Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) is a private university located in&nbsp;Tamil Nadu, India. Founded in 1984, as Vellore Engineering College, the institution offers 20 undergraduate, 34 postgraduate, four integrated and four research programs. It has campuses in Vellore, Amravati, Bhopal and Chennai.

VIT is one of the top ranked private universities in India according to NIRF, THE and QS Rankings.&nbsp;Govt. of India has recognized&nbsp;VIT, Vellore as an&nbsp;Institution of Eminence. This has allowed VIT to take independent quality initiatives and move up in world ranking.

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VIT University

India has so far resisted the push from the United States of America (USA) to bring about separate legislation that regulates trade secrets. Reports and studies categorically show that such protection is desirable. It also forms part of the minimum requirements under TRIPs. In its defence, India has reiterated that mechanisms under common law exist to effectively protect trade secrets. This paper looks into these mechanisms, primarily the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 (Copyright Act) and the Indian Contract Act, 1872 (Contract Act), and provides evidence to show that deciding on trade secret issues via these Acts in India undermines the basic premise of copyright, and ignores issues of treating confidential information as confidential. Literary work as mentioned in the Copyright Act and the settled position of law by judicial decisions is discussed in this paper. This forms the first argument in favour of sui generis protection for trade secrets. The second argument in favour of the sui generis mode of protection for trade secrets is that of retaining the confidentiality of information that is regulated by contracts. This aspect is, firstly, under-examined in evidence in the Indian cases. Secondly, under the Indian Contract Act, 1857, (Contract Act) whenever the elements of confidentiality are to be examined, it is circumvented or ignored. This thereby impedes the understanding of confidential information in these case laws. Hence, this study shows that courts have overtly interfered in the basic premise of contractual obligations vis-a-vis confidential information between two parties by reading into what constitutes a trade secret. It is this lacuna in both procedural and substantive fields that holds up the second argument for a sui generis mode of protection. The conclusions from this paper address a much-required regime change in the pre-existing model of protection of trade secrets in India not only as a result of the external push (that is necessitated by international pressure and India’s continued presence on the Priority Watch List) but also as a result of the internal indecisiveness in deciding matters before the Indian courts

VIT School of Law

Chennai Campus

Journal of Intellectual Property Rights

Locating Trade Secrets under Indian Laws: A Sui Generis Mode of Protection

The prevailing water crisis and problem of climate change demand a review of the developmental activities conducted by State of Tamil Nadu. While ascertaining a system to address the crisis can be daunting, integrated approaches, such as those that use technology, are fundamental to identifying and evaluating options for sustainable solutions. This paper explores the water–climate nexus through the case study of Chennai, the capital city of the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Climate change has influenced the behaviour and patterns of floods, brought about incessant rain and led to a shift in the monsoons.&nbsp;There is a concomitant problem of a large and increasing population. These elements warrant a discourse on law, humans and technology. In Chennai, the indifference and denial of political leaders have resulted in failure, and unsustainable measures to address the water crisis have been implemented. The intervention of the Supreme Court of India relating to a mechanism to deal with a water-sharing arrangement between the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in the last few decades has been unsuccessful. None of the proposed solutions were based on incorporating technology, which is a major oversight. The resultant consequences of water use and the complex mix of social factors surrounding the vulnerable population are addressed in this paper. The effect of the water crisis on women and the agricultural workforce is illustrated to argue for greater and more imaginative governmental intervention. The paper concludes with a discussion of the need for a holistic approach to climate change and the ongoing water crisis that invites better interventions, particularly in terms of technology, to address the crisis and avoid a situation in which groundwater will be critically degraded by 2030.&nbsp;

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LAW, TECHNOLOGY AND HUMANS

A ‘Chennai’ in Every City of the World: The Lethal Mix of the Water Crisis, Climate Change, and Governance Indifference

Recognition and protection of cinematograph film under the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 (hereinafter “The Act”) does not address the concerns of Actors. The practical collaboration in a film of producers, directors, scriptwriters, actors, music composers and others stands undermined in the case of actors. This is so as the current copyright regime in India emphasises only on the rights of producers and neglects the rights of others, specially actors. The inclusion of actors in the definition of performers does not confer rights related to copyright as these rights of copyright and related rights (including performers rights) are related but different. Though introduced in 1994, the rights of performers were limited in scope. With the intention of strengthening the Rights of Performers, Amendments were made in the Act in 2012. However, all the amendments were not applicable to the actors in films as they retained the earlier provision relating to performances in films, which stated “that once a performer (actor) has, by written agreement, consented to the incorporation of her performance in a cinematograph film she shall not, in the absence of any contract to the contrary, object to the enjoyment by the producer of the film of the performer’s right in the same film.” The rights of the actors were hence retained with and transferred to the producer. Solace is found in the proviso to section 38A (2) of The Act which states that “notwithstanding anything contained in this subsection, the performer shall be entitled for royalties in case of making of the performances for commercial use.” This is unexplored in the Indian Courts and thereby, the current provisions do not seem to offer much assistance to actors working in films.