[This post is authored by SpicyIP intern Aditi Bansal. Aditi is a fourth year law student studying at OP Jindal Global University. She is incredibly passionate towards IP laws and its workings. Her previous post can be accessed here.]
Recently different law firms like Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Lall & Sethi and K&S Partners have released statements raising an alarm about impersonating scamsters duping people for money. As reported (here, here, here and here) these scammers through fake email ids, whatsapp numbers, etc are contacting people, impersonating these law firms and are coercing them to pay money for supposedly infringing IP rights of these firms/ their purported clients. .
Apart from these reported statements, in Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. v John Doe & Ors., the reputed law firm approached the Delhi High Court stating that it came across a few notices which were allegedly sent on behalf of “Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co. Law Firm”, a firm which does not currently exist. It was alleged that the notice contained fake email addresses and phone numbers purporting to be that of the firm and Dr. Shardul S. Shroff, the founder and executive chairman of Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & C , along with signatures and photographs of Dr. Shroff. The Court ordered an ad interim injunction restraining the infringers from using the firm’s trademarks. A similar issue arose with M/s. Anand and Anand v John Does & Ors., where the trademark of the firm ‘Anand and Anand’ was being used in fraudulent emails making false claims, requisitions and allegations. The firm was concerned that people may comply with these emails assuming it’s them. The Delhi High Court ordered the Defendants to be restrained from using the Plaintiff’s trademark and logo or anything deceptively similar to it which may amount to passing off. The firm also issued a caution notice on their website stating that they do not hold any responsibility for losses of consequences which result out of correspondence with such fraudulent emails.
As linked above, similar or even identical issues have been faced by other firms as well. K&S Partners stated that they have come across a similar notice being issued in their name and have said that they’ll be taking steps to trace and punish the scammers. Lall & Sethi issued a statement cautioning about fraudulent emails, whatsapp messages, phone calls circulating in their name. The firm highlighted that all their official communication would only come from ids from their email domain, and that any email without that address is a scam. The firm has clarified that they will be taking steps in this regard, and cautioned the public to be wary of falling prey to these scams.
What is IP Trolling?
The dictionary definition: Trolling is a way to intentionally annoy in order to get attention or cause trouble. In the IP context, trolls are also seen as entities that misleadingly or falsely assert ownership of IP rights, with the intent of making money out of duping people. In the present case, these trolls using the name of these firms are misrepresenting themselves to gain profits out of it. Such scams may work due to the fear of litigation and the reputation of these big law firms. With increasing litigation as well as uncertain knowledge of IP laws, people are all the more at risk of falling prey to these, due to insufficient information or awareness of the legality of their own actions! It is also often easier to pay a small amount of money and ‘get rid’ of a problem, as compared to the fear of dealing with arduous litigation even if you believe you are innocent. As ‘content’ becomes ubiquitous around us, the potential for these quick scams rises as well. This is especially problematic when “IP awareness” initiatives are limited to ‘protection’ and ‘enforcement’ as opposed to legitimate usages as well.
Today these trolls were caught in the eye of the public as they were against big law firms of India which always have an eye out. As the known law firms have a bigger clientele and resources, they may be able to track these scams but it is not the same for the other firms or chambers. And may not come to light at all if they simply create made-up names and continue to send out false notices. On the other hand, the fear of law and litigation still exists in the public who would be afraid to report such instances or would just give in to the demands, which would make these scams a success without the knowledge of these firms or chambers.
However, this scam isn’t directly focused on the law firms; rather it is directed at the companies or people who are being contacted in the process. These firms whose name is being used have already issued their clarifications stating that they would not be responsible for any losses incurred by the victims due to these scams. However, the actual victims of these trolls have not been provided any protection or clarity which should have been the initial step. This is where the role of governmental organizations like CIPAM should come in.
CIPAM and other Government Initiatives
The Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) is a professional body established under the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Their website does not seem to be opening. However, as per their Linkedin page, “CIPAM is working towards ensuring focused action on issues related to IPRs and addresses the 7 objectives of the National IPR Policy adopted by the Indian Cabinet in May 2016. CIPAM assists in simplifying and streamlining of IP processes, apart from undertaking further steps for furthering IPR awareness, commercialization and enforcement.” IPR awareness is clearly mentioned there.
Under such circumstances where big IP law firms’ names are being used in scams and considering the above role of CIPAM, they should also be promoting awareness and educating the public about valid and lawful usages of intellectual property. This must include the non-violating use of intellectual property and fair dealings. Copyright trolls and patent trolls are not unknown to the rest of the world and the damage in those parts has already been seen. So far, there has been no communication from CIPAM on this. Being the IPR cell, perhaps we can hope to have some form of interaction or communication on these matters soon? Considering CIPAM’s core objective is promoting awareness about the IP laws and regulations, it should make sure that due to such scams and trolls, the law firms/legal chambers and the victims of these scams do not suffer. As the general public remains uninformed about fair uses and practices, they are more likely to fall in the trap of these scams. Therefore CIPAM or any government establishment is required to clarify and spread awareness among the public.
Conclusion
Big law firms will always have their way out of scams but it is the smaller law firms and other chambers which get stuck with them. Mostly, as their resources are not so developed such establishments remain unaware about the use of their name in such scams. The biggest loss however is for the victims who are being contacted for such scams. Clarity of IP laws and its exceptions aren’t provided to them and due to lack of awareness the victims fall into such traps. It would be very useful to see the government, whether through CIPAM or otherwise, indulge in more awareness and promotion to make people aware about such scams as well as their rights, so that even if they receive such notices from actual over zealous law firms, they know where they stand! Moreover, copyright scams are complicated to differentiate and tracking of such scams can be extensively time consuming and still may end wasteful. The email ids and phone numbers can be deactivated, but the person/people involved in these scams cannot be easily tracked due to which it becomes a never ending process of lets say ‘hit and run’.
A big thanks to Swaraj for his inputs on the need to include discussions on legitimate usage in IP awareness initiatives.