PHOTOQUIP INDIA LIMITED Vs. DELHI PHOTO STORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this copyright infringement action, the Plaintiff seeks by this Notice of Motion an order restraining the Defendants from infringing the Plaintiff's copyright in the artistic works at Exhibits "A" and "B" to the plaint. These are technical drawings, and I will return to them in detail shortly. The Plaintiff also claims copyright in the drawings of the moulds or cast of the Plaintiff's product.

(2.) THE products in question are flash lights used in photography. I would imagine that these are not the kind of things that a novice or a casual user might have, but are used in commercial and studio photography by professionals and perhaps by serious enthusiasts. The Defendants' products, claimed by the Plaintiff to be the infringing items, are, to my mind, indistinguishable from the Plaintiff's. The Defendants have produced no drawings of their own. Their defence, as I understand it, is that there is no subsisting copyright in the Plaintiff's drawings; that the drawings have no artistic value and therefore there can be no copyright in them; the Plaintiff's drawings cannot be used to make the moulds in which, too, the Plaintiff claims copyright; that it is in fact the Plaintiff who has pirated from the Defendants; and that there is so much uncertainty about whether any copyright could vest in the Plaintiff or, on the Plaintiff's showing, can only vest in its Swiss principals, that no question arises of granting the Plaintiff any sort of injunction.

(3.) THE Plaintiff manufactures, exports and trades in digital studio flashlights and photography accessories, and similar products. It is a company listed on the Bombay and Ahmedabad stock exchanges. It is the exclusive manufacturer, importer and distributor for Elinchrom SA Ltd., a Swiss company ("Elinchrom") since 1986. Among the Elinchrom -branded products are flash lighting systems called the Elinchrom FRX 200, Elinchrom FRX 400 and compact Flash Unit System. These are being manufactured and distributed by the Plaintiff since 2012 -13.