Sound Board

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

If you are a wrestling fan, you would have definitely heard of John Cena, Randy Orton, The Rock, Cm Punk, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, The Great Khali, Rey Mysterio, HHH, Edge etc. As a fan of these mega stars, you would have purchased many merchandise to be more like them and also would have made sure that you bought the original ones and not the replicas. But are you certain that what you are buying is in fact the original piece? More often than not, retailers import few pieces of original…

Planning to file do trademark registration but would like to know more about it before taking the plunge? Here are a few pointers.

Assignment of trademarks is a process in which the owner of the trademark transfers the ownership of the mark either with or without the goodwill of the business. We had earlier written about the procedure for assigning trademarks and also the key points that should be incorporated in an assignment deed from a practical perspective. There are times when assignment of trademarks can be complicated - rights to a particular trademark are jointly owned by two or more companies or when the rights…

One of the important statuses in respect of a trademark, shown in the website of the Trademark Office is “opposed,” for the registration of the said mark becomes dependent on the outcome of the said opposition. The term “opposed” means that a third party, has found the mark objectionable primarily in light of Section 9 or 11 or both (and any other provisions of the Trademarks Act), intimates the same in writing to the Trademark Office and requests for its refusal. Section 21 of the Trademarks…

Amidst the major IP disputes of the week, with Ericsson stopping Xiaomi over a patent dispute and the Supreme Court denying Bayer’s appeal against the compulsory license, there were quite a few articles on the USPTO’s rejection of a trademark application called “Comfyballs” to be associated with the sale of men’s underwear. The application was rejected on the ground that the mark was vulgar.

All marketing techniques are aimed to capture the attention of the consumer and make an impact. A distinctive trademark with a catchy tag line and colour scheme is probably more likely to stay on the minds of the consumer. A number of marketing experts believe that colour is the most important elements of branding and rightly so, because a number of brands can be recognized solely on the basis of the colour. Christian Louboutin shoes with the red sole and Cadbury with its purple packaging are…

The term ‘marked for exam’ implies that a trademark application has been taken up for examination or is due to be examined shortly by the Trademark Office. The term “examination” per se means that the particular trademark would be examined to see if it satisfies and overcomes the objections enunciated in the Indian Trade Marks Act, 1999( what we call “absolute and relative grounds” under Section 9 and 11), only after which it proceeds to advertisement and ultimately registration.

The popular misconception is that the symbol ™ can only be used after a trademark has been applied for registration and not otherwise.