Technology, Media and Telecom

In what has been termed a “defamation blitz”, an Indian corporate house has filed at least 28 defamation suits in courts since January 2018, targetting media and publishing houses, journalists, authors and politicians. Four companies under the Reliance Group have filed these suits objecting to content and reportage published about the company’s commercial activities. This is part of a larger trend in India around defamation suits which raises many questions for publishing houses and authors. ...

On December 26th, 2018 the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion under the Ministry of Commerce (the "DIPP"),introduced stricter guidelines that govern foreign direct investment ("FDI") in e-commerce firms. The Government through press note 2 (2018) ("Press Note"), provided for guidelines applicable to such e-commerce entities under the consolidated foreign direct investment policy of 2017 (the "FDI Policy"). ...

Indian Courts have consistently upheld the existence of the right to privacy of individuals. While biographies are important sources informing people of the life stories of their leaders and celebrities, it is important for the authors and the publishers to strictly follow the broad principles that have been laid down by the Courts. There are clear guidelines on how only what is in public domain may be reproduced in a publication. What qualifies as public domain, and where might the author be required to produce written consent is an important understanding to avoid injunctions and other repercussions....

Defamation in India is both a civil and a criminal offense. Conceived by Lord Macaulay in 1837 in the first draft of the Indian Penal Code and subsequently codified in 1860, Defamation Laws were along the same lines of the prevailing English law. The UK itself has since decriminalized Criminal Defamation where as Indian Law is unchanged in its stance on the subject. This article looks into the history, the current position of Defamation Law in the country and also at the voices raised against it....