EASTERN BOOK COMPANY Vs. D B MODAK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Eastern Book Company, a well known publishing concern had filed two suits bearing Nos. 624/2000 and 758/2000 before this Court for permanent injunction restraining infringement of copyright, moral rights, unfair competition, damages etc against the respondents. The appellant is a publisher of a well-known journal known as Supreme Court Cases. It allegedly reports all reportable and unreportable judgments of the Supreme Court. In 1996, the second appellant introduced a data based package on CD- ROMs for finding out the Supreme Court rulings known as SCC-Online Case Finder. The respondents launched a software package entitled "The Laws" and "Jurix". The said suits were founded, inter alia, on infringement of copyright and unfair competition. Copyright was claimed in the copy-editing of the judgment. According to the appellant, the respondent had copied the said notes and copied the text of the judgment as published in the SCC and thereby infringed its copyright.

(2.) Various interim applications were filed for injunction and interim orders of injunction was passed in the suits from time to time. However, the respondent filed applications for vacation of the stay order. The said lAs filed by the parties were taken up for hearing together and by reason of the impugned judgment dated 17.1.2001, a learned Single Judge of this Court dismissed the appellant's applications for injunction. However, before the learned Single Judge the respondent conceded that appellants have copyright of head notes and as such they undertook not to reproduce these head notes in their CD ROMS.

(3.) By order dated 9.3.2001 applications for injunction filed in both the suits were dismissed, the operative portion whereof reads as follows: -