Editorial Staff

Protection of Plant varieties in India: lack of choices?

India has adopted a sui generis system for protection of plant varieties and enacted a legislation that explicitly provides for plant breeders' rights along with farmers’ rights and community rights. Previously we had discussed the rights of plant breeders over commercial production and marketing…


Protecting your brand/trademark with the Amazon Brand Registry

In spite of being a developing country, India has shown immense growth in the e-commerce sector. Amazon is one such e-commerce site which is widely known and as any other e-commerce business, it allows sellers to sell their products on their website. Since there are thousands of sellers on Amazon,…


New initiatives from the copyright office for registration of copyrights in India

Digital technology is drastically changing our ways of life, whether it's home or office and the Copyright office is no exception to it. In its attempt to use the technology and to enhance transparency in Copyright prosecution in India, the Copyright Office recently issued a Public Notice wherein…


Last Opportunity by the Indian Trademark Office to file Response to Examination Report not attended to

The Indian Trademark Office yet again released a default notice against several thousands of trademark applications that were examined before March 31, 2017, however, no response to the examination report has been filed yet. In order to avoid the infamous drama surrounding the Indian Trademark…


Trademark Opposition proceeding in India

Trademark Opposition proceeding in India, though very extensive, is very interesting and fun. Before diving into the procedure of opposition proceeding, a quick run through of the general procedure of trademark filing until registration would be helpful. Once a trademark application is filed, the…


Six things you need to know when you receive a provisional refusal from India

Deadline to respond to objections: The deadline to respond to the objections raised by the Indian Trademark Office is one month from the date of receipt of the provisional refusal notification by the Applicant. Accordingly, the date to calculate the deadline will be from the date when you actually…


Difference between filing a trademark as a word and as a logo

Indian trademark law saw its origin back in the 1940s with the advent of the Indian Trade Marks Act subsequently increasing the need for protecting trademarks. This upsurge can be attributed to the rise in growth of trade and commerce in the country over the years. Ever since then, the trademark…


Ownership of family trademarks

Family trademarks are marks which are used by a person for his family business, where the trademark ownership lies with each member of the family. Such trademarks provide parallel rights for use of the mark, thus, protecting each heir under the doctrine of shared goodwill and common family legacy.…


Automation of generation and issuance of patent grant e-certificates in India

In lines with the “E-Registration Certification” initiative of Trade Marks Office, the Controller of Patents and Designs recently issued a notice, whereby automating issuance of patent grant e-certificates with effect from July 03, 2017. The notice states that the generation of all patents granted…


There is more to your liquor than you know

As you may have noticed, liquor bottles are often so exquisitely designed that you would want to buy it just out of admiration for its design. The creative packaging of liquor is often underrated and many do not realize the intricacies involved in the process. In a rather interesting case,…