Category: news

The Supreme Court (SC) in an appeal against the order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) while dealing with the issue of whether investment made for profit or gain is susceptible to the jurisdiction of the Consumer Disputes Redressal Fora, has held that commercial disputes of this nature can appropriately be decided by the civil court & not in a summary proceeding under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The SC, while allowing the appeal, noted that the respondent had invested in appellant’s firm which is an investment for profit/gain – a commercial transaction.

The Delhi High Court (DHC) while dealing with cross suits filed by Lava International Ltd. (Lava) & Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (Ericsson) in relation to access to 8 standard essential patents (SEP) in relation to 2G & 3G Technology, has held Lava to be an “unwilling licensee” owing to its failure to negotiate with Ericsson in good faith, delaying negotiations & failing to respond to offers. The DHC noting Lava at fault held Ericsson to be liable to receive damages in relation to its SEPs on the basis of “loss of royalty/license fees it would have received had Lava executed a FRAND license agreement at the commencement of its business operations.”

The Delhi High Court (DHC) in a suit filed by Haldiram India Pvt. Ltd. (Haldiram) seeking protection of it’s mark ‘HALDIRAM’, considering the long use of the mark since 1960s & the renowned reputation of the brand in the food industry, has granted it, the status of a ‘well-known’ trademark in terms of Section 2(1)(zg) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999. The DHC further extended this status to the Haldiram’s Oval-shaped mark in respect of food items, restaurants & eateries.

The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) has issued interim directions to Delivery Hero SE (Delivery Hero) & Grab Holdings Inc. (Grab), in relation to the proposed acquisition of Southeast Asia’s business of Delivery Hero by Grab. Pending investigation of the proposed acquisition, CCCS to ensure contestability in the market for the supply of online food ordering & delivery services in Singapore (OFOD), has directed, inter alia, that both the parties must not take any action that would lead to possible integration of OFOD market in Singapore or materially impact the viability & saleability of Delivery Hero’s OFOD businesses in Singapore.

Liberty Media Corporation (Liberty) – owner of the motorsport business Formula One, on 01.04.2024, has announced an agreement to acquire majority stake in Dorna Sports, S.L. (Dorna) – exclusive commercial rights holder of the motorcycle racing world championship – MotoGP. If the deal is allowed to go through, Liberty will acquire 84% of Dorna, from Bridgepoint and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

The European Commission (EC), after initiating an in-depth review of proposed acquisition of 41% shareholding in Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A. (ITA) by Deutsche Lufthansa AG (Lufthansa) from Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), has sent statement of objections highlighting concerns regarding restriction in competition on “certain routes in the market for passenger air transport services in and out of Italy”. ITA – target, is a full service airline, solely owned by MEF and operates domestic & international flights from Italy, principally, from its hubs in Rome & Milan; whereas, Lufthansa – acquirer, is a global full-service carrier from Germany, operating from its principal hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna & Brussels. According to EC, owing to Lufthansa’s partnership with carriers in US, Canada & Japan, if the proposed acquisition is allowed, it can lead to higher prices & lower quality of services for passenger flying to & from Italy.

The French Competition Authority (Autorité de la concurrence/ALC) has cleared the proposed acquisition of Cobham Aerospace (Cobham) by Thales Group (Thales). The acquirer – Thales, operates in space, land transport and in particular in aeronautics & in avionics market; whereas, the target – Cobham develops & produces in-flight communication & connectivity products. Avionics are range of in-flight communications & navigation related electronic equipment located inside the aircraft’s cockpit, mainly an input for aircraft manufacturers like Boeing, Airbus etc. ALC noted that communication systems manufactured by Cobham are used as input for manufacturing of avionics suite by Thales; however, noting the limited number of overlapping markets with significant market shares, presence of competitors & countervailing buyer power of consumer, did not see likelihood of any harm to competition.

The Supreme Court (SC), while dealing with an appeal filed against the order of the Delhi High Court (DHC), through which the DHC upheld the order passed by the trial court and directed Bloomberg to remove the allegedly defamatory article against Zee Entertainment, has held that, the DHC erred by not prima facie assessing whether the three-fold test for grant of ex-parte ad interim injunction in cases stands established after perusal of the facts of the case. The SC, while setting aside DHC order, noted that the DHC failed to look into the facts on the basis of which injunction was sought by Zee Entertainment.

The Allahabad High Court (All. HC), while dealing with a reference order passed by a Single Judge regarding the vires of U.P. Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004 (Madarsa Act) on the ground of being violative of Art.14, 21 & 21-A of the Constitution, has held that the scheme of the Madarsa Act appears to be only for the promotion & for imparting education of Islam & its philosophy and while, the State has the power to legislate laws viz. education at school level, such power cannot be exercised to create a Board for religious education. The All. HC noting that the Madrasa Act is not secular in its object, held it unconstitutional.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the proposed acquisition of grey cement business of Kesoram Industries Ltd. (Kesoram) by UltraTech Cement Ltd. (UltraTech). The acquirer – UltraTech, is engaged in manufacturing & sale of grey & white cement, ready-mix concrete, clinker, & building products in India; whereas, the target – Kesoram, is a part of B.K. Birla group and is engaged in the business of rayon, transparent papers & chemicals in India & also manufactures grey cement. As per CCI, the proposed acquisition does not give rise to competition concerns in the “manufacture & sale of grey cement in Maharashtra and the southern region of India”.