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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI
Prathiba M. Singh, J.
S Chand and Company Ltd. - Appellant
Versus
Preeti Agarwal - Respondent
CS (COMM) 122 of 2021 & I.A. 4104 of 2021
Decided On : 28-07-2022
Authors are bound by publishing agreements to avoid promoting competing works that could mislead audiences regarding their affiliation.
Headnote:(A) Copyright Act, 1957 - Sections pertaining to infringement and breach of contract - Permanent injunction sought against defendants for infringing plaintiff's copyright and breach of publishing agreements by promoting competing works - Court emphasizes the importance of clauses restricting authors from promoting competing works - (Paras 4-14)
(B) Evidence and Burden of Proof - The burden lies on defendants to prove that published works do not infringe plaintiff's interests - (Paras 12-13)
Facts of the case:
The plaintiff, a prominent publishing house, filed a suit against defendants for using the name of a renowned author inappropriately in connection with competing publications, thereby violating clauses in existing publishing agreements. (Paras 1-6)
Findings of Court:
Defendants are restricted from using the caption "from the house of R.S. Aggarwal" in connection with any books and are to remove any misleading connections on their websites. (Paras 14-16)
Issues: Whether the defendants' actions constitute copyright infringement and breach of the publishing agreements, particularly whether the negative covenant is violated. (Paras 8-10)
Ratio Decidendi: Clause 14 of the publishing agreements restricts the authors from associating with competing works that mislead about authorship, thus the actions of the defendants are found violative of the contract terms. (Paras 10-14)
Result: The suit is decreed with clauses addressing the improper use of the author's name and ensuring compliance from the defendants.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. establishment of the publishing background. (Para 1 , 2 , 3) |
| 2. details of relevant publishing agreement clauses. (Para 4 , 5) |
| 3. allegations of copyright infringement and contractual violations. (Para 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11) |
| 4. defense arguments regarding authorship and contractual relations. (Para 12 , 13) |
| 5. court's resolution and order regarding the suit. (Para 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18) |
JUDGMENT
Prathiba M. Singh (Oral)--The Plaintiff - S. Chand and Company Ltd., a renowned publishing house in Delhi established in 1970, has filed the present suit, seeking permanent injunction restraining infringement of copyright, claim for damages, rendition of accounts etc., against the Defendants, who are listed hereinbelow:
i. Ms. Preeti Agarwal/Defendant No. 1,
ii. Mr. R.S. Aggarwal/Defendant No. 2, Author
iii. Mr. Deepak Aggarwal/Defendant No. 3, Author and Son of Defendant No. 2 and Husband of Defendant No. 1,
iv. Radian Learning Pvt. Ltd./Defendant No. 4,
v. Radian Book Company/Defendant No. 5.
2. Defendant No. 2 is a renowned author, who has authored textbooks of English and Mathematics, which have been used by students across the country, for competitive exam preparation, for several years. The books which have been authored by Defendant No. 2 are circulated among school students who primarily aspire to sit for various competitive examinations, such as the Staff Selection Commission (hereinafter "SCC") recruitment exam, and the Civil Services Examination.
3. The Plaintiff and the Defendant No. 2's relationship dates back to the year 1991. There are several Publishing Agreements which have been entered into between the Plaintiff and Defendant Nos. 2 & 3. Details of the said publishing agreements have been set out below:
| S. No. | Date of Agreement | Title(s) | Name of the Author as per the Agreement | Name of the Book published by the Plaintiff corresponding to the Agreement |
| 1. | 05/01/1991 | 1) Objective Arithmetic 2) Quantitative Aptitude 3) Ankaganit Pratiyogi parikshaon ke liye (Vastunisht prashosahit) | Dr. R.S. Aggarwal | 1. Quantitative Aptitude. 2. Quantitative Aptitude. (Telugu Edition) 3. Quantitative Aptitude. (Bengali Edition) 4. Quantitative |
| 2. | 28/10/1992 | 1) Test of Reasoning 2) Bank Clerical Guide. | Dr. R.S. Aggarwal | 1. A Modern Approach to Verbal Reasoning. 2. A Modern Approach to Non-Verbal Reasoning. 3. A Modern Approach to Logical Reasoning, etc. |
| 3. | 07/08/1995 | 1) Guide bank PO, Guide SBI, P.O 2) Guide NDA/NA 3) Guide Assistant Grade 4) Guide Excise and etc. | Dr. R.S. Aggarwal | 1. Mathematics for NDA and NA. 2. Mathematics for MBA entrance examinations. 3. Advanced Objective General Knowledge. 4. Mathematics for CDS entrance examination, etc. |
| 4. | 02//04/1997 | 1) Mathematics for MCA 2) Guide for MCA 3) Advanced Non Verbal Reasoning (Hindi) | Dr. R.S. Aggarwal and Mr. Deepak Aggarwal | 1. A Comprehensive Guide for MCA Entrance Examination. 2. Advanced Nonverbal Reasoning. (Hindi Edition). |
| 5. | 02//04/1997 | 1) Objective General English | Dr. R.S. Aggarwal and Ms. Monika Aggarwal | 1) Objective General English |
4. The aforementioned Publishing Agreements between the parties have various clauses prescribing the terms and conditions. However, for the present purposes, Clause 11 and 14 of Agreement dated 5th January 1991, are relevant, and are set out below:
"11. The publisher(s) shall have the first option to publish any future work/book written by the author (s). The author(s) will require a no-objection certificate from the publisher(s) before it may be deemed that the publisher(s) is/are not interested in publishing the said future work.
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14.The author (s) shall not be directly or indirectly interested in any other similar hook or in any way so act that the sale of the book may be adversely affected nor shall the author (s) allow to be published or get published any abridgement, portion translation or printed dramatised version of the work, without the consent of the publisher(s) in writing (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld), nor unreasonably delay to deliver th
