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Trinidad and Tobago

TT011-j

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No. 1927 of 1983

An interim injunction was granted prohibiting the defendant from offering for sale or using any promotional material of the film “Gandhi” due to alleged copyright infringement. The injunction included an Anton Piller order whereby the defendants had to disclose the names and addresses of the persons or companies they received the items from. Counsel for the claimant sought to have the order extended until trial date, relying on the Copyright Act 1911 (the Act in effect for publications in Trinidad and Tobago) to argue that any work created in India is entitled to protection in Trinidad and Tobago.

While the Act intended to offer copyright protection in territories under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom (UK), India has not been part of the territories since 1949. Therefore, the Copyright Act 1911, relied on by the claimant, did not apply to publications in India made in the year 1982.

The court held the view that the claimants had no legal right to the copyright but still considered the merits of the application:

Regarding whether the works are protected by Copyright Act 1911, the claimant did not show which category the film fell in or if the film fell in any categories at all.

There was no evidence that the photograph of the actor playing the role of “Gandhi” was used in a newspaper advertisement by the claimant.

There was no evidence that the video cassettes contained a reproduction of the film. The affidavit supporting the application for the injunction included a witness statement who visited the store. The witness was informed by someone who identified as the operator of the store that all 50 tapes of the movie “Gandhi” had been rented out.

There is a high bar for granting an Anton Piller order, requiring strong evidence of possession of incriminating documents or things and a risk these items will be destroyed before any applications can be made to the court.

There was no evidence of pirating, reproduction or distribution, or possession of incriminating items, and no evidence that such alleged items would be destroyed. As such, the Anton Piller order was discharged.