that they were the "first owner" of the original artistic work, which was a precondition for expunging the impugned registration. Because that point was not established, the Court considered the argument about alleged violation of Section 45(1) of the Act and Rule 70 of the Copyright Rules, 2013 to be academic and unpersuasive. It also held that the parties' authorities relied on were not relevant to this analysis. The petition was dismissed, with an express clarification that the observations about the earlier suit (CS(COMM) 644/2018) do not decide the merits of that suit.

Lesson Learnt

To seek removal of a copyright registration, a party must first prove its own ownership of the original work. A rectification petition cannot succeed on general brand reputation alone.

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