Assignment 3( Cyber Laws)
Sanjamdeep Singh
Q.What is the crime and provisions if A changes password of B’s computer without His knowledge?
A For changing B’s computer password without permission, the relevant Indian laws are:
1. Section 66, IT Act – Hacking & Unauthorized Access
2. Section 43, IT Act – Penalty for Unauthorized Access
3. Section 66C, IT Act – Identity Theft
4. Section 66D, IT Act – Cheating by Impersonation
5. Section 403, IPC – Criminal Misappropriation of Property
Case Reference: *B.N. Firos v. State of Kerala (2021)* – Unauthorized password changes leading to legal action under IT
Act.
Q What is the crime if A shares nude pictures with B, her friend in good faith but B Shares them with others without A’s
consent?
A.If A shares nude pictures with B in good faith, but B:
1. Shares them without consent – Violates Section 66E of the IT Act, 2000 (Violation of privacy), Section 67A of the
IT Act, 2000 (Publishing sexually explicit content), Section 354C IPC (Voyeurism), and Section 509 IPC (Insulting
modesty of a woman).
2. Threatens to share them (Blackmail/Extortion) – Violates Section 384 IPC (Extortion) and Section 503 IPC
(Criminal intimidation).
3. Uses them for defamation – Violates Section 499 IPC (Defamation).
4. Uses them for pornography – Violates Section 67, 67A of IT Act, 2000 (Publishing obscene material).
Q What are the legal provisions if A, an executive in office sends nude pictures to B,His female colleague who wants to
make a complaint?
A.If A (an executive in office) sends nude pictures to B, the legal provisions depend on B’s consent and reaction:
1. If B consents – No crime.
2. If B does not consent and feels harassed – Violates Section 354A IPC (Sexual harassment), Section 509 IPC
(Insulting modesty), and Section 67A of IT Act, 2000 (Transmitting sexually explicit content electronically).
3. If A is in a position of authority and B is a subordinate – Violates POSH Act, 2013 (Prevention of Sexual
Harassment at Workplace).
4. If B is a minor – Violates POCSO Act, 2012 (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences), Section 67B of IT Act,
2000 (Sexually explicit material involving minors).
Q What is the offence if, A requests his son B to do research for a presentation in his office and B downloads a
catchphrase from a book and gives it to A who makes The presentation and the company likes the catchphrase and uses
for marketing a product?
A.This may amount to copyright infringement if the catchphrase is protected under Indian copyright law. The legal
provisions involved are:
1. Copyright Violation – Section 51 of the Copyright Act, 1957 (Infringement of copyright if the phrase is original and
copyrighted).
2. Plagiarism (Ethical Terms, – If A or the company claims the phrase as their own, it may lead to Section 57 of the
Copyright Act, 1957 (Author’s special rights).
3. Unfair Trade Practices – If the phrase is a registered trademark, it may violate Section 29 of the Trade Marks Act,
1999 (Trademark infringement).
A interesting case related to this is-:
Star India Pvt. Ltd. V. Leo Burnett (2003): Star India alleged that an advertisement by Leo Burnett copied elements from its
TV show “Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi.” The Bombay High Court ruled that the advertisement did not constitute
copyright infringement, emphasizing the necessity of similarity for such claims.
Q A helps her son in doing a project by downloading some material from Google and the project is non-commercial in
nature. Is there an offence committed?
A.If A downloads material from Google for her son’s non-commercial project, generally, no offence is committed.
However, certain legal provisions may still be relevant:
1. Copyright Law (Copyright Act, 1957, Section 51) – If the material is copyrighted and used without permission, it
may amount to copyright infringement, but fair use (Section 52) may apply for educational purposes.
2. Terms of Service Violation – If the content is used against the website’s terms of use, there may be a civil liability,
but no criminal offence.
One should provide proper citations and keep it for academic/personal purposes only, then no Legal Framing Is involved
