A person cannot be prosecuted for the offence of infringement under Section 63 of the Copyright Act of 1957 for being in possession of duplicate Reebok and Adidas bags, caps and belts since the legal provision will not apply in such cases, the Madras High Court has held.
Justice Sunder Mohan also agreed with advocate I. Abdul Basith that the offence of cheating under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code too could not be pressed against a person for mere possession of spurious goods unless it was proved that he used them to deceive someone.
The judge quashed a chargesheet filed by the Central Crime Branch police in Chennai against Chain Singh and Sujan Singh under Section 63 of the Copyright Act as well as Section 420 of the IPC for being in possession of apparels containing unauthorised use of popular brand names.
