PlayGambo And OVH Served Legal Notice For Copyright Infringement Of Perry4Law

Online gaming and online gambling laws in India are still evolving. Even courts in India are not very keen to bring certainty to these controversial fields. Recently, the Supreme Court of India refused to decide about the legality of online poker and online rummy in India. The central government has also not given any opinion about the legality of these fields. As a result Indian online rummy and online poker websites are in legal tangles.

The story does not ends here. Almost all of the online poker and online rummy websites in India are operating on the wrong side of Indian laws especially the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act 2000). Another disturbing trend is the increasing copyright violation by online gaming and gambling websites in India. In another such incidence, Perry4Law Law Firm has sent legal notice and DMCA complaint to PlayGambo  and its hosting provider OVH.

Our Twitter handle at @ptlbindia has also covered this issue at here1 and here2. OVH is very active in providing dedicated games serves with anti DDoS protection. However, OVH must also be clear regarding its business model so that no cyber criminals are encouraged or harboured due to its polices and commercial interests.

OVH has replied back to our notices and has forwarded our notices to the administrators of PlayGambo. We have also sought a clarification from OVH regarding its service terms and dealing with cyber criminals and copyright infringers by OVH. We would share the response and action on the part of OVH very soon as the same is still awaited till the time of this post. A positive response from OVH is also essential to generate and retain trust among the gaming industry that OVH is very keenly targeting.

PokerNation And Fortuity Gaming Solutions Pvt Ltd Served Legal Notice For Copyright Violation Of Perry4Law

Copyright violation is a serious offence in India especially when it is combined with the offences punishable under the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act 2000). The IT Act 2000 has prescribed cyber law due diligence (pdf) and internet intermediary obligations that all stakeholders are required to comply with. Online gaming and gambling websites are no exception to these compliances. Similarly rules apply to mobile gaming stakeholders of India. As on date we have no dedicated online gaming and online gambling laws of India but there are many laws whose legal compliances are mandatory for such online gaming and gambling businesses.

Perry4Law Law Firm is occasionally consulted for online gaming, online gambling, online card games, online games, online lotteries, etc related legal issues. We have extended our legal expertise to many national and international clients who have complied with our engagement terms. However, some unscrupulous individuals and companies have tried to steal our copyrighted terms and conditions, privacy policy, disclaimer, etc (legal documents) in the past. We have been ignoring these things in the past but from now onwards we have decided to take these copyright and cyber law violations seriously.

We have been sending legal notices and DMCA complaints to such individuals, companies and hosting service providers who are party to such copyright infringement and cyber law violations whether by design or unintentionally. The idea is to protect our copyrighted legal documents and to safeguard our own financial interests.

Now we have also decided to make a public database of such violators so that information in this regard can be collected at a single place. Our first post in this regard is regarding the website of https://pokernation.com/ that is carrying our copyrighted legal documents without our approval and without complying with our engagement terms. The same has been done in association with Fortuity Gaming Solutions Pvt Ltd. We have served DMCA complaint and legal notices to Pokernation, Fortuity Gaming Solutions Pvt Ltd and their Directors/principal officers. We have also intimated them through our Twitter account at @ptlbindia. You can see these tweets at here1 and here2. Further legal actions, if required, would also be taken against the guilty person/company.

We would update our readers about this copyright violation episode by Pokernation and Fortuity from time to time. Any individual or company interested in seeking our legal assistance may contact us in this regard and establish a client attorney relationship.

Cabinet Approves The Draft National IPR Policy Of India

Indian government has been preparing the draft national IPR policy of India for some time. Perry4Law Organisation (P4LO) has suggested that the proposed IPR policy of India must be techno legal in nature. P4LO has also provided its suggestions regarding the proposed Trade Marks Rules 2015 of India whereby we have suggested (pdf) for establishment of a strong and efficient trademark regime in India. The crux of all these discussions is that the proposed IPR policy of India must be technology driven and beneficial to small and medium enterprises, e-commerce players and entrepreneurs.

It has now been reported that the Cabinet has approved the national intellectual property rights (IPR) policy with a view to promoting creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. The aim is to create awareness about economic, social and cultural benefits of IPRs among all sections of society, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday while briefing reporters about Thursday's Cabinet decisions. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) will be the nodal department to co-ordinate, guide and oversee implementation and future development of IPR’s in India.

The minister also said that by 2017, the window for trademark registration will be brought down to one month. This means that starting 2017, trademark registration will take only one month. P4LO's suggestion number (11) on the proposed trademark rules recommended this requirement. We suggested that the proposed rule is a golden opportunity for the Indian Government/Registrar to speed up the trademark registration procedure that is suffering from backlog as on date.

We also recommend that the Registrar must not "discriminate" between those applicants who have paid additional fees for expedition and those who have applied through normal course of action. If the Registrar discriminates between those who have paying capacity and those who do not have such capacity, it would unnecessarily create hindrances before the small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs. Indian government seems to have accepted these suggestions of P4LO.

According to Jaitley, there are seven objectives that guided the policy mechanism, which include IPR public awareness, stimulation of generation of IPRs, need for strong and effective laws and strengthening enforcement and adjudicatory mechanisms to combat infringements. The policy also puts a premium on enhancing access to healthcare, food security and environmental protection. It is expected to lay the future road map for intellectual property in India, besides putting in place an institutional mechanism for implementation, monitoring and review.

The policy recognizes that India has a well-established TRIPS-compliant legislative, administrative and judicial framework to safeguard IPRs, which meets its international obligations while utilizing the flexibilities provided in the international regime to address its developmental concerns. It reiterates India's commitment to the Doha Development Agenda and the TRIPS agreement.