At the outset, the terms “Blockchain” and “Intellectual Property (IP)” don’t seem to overlap as the former is a part of relatively new technology, whereas the latter is a set of systems to legally protect such new technologies.

The State of Israel has made significant contributions to the world through a remarkable array of inventions and discoveries. Despite its relatively young age, Israel has proven to be a cradle of innovation and a hub for scientific research and technological development.

In the ever-evolving landscape of the fashion world, few materials possess the lasting allure and iconic status of denim.

Accidental Inventions as the name suggests refer to the discovery or creation of something new or useful that was not intentionally sought after. Accidental inventions have played a significant role in shaping our world, from the discovery of penicillin to the creation of the microwave oven. In some cases, accidental inventions have even led to entire industries and new fields of research.

Brands are more than just a name or a logo; they embody a story and a legacy that have been built over time. Behind every brand, there is a rich history and a unique set of circumstances that have shaped its identity and contributed to its success.

When it comes to food, the name of a dish holds meaning beyond just identification.

When it comes to food, the name of a dish holds meaning beyond just identification. The name of a dish can give insight into the history behind it, the ingredients used, or even the cultural significance it holds. In this series of blogs, we will explore the history behind famous Indian dishes.

When it comes to food, the name of a dish holds meaning beyond just identification. The name of a dish can give insight into the history behind it, the ingredients used, or even the cultural significance it holds. In this series of blogs, we will explore the history behind famous Indian dishes.

Evidence is required to be filed before the Registrar of Trademarks at several instances during the prosecution of a trademark application. If an applicant claims use of a trademark at the time of filing of an application, the trademark rules require that the applicant submits a declaration which affirms the first date of use of the mark in DD/MM/YY format. To support this declaration, the applicant is required to file evidence, showing the exact goods/services for which the mark is being used and the claimed date of use. During prosecution, when a mark is under examination, evidence of use is

Brands are more than just a name or a logo; they embody a story and a legacy that have been built over time. Behind every brand, there is a rich history and a unique set of circumstances that have shaped its identity and contributed to its success. These background stories have become an integral part of the brand, and they serve as an essential tool for building brand loyalty and connecting with customers. There are various brands that you think you know about, but do you really know them? In this series of articles we will be telling you unknown stories behind the known brands.

Recently, Parle Products Pvt. Ltd. (Parle) represented by R K Dewan & Co., successfully restrained the infringers for infringing its trademark “GLUCO” which is one of the most popular and reputed brand in India and has been openly, continuously, and extensively used by Parle for over 80 years, in a suit filed before Hon’ble Bombay High Court.

Recently, Aztec Secret Health & Beauty Ltd. (Aztec Secret) represented by R K Dewan & Co., was successful in obtaining an ex parte ad interim injunction in a suit filed before Delhi High Court, against the infringers namely, Mohammad Akbar U Maniyar & others (Defendants) for infringing its copyright in original artistic work and passing-off of its trademarks.

Vifor International Ltd (hereinafter referred to as Vifor) is a pharmaceutical company of Switzerland, incorporated in 1991. The company was granted a patent in India, patent no. IN 221536 titled ‘Water Soluble Iron Carbohydrate Complex and a process for producing Water Soluble Iron Carbohydrate Complex’, (hereinafter referred to as “IN’536”). The granted patent related to Ferric Carboxymaltose (hereinafter referred to as “FCM”) which is a water soluble iron carbohydrate of complex of iron and oxidation product of one or more maltodextrins. Application for the grant of a patent w

Gasoline pumps are also called ‘bowsers’ or petrol bowsers in Australia and New Zealand. In the UK, a water tanker is also called a water bowser. The Dictionary reveals that the word “bowser” is also a tanker containing fuel for aircraft, military vehicles and the like. No matter wherever the word is used, its origin is linked with the great inventor, Sylvanus Freelove Bowser of Fort Wayne, Indiana, who was born on August 8, 1854.

A Misnomer refers to an inappropriate designation for a person, place or an object. It arises primarily due to two reasons, either due to the fact that a particular thing was named before its true nature was known or an earlier form of a certain something has been changed and its name is unsuitable to that. However, a misnomer cannot be mistaken for a popular misconception but it could definitely be described as a word that someone uses misleadingly. Food misnomers are a common phenomenon involving food facts, food assumptions, and food myths. This blog briefly discusses some general misnomer

In order to enhance the objective of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, amendments were made in 2018 to streamline the resolution of commercial cases and bring commercial matters within its scope. Additionally, issues related to Intellectual Property Rights were incorporated into the definition of a 'commercial dispute' under Section 2(c)(xvii) of the Act. To further promote the efficient resolution of commercial cases, the introduction of Section 12A of the Act made it compulsory for conflicting parties to attempt mediation before instituting a commercial lawsuit.

When it comes to food, the name of a dish holds meaning beyond just identification. The name of a dish can give an insight into the history behind it, the ingredients used, or even the cultural significance it holds. In this series of blogs, we will explore the history behind names of famous Indian dishes. Laal Mans - The origin of Laal Mans can be traced back to the Rajput era. The Rajputs were a warrior clan who ruled over Rajasthan, India for centuries, and meat dishes were an integral part of their cuisine. Laal Mans was originally created as a dish for the Rajput warriors, who needed a h

Ancient India has made significant contributions to the world in various fields, including mathematics, science, philosophy, and spirituality. Many of these contributions have had a profound impact on the world. Badminton is a popular racquet sport that is enjoyed by millions of people around the world. The game has its origins in India, where it was first played in the city of Poona (now known as Pune) in the mid-19th century. In this article, we will explore the history of badminton and how it was invented in Poona, India.

Brands are more than just a name or a logo; they embody a story and a legacy that have been built over time. Behind every brand, there is a rich history and a unique set of circumstances that have shaped its identity and contributed to its success. These background stories have become an integral part of the brand, and they serve as an essential tool for building brand loyalty and connecting with customers. There are various brands that you think you know about, but do you really know them? In this series of articles we will be telling you unknown stories behind the known brands. PVR Cinemas

The IP Office India has recently introduced a fresh design for their Registration Certificates, unveiled on April 26, 2023, the World IP Day and has recently commenced its issuance. In this article, read about the several notable changes within thees revamped certificates.

A Geographical Indication (GI) tag is a sign/mark allotted to an artefact or a commodity that originates in a particular region and has its own unique identity. A GI right empowers the bearer to restrict the indication from being used by any other person whose quality does not meet the required criteria. In India, Geographical Indication tags are governed under Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.

In the realm of film and television, screenplays play a crucial role as the foundation for visual storytelling. A well-crafted screenplay is a blueprint that brings a story to life on the screen. Therefore, the question of who owns the copyright in the screenplay of a film holds great importance. Whether it is the producer of the film or the author of the screenplay?

When it comes to food, the name of a dish holds meaning beyond just identification. The name of a dish can give insight into the history behind it, the ingredients used, or even the cultural significance it holds. In this series of blogs, we will explore the history behind famous Indian dishes. From Portugal to Goa or Indo - Portuguese? Vindaloo is a popular Indian dish that has gained worldwide recognition for its fiery spiciness and unique flavour. While it is often associated with Indian cuisine, the origins of vindaloo are actually quite complex and can be traced back to various regions

When it comes to food, the name of a dish holds meaning beyond just identification. The name of a dish can give insight into the history behind it, the ingredients used, or even the cultural significance it holds. In this series of blogs, we will explore the history behind famous Indian dishes. Xacuti / Shakuti Xacuti, also spelled as shakuti or shakuti chicken, is a popular spicy curry dish from the coastal state of Goa, India. The dish is made with a blend of ground spices and coconut, and is typically served with rice or bread. The origin of Xacuti can be traced back to the Konkan region

When it comes to food, the name of a dish holds meaning beyond just identification. The name of a dish can give insight into the history behind it, the ingredients used, or even the cultural significance it holds. In this series of blogs, we will explore the history behind famous Indian dishes. Indian or Scottish? Chicken Tikka Masala is a popular Indian-inspired dish that has become a staple of many restaurant menus around the world. While it is often associated with Indian cuisine, the origins of Chicken Tikka Masala are actually quite surprising – it is believed to have originated in Sc

Brands are more than just a name or a logo; they embody a story and a legacy that have been built over time. Behind every brand, there is a rich history and a unique set of circumstances that have shaped its identity and contributed to its success. These background stories have become an integral part of the brand, and they serve as an essential tool for building brand loyalty and connecting with customers. There are various brands that you think you know about, but do you really know them? In this series of articles we will be telling you unknown stories behind known brands. The story of Rol

Registration of Trademarks can be refused either under absolute grounds (under section 9 of the Trademarks Act, 1999) or relative grounds (under section 11 of the Trademarks Act, 1999). Section 9 of the Act lays down the circumstances under which a mark can be recognized as non-distinctive and therefore not fit for registration. In other words, a mark needs to be distinctive in nature. This is to say that a person must be able to distinguish the proprietor’s mark from any other mark in the market. If the proprietor’s mark seems to be similar to any other mark then a likelihood of confusion

Accidental Inventions as the name suggests refer to the discovery or creation of something new or useful that was not intentionally sought after. Accidental inventions have played a significant role in shaping our world, from the discovery of penicillin to the creation of the microwave oven. In some cases, accidental inventions have even led to entire industries and new fields of research. These inventions often arise from unexpected or accidental circumstances, such as a laboratory mishap or a chance encounter. While not all accidental inventions may be successful or have significant impact,

Accidental Inventions as the name suggests refer to the discovery or creation of something new or useful that was not intentionally sought after. Accidental inventions have played a significant role in shaping our world, from the discovery of penicillin to the creation of the microwave oven. In some cases, accidental inventions have even led to entire industries and new fields of research. These Accidental #Inventions as the name suggests refers to the #discovery or creation of something #new or #useful that was not #intentionally sought after. From the discovery of #penicillin to the #creatio

According to the statistics of 2021, there was a 19.3% overall increase in procedures performed by plastic surgeons with more than 12.8 million surgical, and 17.5 million non-surgical, procedures performed worldwide. But do you know about the roots of plastic surgery more particularly rhinoplasty and where it was first performed?

Ancient India has made significant contributions to the world in various fields, including mathematics, science, philosophy, and spirituality. Many of these contributions have had a profound impact on the world. For example, the concept of zero and the decimal system, which were developed in ancient India, are now used in mathematics and accounting around the world. The practice of yoga, which originated in ancient India, has become a popular form of exercise and stress relief in the Western world. While concepts of Zero, Yoga and Ayurveda are perhaps better known contributions from India, the

When it comes to food, the name of a dish holds meaning beyond just identification. The name of a dish can give insight into the history behind it, the ingredients used, or even the cultural significance it holds. In this series of blogs, we will explore the history behind famous Indian dishes.

Brands are more than just a name or a logo; they embody a story and a legacy that have been built over time. Behind every brand, there is a rich history and a unique set of circumstances that have shaped its identity and contributed to its success. These background stories have become an integral part of the brand, and they serve as an essential tool for building brand loyalty and connecting with customers. There are various brands that you think you know about, but do you really know them? In this series of articles we will be telling you unknown stories behind known brands.

The Principles of Natural Justice should be followed by the authorities while holding the dais of justice. Speaking Order is considered to be the third pillar of natural justice as it enumerates the relevant reasonings which paved the way for arriving at a certain decision. The paucity of necessary reasonings in any decision raises a doubt of arbitrariness, which is a nightmare for any justice delivery system. This article focuses on a similar issue which was brought to the kind notice of the Hon’ble Delhi High Court in the matter of Rosemount Inc. v. Deputy Controller of Patents and Designs

Accidental Inventions as the name suggests refers to the discovery or creation of something new or useful that was not intentionally sought after. From the discovery of penicillin to the creation of the microwave oven, accidental inventions have played a significant role in shaping our world. In some cases, accidental inventions have even led to entire industries and new fields of research. These inventions often arise from unexpected or accidental circumstances, such as a laboratory mishap or some encounter by chance. The invention of the Pacemaker is one such case of serendipity!

Brands are more than just a name or a logo; they embody a story and a legacy that have been built over time. Behind every brand, there is a rich history and a unique set of circumstances that have shaped its identity and contributed to its success. These background stories have become an integral part of the brand, and they serve as an essential tool for building brand loyalty and connecting with customers. There are various brands that you think you know about, but do you really know them? In this series of articles we will be telling you unknown stories behind the known brands.

Brands are more than just a name or a logo; they embody a story and a legacy that have been built over time. Behind every brand, there is a rich history and a unique set of circumstances that have shaped its identity and contributed to its success. These background stories have become an integral part of the brand, and they serve as an essential tool for building brand loyalty and connecting with customers. There are various brands that you think you know about, but do you really know them? In this series of articles we will be telling you unknown stories behind the known brands.

A Geographical Indication (GI) tag is a sign/mark allotted to an artefact or a commodity that originates in a particular region and has its own unique identity. A GI right empowers the bearer to restrict the indication from being used by any other person whose quality does not meet the required criteria. In India, Geographical Indication tags are governed under Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.

Eduspark International Private Limited has emerged victorious in a suit filed before the Hon'ble Delhi High Court against Laxmi Publications Private Limited, a known publication house in Daryaganj, Delhi, for infringement of its trademark ‘VIBGYOR’.

The Delhi High Court, has observed that a plain reading of Order VIII Rule 10 of the CPC states the Court shall pronounce judgment where a written statement is not filed in response to a suit and does not distinguish between a case in which the defendant is appearing and the case in which the defendant is set ex-parte and therefore the Court cannot accord two separate interpretations in such cases.

Brands are more than just a name or a logo; they embody a story and a legacy that have been built over time. Behind every brand, there is a rich history and a unique set of circumstances that have shaped its identity and contributed to its success. These background stories have become an integral part of the brand, and they serve as an essential tool for building brand loyalty and connecting with customers. There are various brands that you think you know about, but do you really know them? In this series of articles we will be telling you unknown stories behind the known brands.

After a long time, I became privy to a well-reasoned decision in a trademark suit issued by the Commercial Division of the Bombay High Court while deciding an interim injunction issue.

Counterfeiting velvet fabric in India is a serious issue that can have a negative impact on both the textile industry and consumers. Velvet is a luxurious and expensive fabric that is often used for clothing, home decor, and accessories. Fake velvet fabric not only deprives genuine manufacturers of their rightful profits but also results in lower-quality products for consumers who may not be able to distinguish between genuine and counterfeit velvet.

Brands are more than just a name or a logo; they embody a story and a legacy that have been built over time. Behind every brand, there is a rich history and a unique set of circumstances that have shaped its identity and contributed to its success. These background stories have become an integral part of the brand, and they serve as an essential tool for building brand loyalty and connecting with customers. There are various brands that you think you know about, but do you really know them? In this series of articles we will be telling you unknown stories behind the known brands

I was reading a report on how the top 10 valuable brands drastically altered in value from the year 2000 till the year 2022

Brands are more than just a name or a logo; they embody a story and a legacy that have been built over time. Behind every brand, there is a rich history and a unique set of circumstances that have shaped its identity and contributed to its success. These background stories have become an integral part of the brand, and they serve as an essential tool for building brand loyalty and connecting with customers. There are various brands that you think you know about, but do you really know them? In this series of articles, we will share with you little known stories behind the famous brands

By a notification dated March 10, 2023, the Bar Council of India (BCI) has issued rules for registration and regulation of foreign lawyer and law firms in India. This will of course include foreign lawyers and law firms practicing in the area of Intellectual Property.

It is trite maths that 91 cannot be equal to 99. However, in the recent trademark case before the Delhi High Court, the use of the numeral “99” as a trademark on bicycles was considered deceptively similar to the numeral “91” already being used in respect of bicycles

Environmentalism and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria have become important considerations in the present times. However, the concern for environmental degradation is becoming res communis, instead of the environment itself. This has led many businesses to focus on becoming environment friendly by reducing waste, cutting emissions, recycling, and using renewable energy inter alia. Since the number of consumers whose purchasing decisions are swayed by the impact of environment on the products and/or services they purchase, has grown substantially, it has correspondingly led

The fundamental purpose of Copyright Laws is to make artists and creators capable of reaping the rewards of their intellect. However, the doctrine of fair use has entered the copyright laws with a rather opposite intention. The inception of the doctrine has taken place over the years and therefore, did not have any defining status. The doctrine is an exception to the very purpose of copyright law. According to the doctrine of fair use, any person can use a work without taking permission from the creator/owner of the work. However, the law provides only limited number of circumstances under whi

A short judgement (5 pages long) passed by Justice Sanjeev Narula of the Delhi High Court on the 10th of January ’23 came to my notice.

Jean-Noël Kapferer is an Emiritus Professor of Marketing at HEC Paris. He is known for his works on brand identity, strategic brand management, brand portfolios, brand architectures. He is a Ph.D. from Kellogg Business School. In 1966, Kapferer invented The Kapferer Brand Identity Prism through which any brand owner can analyse the identity of his/her brand with the six elements from the prism. In this article, we will understand this brilliant branding/marketing tool in simpler terms

In India, it is possible to file a multi-class application as well as individual applications for the registration of a trademark in different classes. However, it is recommended that one must file separate applications in each class. Unlike in other jurisdictions, such as Europe, there is no advantage in terms of official fees. Irrespective of the type of application, the government fee is calculated on a per mark per class basis.

Santa Claus is a legendary character who brings gifts to children. St. Nicholas of Myra (now known as Demre, Turkey), was a bishop famous for his compassion for the poor and particularly, children. His philanthropy became so legendary that it inspired others all over the world at Christmas.

A Shape, forms a part of the visual identity of a product and helps differentiating it from other similar products in the market place. However, in order for a shape to qualify for registration as a Trademark, it is essential that, the shape is distinctive and should not be a functional element of the product. For example, the shape of the Coca-Cola bottle is a trademark and protects its uniqueness and identity.

Conversations with Dr. Mohan Dewan

Conversations with Dr. Mohan Dewan

“Execution” in itself is not defined under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. In simple words it means a process for enforcing a decree that is passed in favour of the decree-holder by a competent court. Section 37 to 39 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 in related to the courts competent enough to execute a decree.

Worldwide intellectual property applications in 2021 have shown an increase over the previous years. 3.4 million Patent applications have been received by various patent offices around the world, out of which more than one-third have been received by the local patent offices of China. Receiving 1.59 million patent applications, China registered an increase of 5.5% over the previous year. USA was a distant second with 591,473, followed by Japan (289200), Republic of Korea (237998) and EPO (188788). The filings of China are highlighted by the fact that if the filings of 2nd to 13th country are a

Can the name of a magazine be used by an institute teaching Fashion Technology? This question was answered in affirmative by the Karnataka High Court.

Despite rewarding the exclusive right of a patentee on the invention, it was understood that there might be some cases where certain humane obligations are to be addressed, which is why certain exceptions are allowed under the Act that would otherwise be considered patent infringement, “Bolar Provision” aka “Bolar Exception” aka “Regulatory Exception” is one of these exceptions.

Pidilite approached the Bombay High Court seeking ad-interim reliefs. Pidilite contended that, the impugned mark was nearly-identical to its own mark not only with respect to the placement of the words used in the mark but also the designing of the packet in which the adhesive is sold and the same was a colorable imitation or a substantial reproduction of the original packet of ‘FEVI KWIK’

The court issued order taking suo moto notice due to what appears to be a delay on the side of the State and to prevent the matter from becoming infructuous as a result of the petitioner's passing. The government was instructed to take into account the request to employ the Patent Act's levers by the case court's earlier order, which was issued on June 14, 2022.

An incentive to innovate enhances the growth rate. The impact of Intellectual Property (IP) regimes on developing, or developed countries, is substantial. A prerequisite for sustainable development in any country is the development of an indigenous scientific and technological capacity.

In a major victory against counterfeit products in the United Arab Emirates, our Indian client, Kamal & Sons (KAMAL), a Star Export House recognized by the Govt. of India, from Sidhpur area of Gujarat, India, and the owner of the renowned “S.B. DEER BRAND” ® Sat Isabgol (Psyllium Husk & Powder), successfully managed to raid the counterfeiter and confiscate three truckloads of counterfeit products weighing about 7.41 tons (6722 Kilograms) under the infringing “STAG” trademark. R.K. Dewan & Co. assisted Kamal & Sons in taking criminal action against trademark infringement in the United

Conversations with Dr. Mohan dewan

For the purpose of this article, only the Indian prosecution before the IPO is focussed. For instance, the Indian patent (IN360407) claimed “A transglutaminase-mediated site-specific antibody-drug conjugate comprising the formula: antibody-(T-(X-Y-Za) b) c, wherein: T is 1) a glutamine-containing tag engineered at a specific site, 2) an endogenous glutamine, and/or 3) an endogenous glutamine made reactive by antibody engineering or an engineered transglutaminase; X is an amine donor unit; Y is a linker; and Z is an agent moiety; X-Y-Z is an amine donor agent site-specifically con

Conversations with Dr. Mohan Dewan

Tata approached the Delhi High Court and filed a suit against Anjani Bagaria and Mazing Retail Private Limited seeking permanent injunction restraining infringement of registered trademarks, passing off, dilution and tarnishment of its “TATA” trademarks.

According to the DPIIT’s Handbook of Copyright Law, making any work accessible for the public to view, hear, or otherwise experience directly or by any method of exhibition or dispersion is referred to as ‘communicating with the public’. Curiously enough, it is not imperative that any member of the public actually enjoys the work so made available through his sense perception. For instance, even though a cable operator may telecast a cinematograph film which no member of the public may see, it would still be considered as ‘communication to the public’. Thus, the fact that the work in

According to Section 146 read with Rule 131 of Indian Patent Act, a patentee or a licensee, exclusive or otherwise, of a granted patent, is required to submit a statement regarding the working of the patented invention on a commercial scale in India in the prescribed manner in Form-27. Let us see the nitty-gritty around this much hyped Form -27.

The year 2019 exposed humankind to an unprecedented situation. While preparing to welcome the New Year, the world was unaware of the devastating condition lurking around the corner. A viral infection caused by the Novel strain COVID-19, engulfed all the continents in the blink of an eye. Covid-19 had severe, devasting effects in all spheres that were initially not envisaged causing irreversible damage. The global medical community was shaken by this phenonmena. The world was in lockdown situation for almost a year. The economy of most countries was impacted and the public was grappling with cr

CrossFit, LLC (CrossFit) is a company based in California, USA, and engaged in providing products and services pertaining to health, fitness and nutrition in addition to conducting fitness seminars and providing trainer certifications. CrossFit adopted and used the mark ‘CROSSFIT’ since 1995 and has obtained various registrations for the word and device mark in India as well as other jurisdictions and has been using the said mark in respect of its products and services.

Recently, M/s. Eduspark International Private Limited (Eduspark) represented by R K Dewan & Co., was successful in obtaining an interim injunction against an infringer for infringing their trademark “VIBGYOR”.

Star India Pvt. Ltd. (Disney) filed a suit for copyright infringement seeking permanent injunction and damages, for infringement of copyrights in its upcoming film ‘Brahmastra Part One: Shiva’ against 7Movierulz.tc and other rogue websites (infringers), which were primarily and substantially engaged in illegal streaming, hosting, etc.

Chanel Limited is a French luxury brand created by Coco Chanel in 1910. In 100 plus years Chanel has created a goodwill for itself in ready-to-wear clothes, luxury goods and accessories for men and women. Chanel recently sought to register the shape of its bottle “No. 5” fragrance as a registered trademark in the US.

Cipla Limited vs. Novartis AG & ANR 9 March, 2017 A case for permanent injunction was filed in the High Court of Delhi by Novartis AG, a Swiss company against Cipla Limited, an Indian Company, for infringement of their Indian patent no. 222346. The product, Onbrez, comprising INDACATEROL claimed in the patent, was manufactured by the plaintiff in Switzerland and imported into India according to an agreement, dated 22.03.2012, with Lupin Laboratories.

Traditionally, having a TV would mean that you would have a cable or a satellite connection. However, with the inception of the internet and today, the high speed internet, things have changed.

Under Indian patent law, one patent application must pertain to one invention only; in other words, there must be unity of invention. Section 10(5) of the Indian Patents Act states that: “The claim or claims of a complete specification shall relate to a single invention, or to a group of inventions linked so as to form a single inventive concept, shall be clear and succinct and shall be fairly based on the matter disclosed in the specification.”

A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a new product or a process that involves an inventive step and is capable of industrial application. Therefore, to obtain a patent, the subject matter of an invention must satisfy the patentability criteria which states that the subject matter must be novel, must involve an inventive step (technical advancement or contribution), and must be capable of industrial application.

When a patentable idea is considered inventive? What standards are used to evaluate inventiveness? What are the best practices to overcome inventive step objection? These are the fundamental inquiries for those pursuing a patent application.

Allahabad Law Agency (ALA) is a publishing house familiar within the legal fraternity, and the publisher of the most sought after publication on the Law of Torts in India. ALA acquired the copyright rights for publishing and selling 'Law of Torts' from the original owner of the copyright (late) Dr. RK Bangia through a deed of assignment executed in August 1968.

Section 48(a) and 48(b) of The Indian Patents Act 1970 confers exclusive rights to a patentee to the patented product or process respectively. The act prevents third parties from making, using, offering for sale, selling, or importing a patented product in India, unless consented by the patentee. It also prevents third parties from using a patented process or offering for sale, selling, or importing, the product obtained directly by the patented process, unless consented by the patentee.

Founded in the year 1984, Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd. (Sona) is involved in the business of manufacturing a range of products consisting of electric motors, controllers, and starters for use in all passengers and commercial vehicles, including Electric Vehicles (EV) having its operations in India, the USA, Mexico, China and Hong Kong. Sona is the registered proprietor of the mark “SONA” in India as well as abroad.

In a significant ruling, Patil Automation Private Limited and Ors. VS. Rakheja Engineers Private Limited, SLP (C) No. 14697 of 2021, dated August 17, 2022, a division bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India declared that Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act 2015, which mandates pre- institution mediation, is mandatory and suits which are filed violating the mandate of Section 12A must be rejected under Order VII Rule 11. Persons authorized by the Central Government can act as Mediators.

Mr. Akash Aggarwal, operating under the mark/ name ‘V Tradition,’ a female clothing brand present on various e-commerce platforms, including Flipkart. Mr. Aggarwal was aggrieved by the fact that Flipkart has allowed and is allowing various unrelated third-party sellers to latch on to his popular products sold under his brand ‘V Tradition,’ through a feature on Flipkart which enables these third-party sellers to become ‘more sellers’ of popular best-selling goods.

‘THEOBROMA FOODS PVT. LTD.’ (‘Theobroma’- which means the ‘Food for the Gods’ as well as the name of a flowering plant), Mumbai has become a household name in respect of bakery related products, patisseries, confectionery etc. having total of 81 retail outlets/cafés across several locations like Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune, Noida, Bengaluru, amongst others has multiple trademark registrations in respect of the mark ‘THEOBROMA’ and its variants.

Section 9 of the Indian Patents Act 1970 broadly deals with patent applications accompanied by provisional and complete specifications. Sub section (i) states that once a patent application accompanied by a provisional specification is filed at the Indian Patent Office, it is mandatory to file the complete specification within a period of 12 months from the filing date of the application. If the complete specification is not filed within this period of 12 months the original application filed will be treated as abandoned and the invention will lose priority. This filing process is unlike the f

Selection of a proper brand name in the initial stages of the life cycle of a product plays a vital role in the success or failure of a product. It is advisable, to conduct a search in appropriate trademark classes (depending on the products or services provided) through the online records of the Trademarks Registry to determine whether a mark is likely to conflict with any pending or registered mark(s) in respect of the same or similar goods/services.

Cadbury India Ltd., now known as Mondelez India Foods Pvt. Ltd. (Cadbury) is the registered proprietor of the mark ‘GEMS’ for button chocolate covered with colourful candy shells. Cadbury also has copyright registrations in respect of a character known as ‘GEMS BOND’ which has been used Cadbury for promoting ‘GEMS’.

The Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is the registered proprietor of the mark ‘KHADI’, several Khadi-formative marks and logos (Hindi and English) along with the ‘Charkha Logos’ in several trademark classes in India as well as other jurisdictions such as the UK, China, Australia, USA, New Zealand, Bhutan, Mexico, etc.

Hungary based company M/s. Hell Energy Magyarorszag Kft. (Hell) is engaged in the manufacture and sale of non-alcoholic beverages and energy drinks. Hell is the registered proprietor of the trademark “HELL” which was adopted in 2006 bearing international registration no. 933068 in Class 32 for ‘non-alcoholic beverages and energy drinks’ in countries like Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Great Britain, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Sweden, Serbia, Turkey and Uzbekistan. The mark ‘HELL’ was registered in India in Class 32 since 2017 in respect of energy drinks.

Shubham: Sir, what is a Trademark Caution Notice? Dr. Dewan: A trademark caution Notice is a Notice generally inserted by a trademark owner in Newspapers or magazines to inform the general public that its mark is registered and use by any other person of the mark without its authorisation will amount to infringement and will result in infringer becoming liable to civil as well as criminal action.

We all have used Bluetooth Technology, and its logo is also quite well known. However, do you know the origin of the word Bluetooth, and the reason why its logo looks how its looks? The Bluetooth technology was originally developed by Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (commonly known as Ericsson) and is presently used in many different products developed by several manufacturers.

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) introduced Third Party Observations Service (TPOS) (under section 801(a), 804(b)) on April 13, 2017. This service allows third parties to make observations through the ePCT system (i.e., by accessing ePCT designated offices (DO) function) by citing prior art(s) which they believe to be relevant to the question of whether the invention claimed in the international application is novel and/or involves an inventive step.

In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, the Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt described the R&D wing of the Ministry of Defence, Defence Research Development Organisation’s (DRDO) efforts for enhancing self-reliance in the defence sector to create a “Made in India” defence eco-system. He stated that, DRDO had signed 1,464 ‘Transfer of Technology’ (ToT) agreements with Indian firms to supply key components to India’s defence setup till date.

On July 21, 2022, NITI Aayog, Government of India released the 3rd edition of India Innovation Index 2021. The India Innovation Index, jointly prepared by Institute for Competitiveness and NITI Aayog, is a thorough instrument for assessing and developing the nation's innovation ecosystem. To foster healthy competition among them, it rates the States and Union Territories (UT) based on how well they perform in terms of innovation.

What are Disclaimers in a patent application? Under the Indian Patents Act, one of the permissible ways of entering the amendment is to incorporate ‘Disclaimers’. Disclaimers are usually defined for removal of doubts with respect to a particular aspect/feature of the claimed subject matter of a patent application. Disclaimers can be used a) in claims b) in written description of the specification, mostly during the prosecution or post-grant stage.

Indian e-commerce company, Snapdeal Private Limited (Snapdeal) approached the Delhi High Court seeking permanent injunction restraining 32 Domain Name Registrars (DNRs) for infringement of trademarks, passing off, unfair trade practices, damages, rendition of accounts and other reliefs for registering several domain names containing its registered trademark ‘SNAPDEAL’.

On April 27, 2022, The Office of the United States Trade representatives (USTR) released its Special 301 Report, an annual review which identifies trade barriers to American companies, with respect to the IP laws and legislations of other countries.

The journey of the human being as a species, began about 2.4 – 1.4 million years ago when Homo habilis, commonly known as “Handy Man” started roaming on earth, presumably in southern and eastern Africa, although no definitive conclusion has arrived regarding the ontogeny and phylogeny of the species. The evolution of the human species flourished when several human species roamed at a particular geological time frame. The Smithsonian National Museum lists at least 21 human species, although the said list is not complete as even a common species like Denisovans are missing from the list.

The world is atwitter about NFTs! Partially because they are not aware about what it is and why its buzzing the internet world. Let us help you demist!

Meta Platforms Inc. (Meta) has several registrations for its mark “Facebook” and other Facebook-formative marks including , and the like.

On July 9, 2022, The Government of India launched a “Jute Mark India logo”, which will act as the certification of authenticity for jute products manufactured in India and an assurance regarding origin and quality for jute and jute products. It is an initiative to protect and promote Indian jute products. This is aimed to strengthen the domestic market as well as Export of Jute products and revamping the Indian Jute Industry. It was implemented during the on-going Jute promotion and development scheme 2022- 2026. The Union government has allocated INR 485.58 for the scheme.

Earlier we had written an article wherein the English songwriter-singer, Ed Sheeran had won a copyright infringement case in the United Kingdom's High Court on April 6, 2022, over his 2017 song “Shape of You”. Sami Chokri, a.k.a. Sami Switch (Chokri), and his co-writer Ross O’Donoghue, had sued the 31-year-old singer and his co-writers and accused them of plagiarising a phrase from the British grime track "Oh Why" when writing the worldwide smash.

Recently, on July 05, 2022, a Single Judge Bench consisting of Hon’ble Justice Pratibha M. Singh delivered a milestone judgment relating to the amendment of patent specifications, holding that with respect to claims, an invention may be amended “so long as the invention is comprehended within the matter disclosed”.

Recently, the Hon’ble Delhi High Court directed the creation of 42 new Commercial Courts in the national capital within six months, to expedite the disposal of commercial disputes. The Court issued the direction upon hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which stated that the 42 new commercial courts which were notified and/ or sanctioned by the Delhi Government on April 13, 2021, were not setup.

SM MOTORENTEILE GMBH (hereinafter SMM) is engaged in the business of manufacturing and selling metal equipments for automobiles. SMM is the registered proprietor of the marks “SM” & “ “(SM Logo). SMM approached the Delhi High Court and filed a suit for trademark infringement, passing off as well as unfair trade competition against MAHARASHTRA MOTORS (MM) and certain retail shop owners for were selling cheap imitations of the SMM’s products under SMM’s registered marks.

Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited (‘Culver Max’) doing business as Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt. Ltd., is an Indian media conglomerate owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Culver Max manages and operates 26 television channels, the streaming media platform SonyLIV, as well as the television studio “Studio NEXT” and film studio Sony Pictures International Productions. The network forayed into the Indian sports TV market in 2002 after acquiring the license rights for International Cricket Council (ICC) matches from 2003 to 2007, which were broadcast on SET and Sony MAX.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) was established in July 2020 under The Consumer Protection Act, 2019, to promote, protect, and enforce the rights of consumers as a class, and to investigate, prosecute, and punish violators issued guidelines on Monday July 4, 2022 with regards to the service charge being levied by hotels and restaurants to curb unfair trade practices, and protect the interest of consumers.

Campus Activewear Limited (Campus) filed two suits in the Delhi High Court against Asian Footwears Private Limited (Asian). Campus also made Amazon Seller Services Private Limited and M/s Flipkart Internet Private Limited which are e-commerce platforms party to the suits.

Recently, the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York, USA conducted an experimental therapy trial using Dostarlimab as a result of which all the cancer patients in the trial emerged cancer-free for the first time in history. According to a recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, immune checkpoint inhibitors may be particularly helpful in treating persons with a specific type of rectal cancer. Andrea Cercek, MD, Head of the Colorectal Cancer Section and Co-Director of the Center for Young-Onset Colorectal and Gastrointestinal Cancers at Memorial Sloan Ketterin

Under the Law on Patents in force in Cambodia, pharmaceutical products now stand excluded from patent protection [Article 4(iv) and Article 136 of the amended Law on Patents (Royal Kram Nº NS/RKM/1117/016)].

DHI (Direct Hair Implantation) is a brand name conceived and adopted by DHI Global Medical Group (‘DHI Global’) for a unique hair transplantation method invented and developed by its founder Dr. Konstantinos P. Giotis.

The invention of plastics was considered a boon due to its potential to stop exploitation of plants worldwide, however, soon turned to be a curse due to enormous amount of generated non-biodegradable wastes, which may last as long as 4,000 years. As per a 2021 report published in prakiti.in, nearly 8,300 million tonnes of virgin plastics are produced globally as of 2017, of which merely about 9% could be recycled, about 12% of it incinerated, leaving a whopping 79% to the natural environment including but not limited to landfills, scattered in habitat conditions, polluting the depth of ocean a

M/s. Laborate Pharmaceuticals India Ltd. (Laborate) filed a suit for trademark & copyright infringement as well as passing off in relation to its registered trademark “LABDIC RELIEF” against Alkem Laboratories Ltd. (Alkem) The Trial Court granted an ex-parte ad interim injunction was passed against Alkem and restrained it from using the mark “ALDIGESIC PAIN RELIEF” as well as from using trade dress/ product packaging and the blister packaging or any other deceptively similar trademark to “LABDIC RELIEF”.

Katherine Von Drachenberg, (Von D) is a tattoo artist who rose to fame as a celebrity tattoo artist through appearances on the reality television series Miami Ink and LA Ink. In March 2017, Von D published two Instagram posts of a tattoo based photograph of jazz legend Miles Davis, holding a finger to his lips for a lighting technician and her friend named Blake Farmer, (who had worked with Von D on a film project.) Von D used the photograph, which was provided by Farmer, for reference.

The notion of prior use comes into play when the invention underlying a patent application is already in use before filing of the patent application, the right(s) of which although having a common ground, yet are determined differentially across the jurisdictions owing to the territorial nature of patents. One factor that is most important in determining something “prior”, is the filing date of the patent application, especially in a jurisdiction adhering to the “first to file” principle. For a country following the “first to invent” principle, the matter is even tougher to determi

Christian Louboutin (Louboutin), a Paris-based luxury shoemaker, known for his high-end shoes with bright, lacquered red bottom outsole first made the collection available to the public in 1992. Soon after the launch of these handcrafted collections, they became a preferred choice by the Hollywood actresses and Paris’ fashion establishment. In 2008, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted a trademark registration upon an application filed by Louboutin for the “Red Sole Mark” in a significant font which was printed on the soles of all the shoes.

Ralph Lauren Corporation (“Polo”) is a global leader in the design, marketing, and distribution of premium lifestyle products, including apparel, accessories, home, fragrances, and hospitality. Polo is the registered proprietor of the mark ‘POLO SPORT’ since 1967, which is registered in India and also declared a ‘Well-known’ trademark in 2011. Polo also owns the device mark which consists of a horse with a person riding it while flinging his club to hit a ball in the sport of polo.

The Delhi High Court has restrained Panasonic Life Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. (Panasonic) from infringing the registered designs of Havells India Limited (Havells).

Rosabagh is a Delhi-based luxury design house engaged in manufacturing and selling with all kinds of furniture and artifacts, fabrics, carpets, wallpapers, tiles, wooden floorings and lights, including crafting custom-made furniture, and also provide consultancy services to the customers looking to build their ‘dream homes’. It was established in 2018 by Abhishek and Barkha Kathuria.

The famous Khola Chilli of Goa recently got their Geographical Indication (GI) tag from the Geographical Indication Registry. Khola Chilli is grown on the on the hills of Khola village in Canacona taluka region of Goa.

The Hon’ble Delhi High Court, in the matter of Vishal Pipes Limited v. Bhavya Pipe Industry, was dealing with an appeal challenging the order dated 28th January 2022 passed by the ld. Additional District Judge (ld. ADJ), New Delhi in the suit wherein a permanent injunction was sought by Vishal Pipes Limited against Bhavya Pipe Industry for infringing its registered mark 'VPL INDIA' and copyright as well as seeking reliefs for passing off, delivery up, rendition of accounts, etc. The grievance of Vishal Pipes Limited was that the ld. ADJ had refused to grant an ex parte order of injunction an

A Geographical Indication (GI) tag is a sign/mark allotted to an artefact or a commodity that originates in a particular region and has its own unique identity. A GI right empowers the bearer to restrict the indication from being used by any other person whose quality does not meet the required criteria. In India, Geographical Indication tags are governed under Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.

The Delhi High Court recently restrained Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Limited from infringing the trademark "PEBBLE" on a suit filed by V Guard Industries Ltd. (V Guard).

SPP Pumps Limited (SPP Pumps Ltd.) is an UK based Company engaged in the manufacturing of centrifugal pumps and engineered pumping solutions from the last 140 years of experience. It is the owner and the registered proprietor of the mark ‘SPP PUMPS’, which was adopted in the year, 1961 and is an acronym of ‘Sigmund Pulsometer Pumps’. The said mark is a coined word/abbreviation. It has registration for the mark ‘SPP PUMPS’ in class 9 in India since 2021, SPP Pumps Ltd. have several trademark applications for the said mark in classes 37 and 7 which are pending registration.

Hungary based company M/s. Hell Energy Magyarorszag Kft. (Hell) is engaged in the manufacture and sale of non-alcoholic beverages and energy drinks. Hell is the registered proprietor of the trademark “HELL” which was adopted in 2006 bearing international registration no. 933068 in Class 32 for ‘non-alcoholic beverages and energy drinks’ in countries like Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Great Britain, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Sweden, Serbia, Turkey and Uzbekistan. The mark ‘HELL’ was registered in India in Class 32 since 2017 in respect of energy drinks.

Burger King established in the year 1957, is an American multinational chain of hamburger fast food giant. Burger King owns all the rights extensively in relation to the use of the mark “BURGER KING” in conjunction with its distinctive logo which has evolved over the years. Burger King also owns 1040 domain names registered in its name.

Karim Hotel Pvt Ltd (Karim), famously located at Jama Masjid, New Delhi, has multiple branches Pan-India, it coined and adopted the trademark KARIM in the year 1913. The mark KARIM is an abbreviation of the name of its original founder, Haji Karimuddin. Karim has registered the mark KARIM in Classes 16, 29, 30, 42, 43.

Colorbar Cosmetics Private Limited (Colorbar) is engaged in manufacturing and selling of cosmetic products. Colorbar is the owner of the mark ‘VELVET MATTE’ which was registered and adopted the mark ‘VELVET MATTE’ for their line of cosmetics being, inter alia, lipstick, lip gloss, liquid pre-makeup base, lip color, lip liner since2009 as a sub-brand/mark under the umbrella brand/house mark ‘COLORBAR’. Various variants of the mark have also been used by Colorbar.

Sholay (1975) directed by Ramesh Sippy, is perhaps the most reviewed film in the history of Hindi mainstream cinema and a film that transcends all generations. The creative and commercial rights of the iconic film vest with Sholay Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd. and Sippy Films Pvt. Ltd.

The Order of the Delhi High Court in the case of “NEW BALANCE ATHLETICS INC., VS. ASHOK KUMAR & ORS.” throws light upon the increasing challenges that the IP owners/proprietors have been facing with the advancement of technology in the era of the internet.

Amazon Seller Services Private Limited (Amazon) operates and manages the India online marketplace through www.amazon.in where several third-party sellers and numerous buyers get a chance to interact and conduct business. Amazon owns several marks under various classes one of which is ‘AMAZON’. Amazon is also the owner of copyright in various logos of ‘AMAZON’ under the Copyright Act, 1957.

US based companies National Insurance and Indemnity Corporation & Greyhound Lines, Inc. (National & Greyhound) provide premium brand of public transport bus services across United States, Canada, and Mexico between various cities including several major cities in the USA.

Our lives would have been better if diseases likely to occur in the future can be anticipated and taken care of before the moment slips out of our hands. This far-fetched scenario is now possible with the completion of the sequencing of the human genome. A single gene or a set of genes may appear to predispose a degenerative disease, alter sensitivity to environmental pollutants and toxins, and even an infectious disease. Understanding an individual's genetic make-up may help avoid situations that are likely to cause disease leading to preventive medical treatment. Early disease of identificat

Incorporated in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas in 2002, Kerzner International Limited (Kerzner) is one of the world’s renowned service provider engaged in management, development and operation of destination resorts, properties, luxury resort hotels, etc. Kerzner manages more than 15 hotels in approximately 10 countries under the mark ‘ATLANTIS’ which was adopted in 1994. In India, Kerzner owns several registrations for the mark ‘ATLANTIS’ under Classes 35, 36, 39, 41, 42 and 43.

In the matter of Concrete Additives and Chemicals Pvt. Ltd v. S N Engineering Services Pvt. Ltd, the Bombay High Court dealt with an application filed under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (the Act) whereby Concrete Additives and Chemicals Pvt. Ltd (Concrete) had prayed for appointment of an arbitral tribunal to adjudicate the dispute which had arisen under the purchase orders that were issued by S N Engineering Services Pvt. Ltd (SN).

We get invoices, bills, cash memos, and receipts every now and then, however, not all of those are proper /legal ones. Therefore while receiving an invoice/bills/cash memos/receipts from a merchant for any goods bought or services availed we need to ensure that the invoice contains all the details necessary.

While it’s unquestionable that an owner of a registered trademark can defend his rights in the same by the virtue of the relevant provisions of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, can these rights still be enforced in cases where the application has been actively opposed by third parties? The recent order by Delhi High Court in United Biotech Pvt. Ltd. v. Mr. Gaurav Aggarwal CS (COMM) 289/2022 seems to have cleared some air on this.

Have you heard about this, kamikaze branding strategy as the name suggests is a strategy where a brand launches a brand that is intended to fail and also damage the competitors in the market.

Just Dial (JD)is engaged in providing directory services and listing services in India since 1996 , also known as search engine along with other services that includes Searching Service, Search Plus Services, JD Mart, JD Pay, JD Omni, etc. JD also has voice services available on ‘8888888888’ which is 24 x 7 accessible with multilingual support and domain name www.justdial.com, on which its large number of clients list their products and services for expanding their reach.

DHL International GmbH (DHL) is a German logistics company. DHL was set up in San Francisco in the year 1969 and is engaged in offering various services including parcel and international express service, freight transport, and supply chain management services, as well as e-commerce logistics solutions. In 2001, DHL incorporated DHL Worldwide Express Pvt. Ltd. (later known as DHL Express (India) Pvt. Ltd.)

Saga Life Sciences Limited (Saga) sold a pharmaceutical paracetamol preparation ULTRAMOL after obtaining approval of Food and Drug Controller Authority (FDCA), Gujarat on 28th November 1991. The product was listed on e-commerce platforms as well as on the website of the company. Saga applied for the trademark “ULTRAMOL 650” in 2007 and claimed a prior use since 1992. The application was abandoned because of some misunderstanding with the Trademark Agent and subsequently, Saga re-applied for registration of the trademark “ULTRAMOL” on 16th October 2019 in class 5 which was opposed by Ar

Legal fees cover the services provided by lawyers to their clients, which may be in form of advice, research, resources, and time. Initial fees may be charged for advice and case reviews, while ongoing matters have retainer fees that cover a range of services on a periodic basis. Legal fees are not standardized, and vary from firms to individuals. They are determined by the reputation of a law firm, the education level and experience of the attorney dealing with the case, the difficulty and novelty of the matter, overhead expenses as well as other aspects of the service.

Moonshine Technology Pvt. Ltd., (‘Baazi group’) is engaged in the Indian Gaming Industry. Baazi group owns several registered trademarks such as BAAZI, BAAZI GAMES, POKER BAAZI, RUMMYBAAZI, BALLEBAAZI, etc..

Victoria Foods Private Limited (Victoria) is engaged in the manufacture and sale of agro-based food products like wheat based products, pulses, pasta etc. under its brand “Rajdhani”. Victoria adopted the mark 'RAJDHANI' in 1966 and has multiple trademark registrations for the same in classes 29, 20, 31, and 32 in India as well as aborad.

Delhi High Court has granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction against M/s Parulben Navnath Chothani, trading as Shiv Enterprise (Defendant No. 1), while dealing with a plea by Sirona Hygiene Pvt. Ltd. against the sale of its “look-alike” and counterfeit products on online e-commerce platforms.

Biocon India Limited (Biocon) is a company established in 1978 engaged in the field of biotechnology. Biocon owns various process patents and technologies in its sphere of activity in India as well as abroad. In the year 1999, Biocon applied for the registration of word mark ‘BIOCON’ under class 1, 3, 5 and 29. This was further updated to classes 1,3,5,10,16 and 29 in 2003. Biocon has spent enormous amounts of money towards popularizing its mark ‘BIOCON’ and is also represented on the worldwide web. The reputation and goodwill enjoyed by Biocon is evident from the fact that its turnove

Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Chugai) is a drug manufacturer operating in Japan. The company is headquartered in Tokyo. Historically stating, in the year – 1925, Juzo Ueno founded ‘Chugai Shinyaku Co. Ltd.’ and started importing and selling medicines. In 1927 the company started of the first own production. Following which, in the year 1943 name of the company was changed to Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. based in Tokyo.

MakeMyTrip (India) Pvt. Ltd. (MMT) registered the domain name www.makemytrip.com, back in May 2000. MMT is the registered owner of the trademark ‘MakeMyTrip’ in various classes 9, 35, 39 & 43 for the last several years and is using the same since June 2000. MMT also has registration for the trademarks ‘MakeMy’, ‘MyTrip’, ‘MMT’ etc., and the logos thereof in various variants.

Since 1873, Levi Strauss & Co. (Levi) has been a pioneer in the manufacturing of denim jeans. Levi were granted a patent in the US for an "Improvement in Pocket-Opening Fastenings" back in 1873, namely for riveted pockets, and making work pants durable and long lasting for working men. Levi adopted a distinctive stitching design, known as ‘Arcuate Stitching Design’ and used it on all its textiles including denim jeans.

A successful trademark can be a game changer for any business. Generally, Trademarks make it easier for the customers to identify a company’s goods and services. A good Trademark not only distinguishes a product/service from other products/services in the market, but is also an effective medium of communication regarding its proprietor, its reputation and the goods/services. This article addresses the common mistakes committed, as well as the problems faced while adopting a trademark.

Living Media India Limited (‘Living Media’) is engaged in the business of news publication and printing of various magazines including India Today and Business Today. Living Media in association with India Today and Business Today run popular television news channels including ‘AAJ TAK’.

On good days, even the wrong paths may lead one to the right destination, the recent case of Mankind Pharma Limited V. Tata Medical and Diagnostics Limited CS (COMM) 192/2022 is a classic example of the same.

Launched in 2008, JA Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. (JA) is a media production company owned by actor John Abraham which has produced films like, ‘Vicky Donor’, ‘Madras Café’, ‘Parmanu’, and ‘Batla House’.

Macleods Pharmaceuticals Limited (Macleods) is engaged in the manufacture of a broad range of pharmaceutical products across therapies in multiple dosage forms. It had adopted the mark ‘SETFRAC’ and ‘SETFRAC PLUS’ in the year 2013 which was duly registered w.e.f. July, 2013, in Class 5 in respect of medicinal, pharmaceutical and veterinary preparations.

The Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) , established under the Food Safety Standards Authority of India Act is responsible for regulating food products in India and is governed by the guidelines issued under theact . To standardize the food regulations the government has introduced the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011. These regulations include provisions for dairy products, oils, fruits and vegetables, grains, confectionery, ice cream products, seasonings, non-dairy products and fruit and vegetable-based beverages.

Ed Sheeran won a copyright infringement case in the United Kingdom's High Court on April 6, 2022 over his 2017 song “Shape of You” which topped charts worldwide and currently stands as the most streamed song on Spotify. Sami Chokri, a.k.a. Sami Switch (Chokri) and his co-writer Ross O’Donoghue, had sued Sheeran and his co-writers, for plagiarism over alleged similarities between the two songs.

Living Media India Limited (‘Living Media’) filed a suit for seeking permanent injunction against Aabtak Channel.com (‘Aabtak’) and other parties for infringement of trade marks, copyright, passing off, dilution, rendition of accounts, damages, etc.

Star India Pvt. Ltd (Star) is an entertainment and Media Company in India engaged, inter alia, in the production of popular content broadcast on its STAR channels and is an exclusive licensee of media rights to various sporting events which are also broadcast on its Star channels such as TATA Indian Premier League 2022. Star is also a film production and distribution company.

Sporta Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (SPORTA) filed a suit for trademark infringement & passing off against Unfading OPC Private Limited (UNFADING) seeking permanent injunction restraining UNFADING from using the mark ‘SattaDream11’ or any deceptively similar variant thereof, as the trade mark, trade name, domain name or on social media, email addresses.

Subhankar Bhowmik had approached the Tripura High Court by way of a PIL, contending that the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) and the Regulations framed thereunder, did not prescribe any class of creditors to which the term "decree holder" belonged and therefore, without such prescription in the IBC, the class of "decree holders" fell into the residual class of "other creditors", which was clearly arbitrary and therefore violative of Article 14.

In what can be considered as a major development in the on-going battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, a patent has been granted for a homeopathic medicine which is effective against COVID-19 infection. Particularly, a patent has been granted to Dr. Rajesh Shah for a nosode composition which can be used for the prevention, alleviation and treatment of COVID-19 infection.

The Delhi High Court granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction in favor of Saga Music (‘Saga’) against Karma Entertainment Private Limited (‘Karma’) for copyright infringement in respect of Sound Recordings/Songs titled “Black Suit” and “Suit Lahore Da” assigned to Saga by Karma vide two separates but nearly identical Content Assignment Agreements.

Established in 2015, BoAt is an India-based company, that designs and markets earphone, headphones stereos and a variety of mobile phone accessories.

Brands are constantly innovating to find new and unique methods to associate themselves with their goods to leave a lasting impact on customers. This may involve logos, product names, forms, colors, taglines & slogans. Brand taglines play a good role in impacting the customer’s mind because it is catchy and have words that help customers connect with a business's goods and services and the brand in general.

The MCA vide its Notification No. G.S.R. 279(E) dtd. 06th April, 2022 which came in force on the same date has notified Companies (Management and Administration) Amendment Rules, 2022 to amend the existing set of Rules.

Indian civilizations has been enlightening the world since time immemorial, and is one of the continuous civilizations where history is still alive, awake and its lessons are beyond the limitations drawn by time, space and causation, unlike anywhere else where history is only discovered buried underground or in mystically abandoned forms.

RADICO KHAITAN LIMITED (Radico) is involved in the manufacturing and selling of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) in India. One of its products is branded as ‘MAGIC MOMENTS’. Radico adopted the word mark 'MAGIC MOMENTS' in the year 1997 and launched Gin and Vodka under this trademark in 2005 and 2006. Radico has been using the trademark since then. It has launched several variants which contain the suffix moments such as Remix Moments (2008), Verve Moments (2012), and Electra Moments (2015). SARAO DISTILLERY (OPC) PVT. LTD (Sarao) and GREENTECH BLENDERS AND DISTILLERS (Greentech) started u

A Geographical Indication (GI) is a sign/mark applied to items that originate in a particular geographical region and feature characteristics or a reputation unique to that region. A geographical indicator right entitles the holder to prohibit the indication from being used by a third party whose product does not meet relevant requirements. In India, GI’s are covered by Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.

Any patent offers a conditional monopoly for a limited period of time with a consideration in the form of disclosure. The disclosure must enable a “person skilled in the art” or “person having ordinary skill in the art” to arrive at the invention, however, sans said disclosure, it should never be possible for said person of to arrive at that particular invention. Therefore, the facets of the underlying invention of a patent application must be disclosed categorically in the specification to obtain a legal right not merely on the disclosure but actually on the substantial invention that

The requirement of disclosure in a patent specification exists across jurisdictions as the quid pro quo for against the monopoly in relation for a limited period of time. However, depending upon jurisdiction, the nature of disclosure requirement varies.

The term “Revocation” means Cancellation of the patent rights granted to the patentee. Under the (Indian) Patents Act, 1970 the validity of a patent can be challenged in any of the following ways:-

Recently, the brand “Thums Up” became a billion dollar brand. The historic journey of the brand, makes for interesting reading. Prior to 1973, the Indian market for aerated drinks was prominently ruled by Coke. In 1973, amendment to the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) capped foreign equity at 40%. All companies with more than 40% foreign equity had to obtain a fresh approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to continue their operations.

As per the Indian Trademarks Act, 1999, “Trademark is a mark capable of being represented graphically and distinguishes the goods and services of one person from those of others”. Owing to increasing businesses and an ever growing economy, the Trademark has attained significance as it fulfils the purpose of distinguishing one's brand from another. This distinction can be made in name, symbol, shape, color, device, and anything included in graphical representation.

India is a unique nation with a time-tested continuous civilization with abundant biological resources despite myriad disruptions in the form of natural calamities, foreign invasions and the like, resulting in creation of vast repositories of knowledge either in written form or verbal tradition or even in encrypted form, perpetuated through generations for all available domains.

A patent is a conditional monopoly awarded to an individual or a legal entity for a limited period of time to encourage research and development (R&D), innovation and invention, essential for the neo-knowledge and innovation driven economy. The monopoly for a limited period is granted to allow the patentee to secure the return on investment made for the research. All the patent applications are automatically published, generally at the expiry of 18 months from the date of filing, however, unlike most of the “original peer-reviewed papers”, the publication is available free of cost. In addi

Mankind Pharma Private Limited (hereinafter, ‘Mankind’), a pharmaceutical company came into existence in 1986 when it is adopted a logo In late 2021, Mankind came across an entity who was using the name, NISEKIND PHARMA PRIVATE LIMITED (hereinafter, ‘Nisekind’) and the mark . Initially, Mankind sent a cease-and-desist notice to Nisekind. Nisekind refused to comply. Mankind approached the Delhi High Court for an exparte ad- interim injunction against Nisekind. Mankind contended that Nisekind had dishonestly adopted the trademark with malicious intent. It furth

Adobe, Inc (‘Adobe’) is a multinational company headquartered in San Jose, California which primarily deals in software for creation and publication of wide range of content, including graphics, photography, animation, etc. Adobe, approached the Delhi High Court seeking permanent injunction restraining to restrain Namase Patel, who had registered the domain names www.addobe.com and www.adobee.com (‘Infringing Domains’) for infringement, passing-off activities, dissemination of confidential information, unfair trade practices, transfer of domain names and rendition of accounts.

JK CEMENT LIMITED (JK) is an affiliate of the multidisciplinary industrial conglomerate JK Organisation which was founded over 100 years ago. It adopted the trademark “JK” and is the registered proprietor of the same since 1974 for various goods including cements, wall Putty, building materials and the like in India. JK’s labels/packaging with original colour combination constitutes distinctive trademarks of JK. Artistic works in their respective labels/packaging are duly protected under the Copyright Act, 1957.

In Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Limited v. Controller General of Patents Designs and Trademarks and other connected matters, the Delhi High Court expressed concerns with respect to the discriminatory actions and arbitrariness of the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (‘CGPDTM’) and imposed costs on two officials of the CGPDTM for non-disclosure of facts and waste of judicial time.

Om Logistics Ltd (Om) approached the Delhi High Court seeking an ex parte injunction to restrain Mr. Mahendra Pandey (Mahendra) from providing services under the name ‘OM EXPRESS LOGISTICS’ or using the said name or any other deceptively similar name in any manner whatsoever.

The John Doe Order is one such remedy available for matters wherein the violators are unknown to the complainant. We have, in the recent past, discussed this remedy in detail in our previous article. A similar order was also passed as an interim relief by the Delhi High Court in the matter of Dabur India Limited ("Dabur") vs. Ashok Kumar & Ors. ("Defendants") on 3rd March 2022.

In a recent case at the Delhi High Court, the Court decided an important question with regard to the copyright in a cinematograph film “whether the expression “to make a copy of the film” means just to make a physical copy of the film by a process of duplication or does it refer to another work which substantially, fundamentally, essentially and materially resembles the original film.” Read along to find out...

HAVELLS INDIA LIMITED (Havells) has been using the mark ‘STANDARD’ for electrical products, including switch gears, fuse gears, cables, insulation wires, miniature circuit breakers since the year 1958.

Enlearn Education Private Limited (‘Enlearn’) is an unlisted private company that has set up a chain of schools across the Delhi NCR region dedicated to progressive and alternative forms of education. Even though Enlearn has been using the mark ‘HERITAGE’ for their schools since 1999, the earliest registration for its logo under no. 1276249 is of 2004. Enlearn is the registered proprietor of various derivatives of its mark registered under Classes 16 & 41 as listed below:

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.KG a German pharmaceutical company having operations all over the world and its Indian subsidiary viz. Boehringer Ingelheim (India) Pvt.Ltd. (collectively referred to as “Boehringer”) filed a suit for patent infringement at the Madras High Court, stating that Tanmed Pharma India Private Limited

The Endless Summer is a 1966 movie that revolves around two surfers who travel around the world in search of the perfect wave for surfing and introduce the locals they meet along the way to the surfing culture. The title ‘The Endless Summer’ refers to the idea that a person can travel and surf round the year if he chases the summer seasons all over the world.

In the Economic Survey 2021-22 (a Press Conference by the Chief Economic Advisor, Dr. V. Anantha Nageswaran), the Principal Economic Advisor Mr. Sanjeev Sanyal said that increasing the number of examiners helped in reducing the time for grant of patents in India. He further added that reducing the application process time can help in increasing the number of patents granted in India. It would help the economy in a big way.

The Khadi & Village Industries Commission (‘Commission’) Commission is a statutory body, officially established under the Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act, 1956. It is an apex organization set up under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises seeks to promote and develop the khadi and village industries in the rural regions of India while collaborating with the agencies engaged in rural development. The Commission owns various trademarks and device marks bearing the word ‘KHADI’ in both Hindi and English languages. Along with being a registered proprietor of ‘KH

International automotive and transport vehicle group Aktiebolaget Volvo (Volvo) adopted the trademark/name VOLVO in 1915. Volvo Group is engaged in manufacturing and distributor of heavy commercial vehicles, heavy-duty trucks, premium range of cars that includes sedans, wagons, sports wagons, cross country cars, and SUVs under the trademark/name ‘VOLVO’.

Bvlgari SPA (Bulgari) and Notandas Gems Pvt. Ltd. (Notandas) both are engaged in the business of manufacturing high-end jewellery. Bulgari is the owner of the following trademarks –

Sony Music Entertainment India Pvt. Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as ‘Sony’) has approached Bombay High Court in a suit seeking permanent injunction Illiyaraaja’s Ilaiyaraaja Music N Management Pvt. Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as ‘IMMP’) for infringement of its Copyright in Sound Recordings.

Late Sh. Kundan Lal Gujral, the inventor of Murgh Makhani, tandoori chicken, and Dal Makhani opened a restaurant named ‘MOTI MAHAL' in Peshawar in the year 1920 and subsequently, in 1947 in Delhi. He applied for registration of the mark “MOTI MAHAL” in August 1992 claiming prior use since 1947. He expired in December 1997 leaving behind his two grandsons (Mr. Ashim Gujral & his brother) and his daughter in law (mother of Mr. Ashim Gujral) as his son Mr. Nand Lal Gujral predeceased him, hereinafter jointly referred to as the ‘plaintiffs’, as his only Class I legal heirs.

Hermes is a French luxury design house, widely recognized as a luxury fashion brand and source indicator of Hermes International. Hermes specializes in leather goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewellery, watches and ready-to-wear.

For the reasons explained by the Delhi High Court in the case of Pernod Ricard India Private Limited v. Frost Falcon Distilleries Limited, injunction may be granted against passing off of goods or services despite of an infringement of a registered trademark not having established.

Tilak Raj Bhatia trading as AJANTA STEEL PRODUCT [Ajanta Steel] has been using the trade mark since 1964. Thereafter Ajanta Steel filed an application and obtained registration for its device mark in the year 2001.

The adjective Red, for a Beetroot is redundant. Today, when synthetic foods dominate our diet, can we say the same about the use of the adjective Organic for Foods? Isn’t all food, atleast that it raw form (vegetables, fruits, eggs, meat, etc.) supposed to be organic?

Airtec Electrovision Pvt. Ltd (“Airtec”) is engaged in the business of manufacturing, promotion and distribution of E-LED television sets across India under the name and style of “EAIRTEC”. In June 2021, it came to the knowledge of Airtec that Nipon Electronics (“Nipon”) was using the mark “AIRNET” in respect of television sets. Airtec filed a commercial suit for recovery claiming damages worth Rs.5 lacs and a permanent injunction against Nipon in the District Court of Delhi.

Copyright Office Update: Application filed by Pahari Performance Rights Association for registration of Copyright Society for Musical Works

The High Court of Delhi on 24.02.2022 in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 7 of the Delhi High Court Act, 1966, Section 129 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, powers conferred under the various Intellectual Property statutes as amended by the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021(“TRA 2021”) issued the specific Rules for the matters to be listed before Intellectual Property Division along with practice and procedure arising out of IPR and related statutes.

A leader in power products and electrical home appliances, Usha International Ltd. (‘Usha Intl.’) is a highly popular domestic brand having several registrations of the mark “USHA” in its favor in Class-7, in relation to sewing machines. The company had adopted the said mark in 1936 and it was subsequently declared a well-known mark in the year 2004.

When it comes to protecting intellectual property rights against a person whose whereabouts are unknown, a legal remedial course of action is taken, which is known as a ‘John Doe order’. The recent case titled, ‘Allied Blenders and Distillers Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Ashok Kumar’ happens to be the latest in series of such orders that have been recently passed by venerable courts of the country. In India, John Doe order is also known as “Ashok Kumar order”.

A suit was filed for permanent injunction restraining the violation and infringement of rights in the trademark/ trade dress/ packaging/layout of the plaintiff’s trademark being ‘ZINCITOTAL’, and for passing off, unfair competition, misrepresentation, dilution, damages/rendition of accounts, delivery up etc. The plaintiff is the registered proprietor in Class 5 of the trademark.

The term ‘Green Intellectual Property’ refers to the innovation and protection of environmental benefitting or environmental friendly intellectual property. ‘Green Inventions’ on the other side are those technologies that are environmental friendly or that benefit the environment. They act as a sustainable technology for present and the future.

After McDonald's and Hindustan Unilever, Kajaria Ceramics Limited was the recent target to fall prey to the scam of cyber phishing. The latest variant of the scam, wherein ‘Scammers’ or ‘Phishers’ create fake websites of popular companies using deceptively similar domain names. These scammers use trademarks and copyrighted content of the popular brands and replicate the look and feel of the brand’s original website on their phishing websites..

Computers use IP addresses to identify devices. IP addresses are generally a series of numbers. However, it is difficult for humans to remember complex strings of numbers. Hence, domain names were developed and used to identify entities on the Internet. In simple words, a domain name can be said to be the name of a website. A domain name is the address where Internet users can access websites and locate a business with which the domain name is associated. For example - sony.com, yahoo.com, wipro.com, reliance.com, and the like.

RK Dewan & Co. is privileged to fight a tough battle for our client Mr. Suneel Darshan against the web-giant Google in a case of copyright infringement and winning it for our Clients! The case has various insightful observations which are discussed below.

Adidas AG filed an opposition before the Japan Patent Office (JPO) against the mark ‘adidog’ which was applied for on October 17, 2016 and was published recently on August 30, 2019. The opposed mark ‘adidog’ was applied by an individual for pet clothing.

On September 12, 2020, an application was filed in the European Union Intellectual Property Office (“EUIPO”) to register the trademark “ ”. French luxury brand, Louis Vuitton filed an opposition in November 2021, against the mark claiming that the mark “LOVES VITTORIO” looked ‘too familiar’ to its famous "

The Delhi High Court recently granted an injunction against Rising India Entertainment Production & Ors (“the Defendant”) for use of the words “Miss India” or “Mr. India” with respect to beauty pageants. Bennett, Coleman and Company Limited & Ors. (popularly known as ‘the Times Group’) filed a suit at the Delhi High Court contending that the marks ‘Miss India’ and ‘Mr. India’ were its registered marks in classes 38 and 41.

Inventor 1 exclaims, "Eureka!" Our invention has finally made it to the next level. Inventor 2: Let's file a patent application for the same. One year later: Inventor 1: Our process has become outmoded due to advances in technology. By substituting our instrument in one of the processes, we may increase the product's value by at least fourfold. Inventor 2: But the patent has already been submitted. Is it possible for us to make the change? Is it necessary for us to submit a new application?

NFTs have recently exploded in popularity, and lawsuits over them have begun to hit U.S. courts. NFTs are digital assets known as non-fungible tokens.

Provision of pre-grant opposition When a patent application is published and until the patent is granted, the Indian Patents Act, 1970, under section 25(1), allows any person to oppose by way of representation, the grant of a patent to the application.

Renaissance Hotel Holdings Inc. (RENAISSANCE) is a US-based multinational company which runs a chain of 160 luxury hotels across the world. RENAISSANCE owns the domain name ‘www.renaissancehotels.com’ and in India is the registered proprietor of the trademark “RENAISSANCE” since 1990.

Asian News International (‘ANI’), an Indian News Agency, owns the trademarks “ANI” (‘ANI trademarks’) and the domain names www.aniin.com and www.aninews.in. Another person registered the domain name domain name www.aninewsindia.com and started using the trademarks

VST Industries Limited (“VST”) and Rudra Ventures Private Limited (“Rudra”) both manufacture cigarettes. VST is the owner of the trademark “TOTAL” and a special pack design in metallic blue and black. Rudra sells cigarettes under the trademark “TOPAZ” for several years.

Trademark Opposition is an integral stage involved in the process of trademark registration in India. As provided under Section 21 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, an application for registration of a trademark can be opposed by any person, once the same has been published in the Trademarks Journal within a period of four months from the date on which the mark was advertised in the Journal.

Global Car Group PTE Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as ‘Global Car’) owns an e-commerce platform for pre-owned autos (cars and bikes). Global Car is the owner of a series of trademarks containing the numeral 24 trademarks inter alia “CARS24”,

Hon Hai Technology Group of Taiwan, also known as Foxconn, has secured over 54,200 invention patents across the world, with 62.5 percent of them granted in the United States and Japan.

On the internet and in social media, emoticons and other symbols are commonly used for communicating emotions via messages in posts. Recently another form of representing emotions has arrived….‘Internet Memes’. Presently, internets Memes (hereinafter referred as ‘Memes’) are extensively used by netizens at large to express their ideas and emotions in a humorous manner.

Sakal Media Group publishes newspapers under the name ‘Sakal’ in Marathi language (one of the local languages in India) and ‘Sakal Times’ in English. It’s body corporate, Sakal Papers Private Limited is the registered proprietor of the trademarks, inter alia, “Sakal” and “Sakal Times” (bearing nos.: 1971161 & 2431923) in Class 41. Newslaundry, another news agency, published articles about the alleged layoffs of employees at Sakal Times. Sakal Media Group publishes newspapers under the name ‘Sakal’ in Marathi language (one of the local languages in India) and ‘Saka

Machinenfabrik Rieter AG (“Machinenfabrik”) filed a suit at the Delhi High Court, Machinenfabrik Rieter AG v. Tex Tech Industries (India) Private Limited & Anr. CS(COMM)327/2020, seeking a decree of permanent injunction to restrain Tex Tech Industries (India) Private Limited (“Tex Tech”) from infringing Machinenfabrik’s registered trademark RIETER (No. “418485” in Class 07) and Patent (No. IN 324406) by selling certain impugned goods.

It is a very well accepted fact that trademarks are an important aspect of a business as they prove to be distinctive features of a business. With a single glance at a trademark or logo, the customer immediately associates it with a certain proprietor.

Lis Pendens literally means ‘litigation pending’ or ‘pending suit’ and is drawn from the concept based on the maxim “Pendente lite nihil innovature” which means that nothing new must be introduced while a litigation or suit is pending.

Himalaya Wellness Company (Himalaya) is involved in the manufacturing of Ayurvedic medicaments, preparations, and pharmaceutical-grade herbal and healthcare products since 1930. Its predecessors in business launched "Liv.52", a formulation for the treatment of hepatic ailments in the year 1955.

A Copyright is an exclusive right granted to a creator of an original work to reproduce his own work or authorise reproduction of the same to others for a fixed tenure after which the copyrighted work falls into public domain.

As per the scheme of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, Trademarks that are registered without any limitation to colors have been protected as trademarks registered under all colors. Any violation with respect to such a registered mark can fall under the virtue of “infringement of trademark” for the use of similar marks leading to confusion in the market.

The uprising of Artificial Intelligence machines (hereinafter referred as “AI”) is a popular and intriguing subject for many science fiction works. The advancement of AI machines and their progression with respect to playing a significant role in our lives has increased exponentially in the past few years.

On 15..03 2020, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India undertook suo motu cognizance of the difficulties that might be faced by the litigants, and had extended the limitation period prescribed under the general law of limitation or any special laws for filing petitions/ applications/ suits/ appeals/ all other proceedings “ till 15.03.2021”.

Consumers tend to recognize their preferred brand labels as a whole and not in broken fragments. This has been the view of Courts generally while hearing disputes relating to similar trademarks are brought before the court. However, a divergent view was taken by the Delhi High Court in the case of Hamdard National Foundation & Anr. vs. Sadar Laboratories.

V Guard Industries Limited (‘V Guard’) deals in pumps and motors, water heaters, and the like. It started using the trademark ‘PEBBLE’ (a device mark comprising the word ‘Pebble’ and an image) (bearing Registration No. 2541387 in Class 11) for heating installations and electric products in 2013 and also obtained registration for the said mark in the same year.

Rikhab Chand Jain (Rikhab) approached the Tis Hazari (Central District) District Court of Delhi, seeking a permanent injunction against M/s. DMR Textiles (DMR), restraining infringement of trademark and trade name, passing off, damages, etc. The District Court vide an earlier order had dismissed its application for an interim injunction. Rikhab filed an appeal before the Hon’ble Delhi High Court but no stay was granted.

The goodwill of a business depends upon the reputation it creates over a period of time. When consumers decide between companies that provide comparable goods and prices, it is the goodwill of a company which sets it apart from the competitors. Therefore, goodwill is an important aspect of a business, which if compromised, can be a huge threat to the brand.

The lack of transparency has been an unsaid norm in the entertainment industry. All an investor wants, is to know the whereabouts of the projects that they have funded and get an equitable distribution. One of the assurances that Blockchain provides is, fidelity and security of a record of data and generates trust without the need for a trusted third party while helping investors to ascertain what’s going on with money in regards to their investment and its repayment.

These days we observe that a lot of social media ‘celebs’ voicing their opinions and commenting on public affairs. These social media ‘celebs’ include actors, sportsmen, influencers, and YouTubers. Are they empowered to do so, if not, then what are the repercussion of their opinions or comments?

It was au revoir to one of India’s most astute Intellectual Property Judicial forums alias IPAB (Intellectual Property Appellate Tribunal) when the Ministry of Law and Justice notified in its official gazette the IPAB’s dissolution vide The Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021.

By a Gazette notification dated 20th October, 2020, the Government of India has amended the Statement of Working Requirements to be submitted in Form-27 to the Indian Patent Office.

Under the Indian patent law, an applicant (Indian or foreign) may claim the status of a “Small Entity” if it meets certain specified criteria. The “Small Entity” status can be claimed either for filing direct patent applications in India or for filing National Phase or Convention Applications in India. Since September 2019, it is possible to file a request for expedited examination where the status of the applicant is a “Small Entity”.

Indian patent law on pharmaceuticals differs from other countries in more than one way, with some of them being the most debated topics in IP domestically, says Amrish Tiwari, a partner at K&S Partners in Gurgaon. “Some of the profound differences are:

I have written about Fear in the Times of Pandemic before. These articles can be accessed here and here. This is the third part in the series.

Me: Sir, I recently read about Trademark Caution Notices. I had certain questions about them. What they are and what do they mean? (Dr. Dewan in his usual manner) Sir: Go Ahead…. Me: Sir, first things first, what is a Trademark Caution Notice?

In determining the term of protection of Copyright in a Work there are two factors to be looked into. Firstly, to encourage the public to create newer and newer works; and secondly, to ensure accessibility of the works to the widest possible audience or readers. The second factor mainly concerns with determining the term of protection of work and thereafter making it available in the public domain.

What is copyright infringement? Copyright is a negative right that lets the owner enjoy exclusive right over his/her Work without any hindrance from others. If the Work is used/ exploited by any person other than the owner without his/her authorization, it constitutes an infringement of copyright in the Work.

Copyright is a bundle of rights given by the law to the creators of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works, software, and the producers of cinematograph films and sound recordings. The rights granted under the provisions of the Copyrights Act, 1957 are to reproduce, to communicate the Works to the public, to translate, and to make any adaptation of the Work.

We don’t know when our lives will be back to “Normal”. But it is certain that nothing much will change until humans develop herd immunity, the virus mutates into an innocuous strain, or we have a vaccine. Yes, pharma companies and research institutions are trying their best to create vaccines or drugs to reduce the effects of the virus. Still further, other entities are involved in creating immunity boosters to build up the immunity of humans, so that the virus can be contained.

Yes we are fortunate, if the entity which we work for is operating when the economies are crumpling, when demand is sluggish, when stores are closing, when companies are filing for bankruptcy, when sales are not happening or when employees are being laid off or fired.

In order to patent an invention, whether for a product or a process, it needs to meet the following patentability criteria: • Novelty • Inventive step (non-obviousness) • Industrial applicability

Concepts that divide us as a society are not few. We are conditioned into thinking that discrimination is a form of systemization. While some concepts and ideologies are a product of circumstance, such as geography, time, weather conditions, etc., others are products of human intervention, including differences in castes, religion, race, sexual inclination, and the like.

In a suit for infringement the issue of validity of the registration of a trademark can be raised by the Plaintiff or the Defendant or both under the following conditions. Firstly, when the Defendant in suit for infringement raises a plea that the registration of the Plaintiff’s trademark is invalid. Secondly, when the Plaintiff pleads the invalidity of registration of the Defendant's trademark if the Defendant raises a defence that its mark is registered (under clause (e) of sub-section (2) of section 30 the Trade Marks Act, 1999).

Private sector organizations are already planning to have major job cuts/layoffs due to their financial inability to support their employees amidst losses caused due to the lockdown. According to a survey, conducted by MyHiringClub.com and Sarkari-Naukri.info conducted between May 1 to May 10, 2020, that covered 1,124 companies across 11 industry sectors in 25 major cities. Around 68 percent of the employers surveyed have either started the layoff process or are planning to do so.

There is a huge movement of Migrant workers traveling on foot without necessities in almost all parts of the country. Their ultimate hope is to reach their hometowns. It appears that lakhs of these migrant workers have not been sensitized and made aware of the aforesaid government guidelines. On the contrary, Shramik trains have been organized to assist these migrant workers to go back home.

As the 4 consequent nation-wide lockdowns, that began on March 25, 2020 and lasted till May 31, 2020 come to an end, we analyse the situations faced by the Indian Workforce amidst this global health emergency created by the spread of COVD 19.

E-filing of cases relating to IPR infringement (Patent, Trademark, Copyright and Design infringement) will be made compulsory in all the commercial courts particularly those based at Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata. This move is being implemented to increase India’s position in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings. India is presently at the 63rd position amongst 190 countries

This is a brief commentary about handling trials successfully and doing justice to the brief on behalf of a client. Upon being entrusted with the papers and after obtaining the client’s instructions, it is important to analyse the pros and cons of the case, study the law on the subject, do a research on the case law relating to the issues arising and mentally formulate an overall strategy for eventual success as well as the steps in detail needed to achieve it. In case of a plaint, the same should be drafted by stating the facts chronologically, referring / annexing documents wherever app

A Court can exercise its power within a territorial/ geographical limit. For example, a District Court can exercise its power within the territorial limits of a district, a High Court can exercise its power within a state that comprises a plurality of districts and the Supreme Court can exercise its power within the whole country. This territorial limitation is referred to as the territorial jurisdiction of a Court. There is also another hierarchy of Courts based on the value of the claim made in a case. This is called its pecuniary jurisdiction. Still further, recently, the Commercial Courts

The Semantics: The Indian constitution is a living document as per the old saying and therefore, one can find a culture of Invention-ism in the reading or interpretation of the constitution. The term ‘constitutional morality’ has often been invoked by Supreme court in India for striking down laws which could be termed as manifestations of popular morality. But this term is not found in our Constitution. Nevertheless, we find mention of the word ‘morality’ in the Indian constitution at various places (Article 19, 25 and 26). Dr. B R Ambedkar used ‘CM’ multiple times in ‘Parliament

It is popularly said, “Data is the new oil”. If we want to get into the genesis of this statement, we need to go back in time, when mineral oil was the most lucrative commodity and almost every nation was running for it. Data has replaced oil to become the most valuable commodity in the 21st-century. This is evident from the fact that 5 of the most valuable companies in the world, namely, Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook belong to the data sector.

The COVID 19 virus has affected most countries in the world, India being one of them with over 19000 people infected till date. Taking into consideration the risk of COVID19, the government announced an initial lockdown of 21 days across India which started from March 25, 2020. The lockdown was further till May 3, 2020.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced all businesses and functioning of various organizations to come to a standstill. One such majorly affected system is the Judicial System. As on date, only high priority/high urgency matters are being heard vide remote access provided to the judges. We are well-aware of the plethora of cases which are pending with the Courts in our country today and time again hear citizens complaint of delayed justice.

Dear colleagues and friends, I amvery hopeful that the present crisis will be over soon. I am positive that the world and we will come out stronger and better experienced from this event that is just a blip on the eons of humanity. I am optimistic that we will cross this period to a better future. Of course, we will be sad for those who could not make it and remember them forever.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought in its wake an unforeseen issue: The significant increase in cyber-crime. During the government directions for staying at home, lockdown, curfew, social distancing and the like, people are increasingly required to stay at home and have become dependent on the internet for information and even fulfillment of their basic needs such as for groceries and medicines.

Indian film industry runs on creativity and vision of the film makers, from dialogues to cinematography and from song compositions to film titles, Intellectual Property law goes hand in hand with Bollywood.

The registration of a trademark in India bestows the registered proprietor with civil as well as criminal remedies to enforce her rights on the mark upon its infringement against the infringer. The trademark owner has the negative right to exclude others from using the trademark, and using the same without the consent of the trademark owner amounts to infringement or passing off accordingly. Section 29 of the Trademarks Act, 1999 (hereinafter referred to as “The Act”) lays down all the acts which amount to infringement in India, against which the action of infringement can be brought by th

I cook a delicious Biryani; following a secret recipe. Does the recipe of my biryani is a trade secret? We all have secrets of how to perform tasks, some are good at art others at cooking, but do all of these qualify as trade secrets?

Amazon faced a severe backlash recently from India. The backlash was so severe that #BoycottAmazon was on the top of Twitter’s trending hashtag list. All this happened because some of us stood strong against the retail giant who was selling toilet seat covers and door mats bearing pictures of our revered gods and goddesses printed on them.

„Fashion Industry‟ a term which instantly floods our minds with images of Fashion shows, the ramp walk, unique styles, glamour, peppy music and much more! Undoubtedly, with globalization leading to an exchange of cultures and ideas, fashion has become an integral part of our lives, right from Office styles to Haute Couture.

Tata SIA Airlines Limited (Tata SIA), a joint venture of TATA Sons Private Limited and Singapore Airlines Limited, has operated airlines under the VISTARA mark since 2014, and is the registered proprietor of the mark in India (TM Nos. 2748039, multiclass application in Classes 12 and 39; and 2808332 in Class 39), Singapore (40201600325Q in Classes 12 and 39), and among other countries. Pilot18 Aviation Book Store (Pilot18) operates an aviation studies portal called pilot18.com.

Hindustan Syringes and Medical Devices Ltd. (Hindustan) owns the DISPOCANN and DISPOVAN marks, while Disposafe Health & Life Ltd. & Ors. (Disposafe) owns the DISPOSAFE mark. Disposafe began using the DISPOCAN mark while Hindustan was applying for registration of the DISPOSAFE mark. Both parties are engaged in the business of producing disposable syringes.

Food was once a necessity. Food was then, a delicacy. Food is now, an experience!

Steps for facilitation of filing of Intellectual Property by Start-ups were initiated by The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). The department has empanelled facilitators whose fees are borne by the government.

Suggestive as the title is, we ponder over the mentors that have guided us. We like to ponder over it, because it fills us with gratitude and humility to think of people, who were there with us at various milestones in life- to guide, to help, to support and if not that, just be there and say “It’s all going to be fine” or “this too shall pass”.

We, as a society, have been constantly metamorphosing from an era of ‘Might is Right’ towards that of ‘Knowledge is Power’. I find support to this statement in the widening boundaries of what constitutes intellectual property today and consequently those of what constitutes infringement.

In Starbucks Corporation v. Sardarbuksh Coffee & Co. & Ors., CS (COMM) 1007/2018, on August 1, 2018, the High Court of Delhi granted interim relief in favor of Starbucks, directing the defendants to use the name "Sardarji-Bakhsh" for their 20 new, upcoming outlets until the final hearing of the suit on September 27, 2018. Following the hearing, it was agreed that the defendant would change the name of all of its outlets to "Sardarji-Bakhsh Coffee & Co."

In H&M; Hennes & Mauritz Ab & Anr v. HM Megabrands Pvt. Ltd. & Ors/ IA-7259/2016 (May 31, 2018), the High Court of Delhi, issued a permanent injunction against the defendants HM Megabrands Pvt. Ltd & Ors., confirming that prior adoption of a mark overseas can be superior to prior use of the mark in India.

In Joy Creators Pvt Ltd vs Natures Essence Pvt Ltd, CS(COMM) 632/2018, the High Court of Delhi on September 20, 2018 recognized the protection of slogans and expressions which are ordinary linguistic spoken words.

On April 2, 2018, in Superon Schweisstechnik India v. Modi Hitech India Ltd./CS (COMM) No.750/2018, the High Court of Delhi ruled on the issue of abbreviations of words being used as trademarks for goods sold, techniques adopted, or materials used.

Biomedical engineering is a unique combination of medicine, biology and engineering or rather the application of engineering principles to medicine and biology.

The New Year has started on a positive note for many foreign entities that will now be entitled to obtain speedy examination and even grant of patents. This will now be possible due to the recently amendment to the Patent Rules, 2003, notified by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.

The Indian IP system is continuously being criticized in the global media and in the IP world as being slow to grant/ register IP rights; to some extent even the local IP counsels and professionals add fuel to this In various platforms it has often been stated that the delay in the grant of patents in India is often a deal breaker for a lot of companies.

The Indian Supreme Court on 14th December, 2017 passed a retrograde decision which will have a direct impact on genuine and foreign proprietors of trade marks. Prior to this decision, India was considered as a “safe haven” for trademark owners.

The oncoming of the internet and technological advancements have opened doors for various new professions and for practicing the traditional professions in a new manner and the legal profession is no exception to this.

According to the World Intellectual Property Organisation, “any confidential business information which provides an enterprise a competitive edge (emphasis added) may be considered a trade secret. This could include sales methods, distribution methods, consumer profiles, advertising strategies, lists of suppliers and clients, and manufacturing processes.”

We are all aware that a document, falling within the description in Schedule I of the Maharashtra Stamp Act,(the “Act”) and which is executed within the State of Maharashtra, is liable to be stamped at the rates stipulated in the said Schedule.

Counterfeit products, in the trademark sense, are produced with the intention of taking advantage of the popularity of a brand and the superior value of the goods and services associated with that brand....

The term logo is derived from Greek as an abbreviation of the term “logo type”, meaning a “word and an imprint”...

In the second week of September 2014, two different Appellate Benches of the Delhi High Court pronounced judgements in two pharmaceutical trademark cases.

On the 15th of July 2014, quietly and without much fanfare, the Bombay High Court passed judgment on the writ petition filed by Bayer Corporation in the celebrated compulsory license case between them and Natco...

The Indian patent system has the unique distinction of having an elaborate system in place to ensure that a patent is not wrongly granted for a “questionable” invention...

Use is a fundamental concept in trademark jurisprudence. Registration of a trademark is a voluntary act on the part of a trademark owner in the sense...

In a recent decision the United States Supreme Court held that Aereo infringed the public performance right included in the copyright of broadcaster’s on-air programming by....

In what appears to be a classic case of trademark trolling and is a surprising development......

Freedom of speech and expression, subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by the State is a fundamental right guaranteed under Constitution of India...

Section 17 of the Indian Patents Act provides for postdating of patent applications....

In Tekla Corporation & Anr. vs. Survo Ghosh & Anr decided by the Delhi High Court recently, the Court was required to consider the Doctrine of Copyright Misuse (“the doctrine” ) as evolved in the US courts....

Many inventions, particularly those that relate to biological material include such material which is not available to the public...

Fluid- the work suggests movement. Fluid Trademarks stand true to their name.

Creating a successful brand in the marketplace requires a lot of work and is an extremely expensive exercise. But, once a brand is established the obvious question is ‘what next’? A common strategy adopted by large corporations is to introduce a ‘Flanker Brand’.

Jinchun Ji sought trademark registration for “雪佛龙” (“Chevron” in Chinese version) before the Chinese Trademark Office (TMO) in respect of goods falling in Class 12 viz. automobiles and motor cycles. Chevron Intellectual Property LLC (a subsidiary of Chevron Corporation) opposed the application on the grounds that the impugned mark was similar to its mark and which was otherwise registered in respect of the goods petroleum oil (crude oil or refined oil), industrial oil.

In Anchor Health and Beauty Care Private Ltd vs. Procter & Gamble Manufacturing (Tianjin) Co. Ltd & Ors. the Delhi High Court decided a case involving the expression “ ALLROUND” for toothpaste.

Online visibility has become indispensible for a successful business. Domain names are offered for sale on a ‘first come, first served’ basis with very little information required from the registrant....

The principle of conditional grants to proprietary rights in any intellectual property is to promote public interest...

Astroturfing is a term derived for artificial grass. It is a practice of providing a designed support for a sponsor which conveys an impression that it originates from a disinterested party....

Infringers of patents in India have several weapons available to them in their arsenal...

Unlike most other jurisdictions, in India no document is valid legally, unless it is stamped under the appropriate Indian Stamp Act.....

In Enterprise Holdings, Inc. v. Enterprise Auto Rentals, Justice Manmohan Singh of the High Court of Delhi delivered a judgment in favor of the plaintiff against an entity using the trade name Enterprise Auto Rentals and the trademarks ENTERPRISE and ENTERPRIZE.

Recently, the High Court of Delhi settled the issue of whether merely lodging an application for the registration of a trademark by the defendant gives the plaintiff jurisdiction to file and succeed in an action for trademark infringement. Analco (India) Pvt. Ltd. v. Navodya Exim Pvt. Ltd., CS (OS) No. 1764/2009 (Del. Jan. 23, 2014).

Design litigation is on the rise in India. Steelbird Hi-Tech India Ltd. (SBHT), a manufacturer of helmets, registered a design...

Last December, the divisional bench of the Delhi High Court rendered a decision...

Galderma, a Swiss pharmaceutical company majoring in dermatological preparations...

R. K. Dewan & Co (RKD) represents ‘KamaSutra’, India’s second largest...

On 28th February, 2014, the Indian Patent Office published and implemented a new set of rules which came into effect immediately. Under these rules, a new Applicant Entity referred to as a “Small Entity” has been created. There are now therefore three different Applicants and different sets of fees will apply to each of these Applicants.

Criminal remedies are very effective and create the strongest deterrence in the market but are often less opted for as proposed remedies to combat piracy. A brief snapshot of the criminal remedies is as under...

Recently, Facebook was accused of being a ‘brand bully’ by a Nashville-based pet-themed social network called Facepets.com.....

Biotechnology may be defined as the combined use of science and technology to exploit biological processes. Biotechnology contributes to advancement in the life sciences and offers tremendous scope for improving human health and furthering a nation’s economic development.Many biotechnology inventions involve sequencing genes, systems to selectively express...

In continuing R K Dewan & Co.’s tirade against the usurpation of reputed Indian brands in China by local infringing companies, our client HEM Corporation (HEM), a reputed Indian incense stick manufacturing company, successfully challenged a Chinese trademark registration obtained by a local company, Chengdu Heaven Art Commerce & Trade Co. Ltd (Chengdu Heaven Art) at the China Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAB).

The inventor is the principal actor in the patent prosecution drama. Section 7 of the Indian Patents Act prescribes that where the application is made by virtue of an assignment of the right to apply for a patent for an invention....

In a recent case, Neo Foods Pvt. Ltd vs. Neo Milk Products Pvt. Ltd, the Delhi High Court had to decide on the issue of whether the products, milk and pickles, can be considered to be similar.....

In the case of Dabur India Ltd vs. Real Drinks Pvt. Ltd, the High Court of Delhi was required to decide on the issues of passing-off, infringement, jurisdiction and maintainability of a suit where the Plaintiff and the Defendant were both registered proprietors of trademarks containing the word “REAL”...

In a recent case, Oriental Cuisines Private Ltd vs. Star Restaurants Pvt. Ltd, the Delhi High Court decided a case of passing-off based on the principles of common law...

Granting a major victory and relief at the same time to our client, the Indian tools manufacturing company, TAPARIA TOOLS LIMITED, the China Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAB) in a recent decision reversed the China Trademark Office’s decision in an opposition case filed by TAPARIA against a local Chinese Company QINGDAO XINLIAN TOOLS CO. LTD....

Introduced in 1990, the World Wide Web has experienced enormous growth and popularity. In spite of several other useful features, connectivity to Web pages with the click of a button remains the most prominent feature offered by the Web. This connectivity between Web pages can be achieved by linking and framing.

In a recent case, R K Dewan & Co was successful in obtaining an order of permanent injunction for Lavasa Corporation...

The Registrar of Trademarks published on 29th November 2013 an exhaustive alphabetical list of goods and services..

In the event of infringement of a trademark, there are various strategies which are adopted by the trademark owner and by the infringer. The aim of the trademark...

Once seen only on sailors and convicts, tattoos have found their way into mainstream society and are here to stay. There has been a considerable rise in the number of people who are seen sporting tattoos with themes that range from devotion to a particular rock band to the memory of a deceased loved one.

Looking to the backlog of matters pending for post registration changes, the Indian Trademark Registry has taken an initiative to start a special drive during the months of December 2013 and January 2014, for the disposal of rerecord of post registration changes requests.

An agreement between the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Indian Patent Office (IPO), hereinafter referred to as ‘the Agreement’, recently came into force, whereby the IPO commenced working as an International Searching Authority (ISA) and an International Preliminary Examination Authority (IPEA), under the Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT). The IPO now joins ranks with the likes of the Australian Patent Office, the Canadian Patent Office, the European Patent Office (EPO), the State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China (SIPO) and the United

“Forum shopping” is the informal name given to the practice adopted by some litigants to have their legal case heard in the Court thought most likely to provide a favourable judgment.

It is a common belief that IP litigation in India can be lengthy and expensive. However, with proper handling and selection of an appropriate forum, this belief can be rendered moot.

Trademark licensing is an effective way of commercializing trademarks. A person licensing (the “Licensor”) the trademark allows another party (the “Licensee”) to use the trademark in a particular manner within a specified territory and for a stipulated period of time.

Inventive step is defined in Section 2(1)(ja) of the Indian Patents Act, 1970 (the Act) as ‘a feature of an invention that involves technical advance as compared to the existing knowledge or having economic significance or both and that makes the invention not obvious to a person skilled in the art’. The term ‘person skilled in the art,’ a vital ingredient of this section, has surfaced time and again in many judgments and has attracted extensive debate amongst legal practitioners and scholars alike, as to who the person skilled in the art actually should be. The Intellectual Property A

The manner in which information is shared with friends and colleagues has changed drastically since the outbreak of mobile technology. These days, almost every mobile user uses multiple mobile applications associated with social media services, social networking, social gaming and the like. The growing popularity of such mobile applications comes with important legal issues as this industry is highly prone to intellectual property rights (IPR) infringement.

A trade mark may be refused registration for a number of reasons including the fact that the trade mark is devoid of distinctive character or if it is of such nature as to deceive members of the public. On these grounds the owner of the trademark ‘Cizer’ recently succeeded in having the trademark ‘Lizer’ removed from the Register of Trademarks.

Consumers these days get lost in a sea of products to choose from in each category. It would be ideal if the consumer could purchase the best product without having to expend time and effort on research.

The IPAB by its order dated 26th August, 2013, stunned the IP fraternity at large by holding that the trademarks Mex and Kamax are deceptively similar.

The IP arena saw a victory of right over wrong with the ones in the right getting asked for damages. India is not known as a jurisdiction where huge damages are awarded often.

What if you manufactured toys and Santa Claus who was merely supposed to give your toys to kids stole your trademark and started to claim it as his own?

INTA recently filed an ‘amicus curie’ brief in an appeal pending before the Supreme Court of India, expressing its view on the question of Parallel Imports and Exhaustion of rights. Though not a party to the suit, INTA has filed this brief as a ‘friend of the Court’ in order to influence the decision by providing a global perspective to the question of parallel imports.

More than in any other jurisdiction, in India, colour and colour schemes play a crucial role in distinguishing a product or a service. This is primarily because although a large segment of the Indian population is not conversant with the English alphabet; many brands are usually in the Roman Script.

The recent decisions of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (“IPAB”) have, to a certain extent, clarified the status of descriptive/laudatory trademarks in the Indian context.

The Intellectual Property Appellate Board on 31st July, 2013 passed an order which is the first of its kind. Both the parties succeeded and failed at the same time. Surprised? In cross petitions between HAB Pharmaceuticals & Research Limited (HAB) and VEE EXCEL DRUGS & Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd (Vee Excel), the IPAB passed orders for removal of both the impugned registered marks VEGAH & VEGA ASIA from the Register of Trademarks, albeit for different reasons.

The Intellectual Property Appellate Board yet again chastised the Indian Trademark Registry in its Order dated 12th July, 2013 for irregular procedure. The IPAB by way of two orders of the same date has laid down the general principles governing the registrability of a mark, which is identical to an existing registered trademark.

The patent system was designed with a view to promote innovation, by granting exclusive monopoly rights to the patent holder for a limited period of time. These rights are granted not for using the invention, but for preventing others from using it without the patent owner’s consent. An erroneously granted patent, however, would prejudice the rights of the public to freely use that technology. Therefore, it is essential to provide a mechanism whereby only good quality patents are granted.

The Indian Patent Office has issued a set of guidelines for the examination of patent applications in the field of CRIs (Computer Related Inventions) so as to bring about uniformity and consistency in the examination of computer related inventions.

Inconsistency in the arguments put forth by patent applicants and their attorneys and the subsequent prejudice to their intellectual property (IP) portfolio, is not a new occurrence in the IP sector. A recent decision on a patent application of a pharmaceutical giant has led to the resurfacing of this unfortunate issue that has urged people, time and again, to practice by the maxim, ‘Don’t raise your voice, improve your argument’.

Blogging, which first took off in the latter half of the 1990s, has since been used as a unique platform for people to share their thoughts, feelings, experiences and opinions.

The Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) on 5th July 2013, dismissed Monsanto Technology’s appeal regarding the invention titled, ‘A method of producing a transgenic plant with increased heat tolerance, salt tolerance, or drug tolerance’ thereby upholding the Controller’s decision to refuse the patent application.

The Delhi High Court recently decided an interesting case relating to comparative advertising. The case was instituted by Reckitt Benkciser (India) Ltd. (the owners of the brand “DETTOL”) against Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (the owners of the brand “VIM”). Reckitt Benkciser (India) Ltd. (‘RBL’) sued Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (‘HUL’) for commercial disparagement and sought interim injunction against HUL restraining HUL from publishing advertisements disparaging the ‘DETTOL HEALTHY KITCHEN’ trademark. The Delhi High Court found in favour of RBL and granted an order against HUL.

RKD laid the trail for suits against disparagement of trademarks in films, when we successfully represented Godrej Sara Lee Ltd, getting a permanent injunction and damages worth INR 500,000 against Super Good Films, who had shown Godrej Sara Lee’s insect repellent “Hit” in a bad light in one of their films.

The Trade Marks (Amendment) Bill was passed by the Parliament and assented to by the President on 21stSeptember 2010. The Trade Marks (Amendment) Rules, 2013 have been made to give effect to the Trade Mark (Amendment) Act 2010.By notification dated 8th July 2013, the Trade Marks (Amendment) Act 2010 and the Trade Marks (Amendment) Rules, 2013 came in to force to enable India to accede to the Madrid Protocol.

In a recent order of the Bench of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board, the Bench held that the Board had the power to review its own orders. In the opinion of the Board, there are six points in favor of reviewing an order passed earlier by the IPAB.

The Indian Patent Office issued a notification on June 12, 2013 regarding the release of the Draft Patent (Amendment) Rules, 2013 with a view to further amending the Patent Rules 2003. The primary aim, as is evident on the face of the draft, is to increase the fees associated with various procedures under the Patents Act, 1970.

Provisions for third party observations are well established in certain jurisdictions like the UK Intellectual Property Office and the European Patent Office (EPO). From September 2012, the America Invents Act also introduced provisions for third-party submissions on US patent applications. These provisions are based on similar concepts as the pre-grant oppositions in several countries like India, New Zealand, Australia, Peru etc., of assisting the patent office in determining the patentability of the invention before the grant of the patent and to increase the validity and quality of the gran

A patent is an instrument of commerce. The value of the patent depends upon its specification and therefore, it is extremely important that the specification should be drafted with accuracy and clarity. Writing a good specification involves a great deal of time, effort and money, but if the specification is poorly drafted, even more time, effort and money may be spent in defending the claims. Carefully drafted claims can secure a company’s financial future or spell a company’s ruin.

Along with every patent application filed at the Indian Patent Office, the applicant is required to give...

On the 8th of April 2013, the Indian Minister of Industry deposited the accession instrument of India to the Madrid Protocol.

Sugen/Pfizer lost their patent rights relating to Sunitinib, a drug for treating renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and imatinib-resistant gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) on account of weak and unplanned strategic Intellectual Property Management. They failed to understand the ground realities about the Patent System in India whichled to a complete letdown in forecasting the potential threats.Though the Assistant Controller accepted the novelty of the subject matter disclosed in IN209251, the patent was revoked on the grounds of lack ofinventive step based on the teachings of threeprior art pate

On the 1st of April 2013, the Indian Supreme Court pronounced its judgment in the Special Leave Petition preferred by Novartis to determine the true import of Section 3(d) of the Patents Act 1970 as a result of the rejection of the product claims by the Controller of Patents and the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB).

In the last decade, there has been a shift in the perception and coverage of the term trademarks. Having always been seen as words or pictorial symbols, trademarks have now evolved beyond this purview to include specific shapes and packaging techniques (3D trademark), sounds (aural trademark), specific color combinations, holograms and even smell (olfactory trademark).

In 2002, the foreign filing license requirement was introduced in the Indian Patents Act of 1970. This requirement provided that any inventor who is a resident of India should file or cause to be filed a patent application for his/her own invention first in India; and only after a period of six weeks after the date of filing of the patent application, a filing could be done in a country outside India.

With the advent of the information age, software is increasingly being created and used to implement most forms of technology. However, it is seen that the Intellectual Property Laws such as those relating to patents and copyright, which are creatures of the pre-information age, have been slow to adapt toinclude protection of software within their ambits.

The advent of rapid technological growth and a manifold increase in the number of suppliers who make products and services available to consumers coupled with rising costs of such products and services has led to the birth of an alternate industry involved in bringing fake, illegal and counterfeit goods to the market.

Absolute ground for refusal of Trade Mark...

On the 8th of April 2013, the Indian Minister of Industry deposited the accession instrument of India to the Madrid Protocol. This accession will take effect from the 8th of July 2013. On or after that date, trademark owners outside India can designate India as part of an international application under the Protocol.

Classification goods and services into different classes for the purpose registration of trademarks enables systematic storage and retrieval of information.

In this article, we have collected terms commonly found in computer security jargon that seem to be incomprehensible and have tried to explain them in easy to understand language so that they do not seem well incomprehensible!

This article provides an overview of the 'Madrid System for International Registration of Marks' which allows individuals and corporate houses to register and protect their marks in a number of countries.

This article discusses the issues involved in the role and status of a technical member in the overall constitution of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB).

A brief introductory overview of “The Standards of Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules 1977” along with guidelines and precautions for stakeholders.

An introduction to the Indian Intellectual Property Appellate Board and a briefer on its jurisdiction and procedures...

Having complied with the TRIPS regime in satisfying the minimum standards of Intellectual Property protection, India is now looking at ways and means to ensure a foolproof enforcement mechanism.

An analysis of the real issues involved in the controversial case of the Basmati Rice Patents from various perspectives: commercial, legal and general. Point-to-point explanation of widely held misconceptions arising from limited awareness.