HC restrains website from publishing copyright photographs of Louis Vuitton
New Delhi, (PTI): The Delhi High Court has granted relief to Louis Vuitton Malletier, a French high end luxury fashion house, by restraining a website from copying or publishing photographs which would infringe its copyright.
The high court said the plaintiff company has made out a clear prima facie case of copyright infringement and as such, it would be entitled to ex parte ad interim' relief so that such infringement does not continue.
It issued summons to website www.haute24.com on the suit and listed the matter on February 6, 2023 before the Joint Registrar (Judicial) for completion of the pleadings, including admission and denial of documents and marking of exhibits.
"Till the next date of hearing, defendants 1 and 2 (website) and all their agents, servants, etc. are injuncted from copying, issuing to the public or publishing, on their website www.haute24.com or through any other medium, the allegedly infringing photographs enlisted in ... Defendant 3, which is the domain name registrar of the domain name www.haute24.com is directed immediately and forthwith to block access to the said website...," Justice C Hari Shankar said.
Plaintiff Louis Vuitton Malletier, the owner of a high end fashion brand under which luxury and designer goods are manufactured and sold by it, asserted that it maintained a website https://louisvuitton.com, which displayed the line of its products available for sale.
In order to advertise these products, world renowned photographers and high end fashion models are hired on contract by the plaintiff, the plaint said, adding there are only three stores authorised to sell its products in India, out of which there is only one in Delhi.
The plaintiff's products are sold online on the websites www.louisvuitton.com and www.24s.com, it said.
The plaint said in January and again in November 2022, it came to know that its copyrighted photographs were being misused by defendants 1 and 2 to sell their products on the website www.haute24.com.
The plaint alleged the defendants have copied the plaintiff's photographs and have, therefore, infringed its copyright without its permission, and asserted they have no commercial relationship with the plaintiff or any authorisation from it to use or publish these photographs.
The alleged unlicensed use of the plaintiff's photographs amounts to infringement of the copyright of the plaintiff, it said.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
