Delhi High Court Orders Blocking of Sci-Hub and Mirror Sites in Landmark Copyright Case

In a major ruling that could reshape access to academic research in India, the Delhi High Court has ordered the immediate blocking of Sci-Hub, Sci-Net, and their mirror websites for violating copyright laws. The decision comes in response to a lawsuit filed by leading academic publishers Elsevier, Wiley, and the American Chemical Society.

For an uninitiated, Sci-Hub is a free online platform that provides access to millions of academic research papers by bypassing paywalls set by publishers. Founded in 2011 by Alexandra Elbakyan, a researcher from Kazakhstan, Sci-Hub was created to challenge the high cost of accessing scholarly literature, especially for students and researchers in developing countries.

Court Ruling and Enforcement

The court directed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to block access to the infringing websites within 72 hours. The blocked domains include:

• Sci-Hub: www.sci-hub.se, www.sci-hub.st
• Sci-Net: www.sci-net.xyz
• Associated Mirrors: Multiple alternate URLs used to bypass restrictions

Justice Prathiba M. Singh held that Sci-Hub founder Alexandra Elbakyan had violated a 2020 undertaking not to distribute copyrighted content from the plaintiffs. The court found her prima facie guilty of contempt, noting that both Sci-Hub and Sci-Net were under her control despite claims to the contrary.

Background of the Case

The lawsuit, initiated in 2020, accused Sci-Hub of enabling large-scale piracy by offering free access to paywalled journals such as The Lancet, Cell, and Journal of the American Chemical Society. Elbakyan had previously agreed not to upload or share content from these publishers, but the court found continued violations through Sci-Net and mirror sites.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for December 1, 2025, where further action on the contempt charge may be considered.

Impact on Academia and Access

While publishers hailed the ruling as a victory for intellectual property rights, the decision has sparked concern among students, researchers, and educators who rely on Sci-Hub for access to expensive scholarly articles.

This ruling reinforces the enforceability of copyright law in India, even against foreign nationals operating digital platforms, said a legal expert familiar with the case.

What’s Next?

The blocking order sets a precedent for how India may handle similar cases involving digital piracy and academic access. It also raises questions about the future of open access initiatives and the affordability of scientific knowledge in developing countries.

Delhi HC Orders Amazon to Pay $39 Mn to Lifestyle Equities for Trademark Infringement

The Delhi High Court has ordered Amazon to pay $39 million (approximately ₹340 crore) in damages to Lifestyle Equities for infringing on its 'Beverly Hills Polo Club' trademark.

The court found that Amazon Technologies and others used a deceptively similar mark on apparel and other products sold on their platforms. The case was filed by Lifestyle Equities in 2020, and the court issued an interim injunction in October 2020, prohibiting Amazon and others from using the infringing logo.

The detailed order from Justice Prathiba M Singh is awaited.

The court issued an interim injunction in October 2020, prohibiting the use of the infringing logo and instructing Amazon Seller Services to remove the infringing merchandise. Amazon Technologies failed to appear in court and was prosecuted ex-parte.

Amazon Seller Services was removed from the list of parties as they agreed to remove any future listings of infringing products.

Cloudtail India, involved in selling the infringing products, acknowledged its liability and proposed a settlement. The court awarded damages of ₹4,78,484 against Cloudtail, representing 20% of the revenue from infringing products.

This ruling highlights the importance of trademark protection and the legal consequences of infringement.

Amazon has faced several trademark infringement cases over the years, and their responses have varied depending on the specifics of each case.

In 2017, Birkenstock, the German footwear company, accused Amazon of selling counterfeit products on its platform. In response, Birkenstock decided to stop selling its products on Amazon. Amazon took measures to improve its anti-counterfeiting efforts, including enhancing its Brand Registry program to help brands protect their intellectual property.

In 2020, Salvatore Ferragamo, the Italian luxury brand, filed a lawsuit against Amazon for selling counterfeit Ferragamo products. Amazon worked with Ferragamo to identify and remove counterfeit listings and took legal action against counterfeiters. This collaboration led to the seizure of counterfeit goods and the shutdown of counterfeit operations.

In 2019, Nike decided to stop selling its products directly on Amazon, citing concerns over counterfeit goods and unauthorized sellers. Amazon responded by enhancing its anti-counterfeiting measures and working with brands to improve the authenticity of products sold on its platform.

In general, Amazon has taken steps to address trademark infringement by improving its anti-counterfeiting measures, collaborating with brands to remove counterfeit listings, and taking legal action against counterfeiters. However, the effectiveness of these measures has been a subject of ongoing debate and scrutiny.

How to Register a Copyright in India

he author of an original work, as you would expect, has complete rights to his/her work. This right is known as a copyright and its owner has exclusive rights to copy or reproduce the work or grant permission to another to do so. A copyright applies to books, manuscripts, music, photographs, movies and even software. Basically, any original audio, visual and textual content is granted a copyright the moment it is created.

Why Register a Copyright?

As you may notice, a copyright is conferred upon its author the moment the work is created. Then why go through the trouble of a copyright registration at all? But it does make sense to do so. The main reason for this is that the courts will not accept any suit of copyright infringement if a copyright is not registered. This means that, in case your brand or content is copied, you have no legal recourse unless you have registered the copyright. Therefore, businesses and commercial artists find it beneficial to register a copyright.

Procedure for Copyright Registration

The registration of a copyright is simple, but the entire process will take over a year to complete. This is because the Registrar of Copyrights needs to be clear that yours is an original work. The steps for copyright registration are as follows:

Application Filing

An application, with all details of the work, is to be filed with the Registrar of Copyrights in New Delhi. The relevant fees, which range from Rs. 500 for text to Rs. 4000 for film, must be paid, in the form of a demand draft. A diary number is assigned to this application.

1. Application Requirements -
   
   
   
   
   1. Duly filled and signed Form XIV needs to be submitted with required fees for copyright. In case of a demand draft, it needs to be in favour of Registrar of Copyrights.
   
   
   2. The application should be accompanied by aStatement of Particulars and Statement of Further Particulars.
   
   
   3. According to the Amendment Act, 2013, the copies of application need to be sent through registered post to the registrar as well as all to those who seem interested in the property (if any).
   
   
   4. Two samples of the work need to be submitted along with the application, followed by a power of attorney, in case the application is filed by an agent or lawyer.
   
   
   
   


2. Examination -
   An examiner scrutinizes the applications submitted for copyright. There are three different scenarios that need to be discussed in this step. Since a copyright application can be objected, we need to understand what happens if any objections are raised, or not raised.
   
   
   
   1. No objection, no discrepancy:
      If no objections or discrepancies are raised, then you can proceed straight to the next step, which is registration.
   
   
   2. Discrepancies found:
      In case of a discrepancy, the letter regarding the same is sent to the applicant. Based on the reply received from the applicant, a hearing is conducted. Once the discrepancy is cleared and the examiner is satisfied, the application moves to the registration step and the extracts are sent to the applicant.
   
   
   3. Objection raised:
      If an objection is raised, letters are sent to both parties – the applicant and the person raising the objection, to take back the objection. After the reply is received from the party that raised the objection, a hearing is conducted in the presence of the registrar.The registration of copyright depends on upon the results of such hearing, and the final decision lies with the registrar.Again here, the steps might depend on upon the hearing:
      
      
      
      1. If an objection is rejected and no discrepancy is perceived, the copyright moves tothe registration stage.
      
      
      2. In case the objection is rejected, but a discrepancy is observed in the application, the following is conveyed to the applicant and,after a suitable reply, the request is registered and extracts sent to the applicant.
      
      
      3. However, if the objection is accepted, or the discrepancy is not duly satisfied, the application is rejected, and formal notifications are sent to the applicant, along with the necessary details.
      
      
      
      
   
   
   
   


3. Registration -
   After the second step, if the approval is granted and all objections/discrepancies cleared, and the registrar approves the application, the copyright is registered. Only after the registrar approval will the copyright become valid.

[Top Image - Shutterstock]