LANDMARK CASE

R.G. Anand v. Delux Films

(1978) 4 SCC 118 · Supreme Court of India · Intellectual property

At a glance

Citation: (1978) 4 SCC 118
Court: Supreme Court of India
Area of law: Intellectual property
In one line: No. Copyright protects expression, not ideas.

1 Facts

A playwright said a film copied his play.

2 Issue

Is there copyright in an idea?

3 What the court decided

No. Copyright protects expression, not ideas.

4 Why it matters

Classic idea expression case.

5 Think about it

How do courts test copying?

6 Analyse it yourself

Read the full judgment from an official source or a law database, then brief it in seven steps: facts, issues, arguments, decision, ratio, obiter and significance. Always check the citation before you rely on it.

7 More cases on Intellectual property

Amar Nath Sehgal v. Union of India (2005) 30 PTC 253 (Del)
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Eastern Book Company v. D.B. Modak (2008) 1 SCC 1
Indian Performing Right Society v. Eastern Indian Motion Pictures Association (1977) 2 SCC 820
Novartis AG v. Union of India (2013) 6 SCC 1
Satyam Infoway v. Sifynet Solutions (2004) 6 SCC 145

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← R.D. Upadhyay v. State of Andhra Pradesh R.K. Anand v. Registrar, Delhi High Court →

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