Sound Board

Our thoughts and views on the practice of Intellectual Property in India and around the world.

“Intellectual property rights” is a paradox, where it promotes innovation and creativity, on the one hand, it might stagnate and monopolize ideas and business, on the other. With the development of human intelligence, complications also arose such that it became necessary to balance man’s imagination and the output of such imagination.

The primary purpose of a trademark is that it serves to distinguish the goods or services of one person from those of another. If a mark is not distinctive, it could lead to confusion in the minds of consumers and deceive them as to the origin of the product or service it represents. To prevent such confusion and deception, Section 9(1)(a) of the Trade Marks Act prohibits the registration of any mark which lacks distinctiveness.

Section 31 D of the Copyright Act, 1957 has been the bone of contention on many occasions with regard to issuing statutory licenses and the scope of broadcasters. In simple words, Section 31D  of the Copyright Act 1957 states that any broadcasting organization that wishes to communicate sound recordings, literary or musical work to the public may be allowed to do so by obtaining a statutory license after giving prior notice and payment of royalties to the owner of the copyright at rates that…

One of our IR applications designating India was a mark filed with the ® symbol with the WIPO. To give you clarity, the basic registration (mark it, it is a registration and not an application), is from a country which allows marks with the ® symbol. So it was never a problem in the basic registration. Going even further to make the process smooth and avoid unnecessary hassle, the Applicant has also disclaimed the ® symbol in the IR application.

In India, a request for examination must be filed for a patent application to be considered by the Indian Patent Office. This request can be made by the applicant, or any interested third party and must be filed within 48 months of the earliest priority application. If no request for examination is filed within this time frame, the application is considered abandoned. There are options for fast-tracking the examination process by filing a request for either Express or Expedited examination.

There are several occasions when the trademark owner would like to voluntarily cancel the registration of the trademark in India. In most occasions, the voluntary cancellation of trademark registration is due to an agreement entered by the trademark owner with a third party or for other business decisions taken by the trademark owner.

ITC Ltd. and Nestle S.A. are two household names that have become indispensable in our lives. There is a minimum of one product in every household that belongs to these conglomerates. The demography of the consumers for these brands is vast and covers every age and economic group. These companies have influenced our lives such that they have become an inevitable part of our monthly grocery list.

The Supreme Court of India had taken suo motu cognizance and rendered a laudable order on March 23, 2020, by extending the period of limitation in all matters, irrespective of the genre of laws. It held that a period of limitation in all proceedings, irrespective of the limitation prescribed under the general law or Special Laws whether condonable or not shall stand extended with effect from March 15, 2020, until further order(s) are passed in the proceeding.

Subsequent to the lockdown/restrictions announced due to the COVID-19 situation, by the Government of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh & the Maldives the respective IP offices have either suspended their operations or have limited staff working remotely. 

The paranoia around the COVID-19 continues to stretch the air, people, citizens and the government continue to strive to put their best foot forward to ensure maximum safety and avoid anarchy. With this, we would like to inform you that, the Indian government have been meticulous in their work and have always ensured the best for its citizens, with this the Indian Patent Office, the Indian Trade Marks Registry and the Indian Copyright Office have released their official notices dated,…