Mill representatives accuse police of inaction in copyright case

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, July 26

Seeking a ban on the ‘illegal’ use of their registered trademark — ‘Taj Mahal’ — under the Copyright Act by Bhagwati Lacto Vegetarian Exports Pvt. Ltd, Ferozepur, representatives of New Bharat Rice Mills, Batala, accused the police of inaction on their complaint.

Addressing the media, the representatives said they had lodged a complaint with the DSP (Rural), Ferozepur, on July 11 but no action had been taken in the case.

Munish Khosla, owner, New Bharat Rice Mills, said despite raiding the premises of Bhagwati Lacto Vegetarian Exports Pvt. Ltd and lodging a complaint against it, the police had failed to take action.

Despite several visits and calls, the Ferozepur police had not registered a case and they were compelling them for a compromise, the owner added.

Khosla said, “Recently, we came to know that Bhagwati Lacto Vegetarian Exports Pvt. Ltd is exporting its rice under our registered brand, which is a clear cut infringement of our trademark and violation of our exclusive rights. We filed the complaint on July 11 and the Ferozepur police after verifying our documents raided the premises of Bhagwati Lacto. During the raid, the police had caught the employees of the rice industry exporting the rice under our trademark. The police had also seized the packing material on which a picture of Taj Mahal was imprinted. Now for what kind of evidence they are waiting for to take action.”

Gaurav Garg, SSP, Ferozepur, said, “The matter is being investigated. The police are investigating both parties. The main issue in the case is that both party claim to have a registered trademark and hold documents for the same. We have sent the documents to Delhi and are waiting for the reports to take necessary action. We have asked both parties to provide details but hardly anyone from Bharat Rice Mills took part in the investigation.”

“The true picture of the case will be revealed soon. We will take all necessary steps in the case”, added Garg.

Despite repeated attempts, owner of Bhagwati Lacto Vegetarian Exports Pvt. Ltd Sushil Mittal could not be contacted.

Copyright Act 1957

Under Section 63 of chapter XIII, the offence of infringement of copyright has been explained. Section 64 speaks about the power of the police. The section clearly empowers the police to seize all infringed goods without any warrant. The material has to be produced before the magistrate at the earliest.