Admissibility of foreign copyright/trademark certificate
Nikhil Jagga
(Querist) 07 March 2013
This query is : Resolved
Please tell me admissibility of Copyright/Trademark certificate obtained in Foreign countries and exhibited as evidence in indian courts have to be proved as authentic ??? whether it will be primary or secondary evidence???
any judgement in which foreign copyright certificate is is inadmissible in evidence pls refer the same...
Guest
(Expert) 07 March 2013
All countries have their own copyright/ tradmark act treated as valid only in that specific country unless that registration is applied and made for international copyright/ trademark. So, copyright/ trademark certificate, unless that is registered as an international copyright/trademark would not be legally valid in India. Admission of the same through an oversight would be quite a different thing, but that would still remain subject to challenge in superior courts.
prabhakar singh
(Expert) 07 March 2013
Any certified copy of any Copyright/Trademark certificate obtained in Foreign countries IS A SECONDARY EVIDENCE because it is not original but a copy.
BUT IT WOULD BE TREATED AS PUBLIC DOCUMENT WITH IN MEANING OF SECTION 74(iii)OF The Indian Evidence Act,1872,THERE FORE IT'S FORMAL PROOF WOULD NOT BE REQUIRED AND IT CAN BE EXHIBITED unless it challenged to be a forged one for which party challenging it would be under burden to prove so.
The section 74(iii)reads as "The following documents are public documents :—
(iii) of public officers, legislative, judicial and executive, 1[of any part of India or of the Commonwealth], or of a foreign country;"
PROVISION IS CRYSTAL CLEAR AND DOES NOT DEMAND ANY CASE LAW.
R.K Nanda
(Expert) 07 March 2013
no more to add.
Nikhil Jagga
(Querist) 09 March 2013
As per Section 74(iii) Of Indian Evidence Act whether a Certificate of copyright obtained in USA is a public document??? or only the notified countries where documents are executed are admissible???
prabhakar singh
(Expert) 09 March 2013
Could not you read the last words in the section"or of a foreign country;"
Is U.S.A not a foreign country?
Q."or only the notified countries where documents are executed are admissible???"
A.From where you import such a need?????
Guest
(Expert) 09 March 2013
You just need to know the definition of public document, which according to legal glossary provided by Ministry of law with particular reference to sec.74 of the I.E. Act, states as under:
"A public document is a document, which can be made use of by the general public by way of inspection or making copies etc."
So, any certificate issued by the USA Government about registration of copyright/ trademark is a public document, as is issued only for the general information of general public. However, all that depends whether the said document, as per US laws, is meant for the general public of the world, as a whole, or restricted only to the general publis of USA.
Raj Kumar Makkad
(Expert) 14 March 2013
I do endorse the wise discussion of Ld. experts.
