Eastern Book Company (EBC), which publishes Indian case reports in its Supreme Court Cases (SCC) offering, won a temporary ex parte injunction in a Lucknow district court last week, restraining New York-based multinational Thomson Reuters from selling and distributing its allegedly infringing India-focused legal research products Westlaw and Indlaw. Thomson Reuters denied any infringement.
EBC Publishing had filed a suit for permanent injunction in the district court, asserting that editorial notes of EBC in online and offline SCC journals, which were copy-edited by EBC, were identical to editorial notes published in Westlaw India and Indlaw.
EBC claimed in an emailed statement that Westlaw and Indlaw continued to infringe EBC’s copyright, through their databases, websites and CD-ROMs, despite legal notice.
EBC’s copyright in its SCC copy-edited materials was recognised by the Supreme Court in a 2008 judgement laying down “the test of minimum creativity” for recognising rights in EBC’s law reports, which the Lucknow district judge cited.
The district judge restrained Thomson Reuters, Westlaw and Indlaw from infringing EBC’s copyright in SCC and from selling, distributing or publishing the allegedly copyright-violating texts in any other form online or offline, while the suit for infringement was pending. The news was first reported by legal blog SpicyIP.
Senior advocates Jaideep Narain Mathur and BC Agrawala and advocate Sudeep Seth represented EBC.
Thomson Reuters was not represented in the matter at the time of the order which was passed ex parte on 22 August. Notice of temporary injunction was issued to be served on it, with time to file objections, if any, by 14 September.
A US-based Thomson Reuters spokesperson told Legally India in a statement: “Thomson Reuters does not comment on ongoing litigation. However we do take issues regarding copyright very seriously.
“We are confident that Indlaw and Westlaw India Supreme Court content meets all applicable tests, and does not infringe on any other publisher’s copyright.”