Transit of infringing copyright goods may be restrained where "import" includes entry into India for onward passage.

The term "import" in Section 53 of the Copyright Act was construed contextually to include bringing infringing copies into India even for transit to another country, not merely import for commercial circulation. Reading the Copyright Act with the Customs Act and applicable treaty reservations, the Court held that freedom of transit did not bar measures to protect literary and artistic property. Section 53 was treated as a safeguard enabling the Registrar to prevent passage of infringing goods. The High Court's interpretation was reversed and the copyright owner's restraint on transit succeeded.

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Issues: (i) Whether the expression "import" in Section 53 of the Copyright Act, 1957 includes bringing infringing copies into India merely for transit to another country. (ii) Whether the Copyright Act, the Customs Act, and the applicable international conventions and treaties permit restriction of transit of infringing copyright goods through India.

Issue (i): Whether the expression "import" in Section 53 of the Copyright Act, 1957 includes bringing infringing copies into India merely for transit to another country.

Analysis: The statutory context controlled the meaning of "import". Section 53 dealt with copies made out of India which, if made in India, would infringe copyright, and authorised the Registrar to prevent their being brought into India. The surrounding provisions of the Copyright Act and the connection with Section 11 of the Customs Act, 1962 showed that the relevant inquiry was whether the copies were brought into India from outside India, not whether they were intended for commercial circulation within India. The Court rejected the narrower contention that import required absorption into the local mass of goods or import for commerce only.

Conclusion: The word "import" in Section 53 includes bringing infringing copies into India for transit across India, and is not confined to import for commerce.

Issue (ii): Whether the Copyright Act, the Customs Act, and the applicable international conventions and treaties permit restriction of transit of infringing copyright goods through India.

Analysis: The Court read the domestic statute consistently with international obligations. The transit-trade convention and the bilateral treaties recognised freedom of transit but expressly reserved the right to take measures necessary for the protection of industrial, literary, or artistic property and to prevent unfair competition. The Court held that the international materials did not bar the restriction; rather, they supported an interpretation that allowed the transit State to prevent passage of infringing copyright goods. Section 53 was also treated as a quasi-judicial safeguard enabling the Registrar to examine the claim before making an order.

Conclusion: The statutes and international instruments permitted the restriction of transit of infringing copyright goods through India.

Final Conclusion: The interpretation adopted by the High Court was reversed, and the order of the learned single judge was restored, with the copyright owner's claim to restrain transit of the infringing cassettes succeeding.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statutory term is context-dependent, it must be construed in harmony with the statutory scheme and, so far as possible, consistently with international obligations; "import" in Section 53 of the Copyright Act, 1957 means bringing infringing copies into India, including for transit, when such an interpretation accords with the Act and applicable treaty reservations protecting intellectual property.

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