Parallel to the growth in innovation across many
industries, counterfeiting has also increased and now
affects all spheres of work, ranging from literary to musical,
and all types of goods, ranging from agricultural to industrial. To
combat this surge in counterfeiting, various remedies are
available to rights holders under Indian law.
IP rights such as trademarks and copyright can be enforced
through civil or criminal litigation, while designs and patents can
be enforced only through civil litigation. The Trademarks
Act punishes offences such as falsifying or falsely applying a
trademark with imprisonment of between six months and three years
and a fine of between Rs50,000 ($770) and
Rs200,000 ($3,076). Similar search and seizure powers are
available under the Copyright Act, which states that any police
officer with the rank of at least sub-inspector can seize without
warrant all copies of an infringing work and the plates used to
make those copies if he or she is
