The International Powered Access Federation, also abbreviated as Ipaf – the organisation that issues the Powered Access License (Pal) Card to high-access specialists that it has trained – has won an injunction against a former member firm, based in India, that it was embroiled in a copyright battle with.
Capital Equipment Services Ltd (CESL), based out of Chennai, India, attempted to copy and distribute Ipaf’s training materials as its own mobile elevating work platform (Mewp) course.
Also named in the injunction was Aerial Platform Association of India (Apai), which is registered in Mumbai.
Ipaf-accredited training programmes are exclusively available to the organisation’s members, who must observe the Ipaf code of conduct.
The member that led to the breach in this situation has been expelled, Ipaf said in a statement.
Both CESL and Apai were ordered by the Madras High Court (HC) to desist from using or dealing with the course material they had copied.
Commenting on the court’s decision, Ipaf’s managing director and chief executive officer, Tim Whiteman, said the organisation was “pleased [that] the Indian judicial system found decisively in Ipaf’s favour”.
He continued: “Ipaf training is created and shared in the greater interests of the industry.
“Our members continue to be involved in improving and developing Ipaf training material to ensure our industry stays safe and can rest assured we will rigorously defend any attempt to devalue or steal their hard work, wherever in the world such attempts occur.”
