The Supreme Court today upheld a Colombo Commercial High Court ruling ordering former minister Wimal Weerawansa to pay Rs. 1 million in compensation to Tilvin Silva, General Secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, for violating the Intellectual Property Act.
The court dismissed in full an appeal filed by Weerawansa against the earlier judgment.
The case was filed by Tilvin Silva, who alleged that Weerawansa had infringed the Intellectual Property Act by publishing his book, “Naththa Wenuwata Aththa” (“Truth Instead of Lies”), which included the JVP’s political ideology and official party documents without authorization.
The Supreme Court also upheld the order prohibiting the publication and distribution of the book in its current form. However, the court ruled that the book may be republished if the disputed 60-page section found to infringe intellectual property rights is removed.
In addition, the court ordered Weerawansa to pay a further Rs. 100,000 in compensation in connection with the intellectual property violation. (Newswire)