Sound Board

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

Canada has announced that the anticipated changes to the Trademarks Act will finally be coming into force on June 17, 2019. The changes are expected to simplify the domestic registration process and provide access to e international registration process administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization

Cadbury in 1995 filed an application to claim rights over the colour mark for the shade Pantone 2685 C. Cadbury’s 1995 (original) application was filed only for chocolates in a bar or tablet form with a description of the colour mark: “The mark consists of the colour Purple (Pantone 2685C) as shown on the form of the application, applied to the whole visible surface, or being the predominant colour applied to the whole visible surface, of the packaging of the goods.”  

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of Pakistan has announced that there will be an amendment to the official fee for all the procedures related to Trademarks by amending the Trademarks Rules, 2014. The amendment for the official fee was notified vide an Official notice dated March 04, 2019 and it will be entered into effect as of March 9, 2019 and constituted a massive escalation in the fee of approximately 50%.

The accession is expected to instil confidence in foreign investors, applicants, businesses in relation to the protection of their Intellectual Property in India. The accession would also facilitate in exercising rights in decision-making processes regarding review and revision of the classifications under the agreement.

An application for registration of a trademark has to be filed before the trademark office in Qatar. If a foreign applicant is applying for registration, a local agent must apply on behalf of the Applicant and a power of attorney legalized by a Qatari consulate in the Applicant’s country is necessary. There is no multi-class trademark application in Qatar.  

The Indian Trademark Law grant exclusive rights to the trademark owner. The exclusivity here indicates that the trademark owner has the liberty to utilize his/her trademarks without any external interferences. The Indian Trademark Laws grants bundle of rights to the trademark holders and the rights of every trademark owner includes the right to commence and prosecute a legal action against infringement of his/her rights in a trademark. It is important that the action taken by the trademark…

A trademark/service mark, is a word, name, symbol or device that is used in trade in respect of goods/services to indicate the source of the goods/services and to differentiate them from the goods/services of others. With the development of knowledge and information technology era, intellectual capital has achieved substantial importance.

To record an IP right with the Customs, a right holder must submit an application in writing with the necessary documents and information.

Amazon Brand Registry (ABR) is medium through which sellers (who can also be businessmen, manufacturers or retailers) who are selling their products on Amazon get an opportunity to protect their trademarks from getting infringed by any third party or a potential competitor.

The Annual Report 2016-2017, released by the Office of the CGPDTM has provided a detailed report of the recent changes in India’s IP regime. This post is a brief summary of the said report and an analysis of whether the recent changes have contributed in achieving the goal of the National IPR Policy 2016 which is ‘Creative India; Innovative India’.