• How to check if there is a case with evidence

The issue is that we want to check if there even is an issue in our name. We have been told by a certain lawyer that there is a case of copyright, and our name is in it. Because of that, there is a look-out circular in our name too. But this lawyer hasn't provided us any proof in writing about any of this. There was an FIR registered in 2015 - but our name was not listed in it. Before going ahead with our current lawyer, we want to understand how we can find out with proof if there is anything against us in a case, if there is a look out circular in our name, and how we should proceed. This was in 2015 December. This case was filed against many people, and we want to understand whether our name is there or not. What is the best way to find out. We also want to understand copyright cases are valid for how long?
Asked 6 months ago in Intellectual Property

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8 Answers

You can apply for copy of fir or complaint filed in court. You can also apply for charge sheet if you are not a party by RTI and find your role if any in the same

Prashant Nayak
Advocate, Mumbai
34493 Answers
248 Consultations

- Copyright offences are covered under the Copyright Act, 1957, 

- Further as per Section 63 of this Act, Any person who knowingly infringes or abets the infringement of the copyright in a work shall be punishable with imprisonment which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to three years and with a fine.

- Further , if the accused not appearing in this case then the Court can issue NBW and even if the accused not appear before the Court then LOC can be issued by the investigating agency with the approval of the Court. 

- You can engage a lawyer for knowing the details of this case 

Mohammed Shahzad
Advocate, Delhi
15794 Answers
242 Consultations

Dear Client,

You can make use of the official eCourts portal (https://ecourts.gov.in) to inquire about case status by party name, FIR number, or case number in the concerned district or High Court. You can also visit individual High Court websites or district court portals for case information. To confirm whether a Look-Out Circular (LOC) has been issued against you, you can visit the local police station or the immigration/customs department where LOCs are usually kept. You can also apply for an RTI application with the Ministry of Home Affairs or the relevant police authority requesting information about any LOC registered in your name. Ask your present lawyer to obtain official documents or certified copies of any case or LOC if they say so. If you were not mentioned in the FIR or later charge sheets, chances are you are not officially involved in that case. But verifying through court records as above will clear that.

Validity of copyright cases:
Copyright infringement actions are civil actions as per the Copyright Act, 1957. The Limitation period to institute a suit for copyright infringement is 3 years from the accrual of the cause of action or the date of knowledge of infringement (as per the Limitation Act, 1963). Criminal actions under copyright are also possible but tend to be dependent on complaint and investigation timelines.

 

Anik Miu
Advocate, Bangalore
11005 Answers
125 Consultations

A criminal case filed under copy rights infringement law if filed within three years from the date of last infringement then it will continue till it is disposed.

The Copyright Act, 1957, outlines criminal penalties for copyright infringement, including imprisonment and fines.

Since you have the FIR number you can find out the status of the FIR and if you confirm that it is pending before the concerned court then yo can visit either in person or through your lawyer to find out the status of the case and also the details of the accused as well as to confirm if there are any LOC  pending agaisnt the non present accused.

If your current lawyer is not cooperating or if you are not able to extract the desired information through yor current lawyer then you can engage any other lawyer separately to procure the said information and confirm the status as well as the existence of LOC if any.

 

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
89956 Answers
2490 Consultations

You can find out if look out circular is issued against by you with the FRR0 office .

 

in alternative you can find out from trail court records if issued by trial court or local police station if FIR is registered against you 

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
99754 Answers
8141 Consultations

  1. Visit ecourts website.
  2. Go the district Civil Court in which  case is filed.
  3. Feed you name and year of registration of case in the case is civil.
  4. Type captcha in box, you will get details of cases if any filed against you.
  5. Go to criminal Court website of the district if case is criminal and follow the above procedure.
  6. Issue of LOC is confidential matter. Only if the subject is high profile, the  pending of LOC is known thorough press.
  7. You can still ascertain from the criminal Court in which  a case is pending against you regarding issue LOC.
  8. If LOC is issued by police, it is difficult to ascertain the
  9. If such LOC is pending, you can approach High Court and get the LOC cancelled.
  10. Depending on circumstances, you can get the LOC cancelled from abroad.
  11. Infringement of copyright is continues offence, there is no limitation for it, for more details you refer to my book on Intellectual Property Rights, published by leading law publisher of Asia.

Ravi Shinde
Advocate, Hyderabad
5121 Answers
42 Consultations

Dear Sir/Madam,

it is suggested that there is a website of ecourt services as well as the App which you get in the mobile phone. Throguh this, you may find the case status details even if by you name and several other criteria including the FIR details. This you may do yourself. For other assitances, you may take help of another lawyer. 

Ganesh Singh
Advocate, New Delhi
7169 Answers
16 Consultations

To confirm if your name is involved in the case or if a Look-Out Circular (LOC) exists:

  1. File an RTI with the concerned police station or department that registered the FIR in 2015 to get a certified copy and check if your name appears.

  2. Apply for a criminal background check through a local lawyer or approach the District Magistrate or Police Commissioner for LOC status.

  3. If urgent, file a writ petition in High Court to get full disclosure of any FIR, chargesheet, or LOC issued against you.

Regarding copyright cases, the general limitation period for civil or criminal action is 3 years from the date of infringement, but it may vary depending on the case progress.

Shubham Goyal
Advocate, Delhi
2054 Answers
14 Consultations

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