Sound Board

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

The Delhi High Court’s ruling in the case of Adobe Inc. v. Namase Patel and Ors. serves as a reminder of the importance of protecting trademarks and intellectual property rights on the internet. In this case, the court granted a permanent injunction in favour of the Plaintiff. The Court recognised Namase Patel as a habitual cyber squatter and awarded a sum of INR 2,00,01,000/- (approx. US$ 242,000) in damages against the defendant to act as a deterrent against such actions in the future. 

The Bombay High Court ruled in favour of the plaintiff, Pidilite Industries Ltd., who had filed a trademark infringement suit against the defendant for using the mark R-SEAL, which was allegedly similar to the plaintiff's registered mark M-SEAL. The Court found that the defendant had obtained the trademark by fraudulently concealing the existence of the plaintiff's prior registered marks from the Registrar of Trade Marks.

Justice Navin Chawla of the High Court of Delhi granted an ad interim ex party injunction in favour of the well-known actor Amitabh Bachchan in the suit Amitabh Bachchan v. Rajat Nagi & Ors., CS(COMM) 819/2022. The suit was filed by the veteran actor to protect his rights against the use of his likeness, voice, and pictures for the fake Kaun Bang Crorepati lottery fraud and myriad of other scams that were infringing upon his rights and unauthorisedly using his voice and pictures to defraud…

In an interesting turn of events, the Delhi High Court ruled in favour of Sujata Chaudhri of Sujata Chaudhri IP Attorneys in a trademark infringement, copyright infringement, and passing off suit restricting another intellectual property lawyer Swarupa Ghosh from using a deceptively similar logo.

The Court held that in an intellectual property case, where the matter affects not only the disputants but also the consumers and the plaintiff has already exhausted all possible recourses to amicably resolve the matter, then the plaintiff’s application seeking exemption from instituting pre-litigation mediation proceedings in accordance with section 12-A of the Act can be allowed. Thus, it can be said that in intellectual property cases, such reliefs are granted by Courts not merely for the…

Alternate methods of dispute resolution are amicable methods of resolving disputes without the intervention of courts. It decreases the burden of the courts and encourages settlement proceedings among the parties. Generally, Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) uses one or more neutral third parties who help the parties to communicate, discuss the differences and resolve the dispute. ADRs are a set of methods that enable individuals and group to maintain cooperation, and social order and provides…

The Delhi High Court’s Justice Jyoti Singh vide her order dated October 28, 2022 has vacated an ex-parte ad interim injunction (dated January 21, 2022) against Tata Sia Airlines for using the mark ‘Fly Higher’ in their promotional campaigns. Justice Singh in her order has deliberated the question of whether the registration of the trademark 'Fly High’ by the plaintiff could prevent the defendant from using the phrase 'Fly Higher' in their promotional campaigns.

The power of the internet, in particular that of social media is humungous. People are constantly tied to their phones, eyeing for any latest news that may spring up, be it in the form of a tweet, a meme or a viral video. So, when used strategically, social media rather becomes one of the most powerful tools of digital marketing. With the evolution of social media, the concept of moment marketing has also become increasingly common. But what exactly is moment marketing? It is marketing in…

Recently, the Madras High Court, in the case of Sun Pharmaceuticals (Applicant/Defendant) v Cipla Ltd (Respondent/Plaintiff) refused to vacate the interim injunction against the Applicant. The Plaintiff, Cipla Ltd, was seeking directions against Sun Pharma, claiming that the Defendant was selling medicines under the mark “Respule” which was alleged to be deceptively similar to the marks “Budecort Respules”,“Duolin Respules” and “Respules” of the Plaintiff. Cipla Ltd brought in an action for…

In a welcome move, the Delhi High Court ordered that trademark applications' whose opposition period would have expired during the suspension period shall stand extended till May 30, 2022. Accordingly, the registration certificates issued during this period will also stand suspended till May 30, 2022.