Editorial Staff

Surnames and Trademarks in India

Well, if you have a unique surname then you’ll not only have difficulties in explaining to people how to get it right but you will also have the difficulty in getting it registered as a trademark in India.  Having said that, there are obviously many discrepancies between the law and the judgments…


Few things you need to know about E-commerce & Intellectual Property

Every single time I’m sitting at the comfort of my home, e-commerce window shopping and buying things at the click of a button, I feel so thankful. Though this is not how I ideally enjoy shopping, it definitely makes life easy on some days! The e-commerce business in India has picked up a great…


5 common defenses I’ve heard domain squatters use during negotiation

There’s an instinct within most us that prompts us to lie or state the most ludicrous things when accused of being in the wrong. This primordial feeling (which may be what helped us survive) of justifying and rationalizing one’s actions is most evident in negotiations with trademark infringers and…


Calcutta High Court reaffirms well-established principles of Trademark law

They should not be placed side by side to find out if there are differences; rather the mark should be taken as a whole. This landmark judgement on trademark law, followed by many others, has taught us that while comparing two marks to judge if one of the marks is deceptively similar or not,…


Financial restructuring schemes as a defence to trademark infringement - Delhi HC says NO

Defence to trademark infringement In the last few years, we have had the opportunity of witnessing very interesting intellectual property cases and more importantly, case involving interpretation of intellectual property rights in consonance with other laws. The Delhi High Court recently decided an…


MSD – Glenmark patent row – Court granted injunction against Glenmark

Close to two years after Merck filed a suit for injunction against Glenmark and after a quite a struggle, MSD has finally been granted an injunction and Glenmark has been restrained from making and marketing its versions of the drug. The Delhi High Court laid down a detailed analyses of the facts…


Cricket and Patents – These inventions will bowl you over!

Cricket and Patents Cricket has always been one of the most followed and loved sport in India. Statistics suggest that when India plays a big game, there are around 400 million watching the match on television. Indians love cricket, be it the IPL, T20, test match or the traditional 50 over match!…


Delhi High Court throws some "light" on comparative advertisement in India

The High Court of Delhi recently dealt with a case of comparative advertisement, yet again. The only thing that set this case apart from the recent comparative advertisement cases is the fact that the plaintiff was upset that the defendant did not mention certain advantages of their products. Now…


Intellectual property cross-overs in the real and fantasy worlds

Have you wanted to visit the Maclaren’s Pub or Central Perk and live your moment from How I Met Your Mother or Friends? Have you wanted to taste the Bertie Bott’s Every Bean Flavour from the Harry Potter Series or wished the Bat Mobile was real?! I’m sure we all have wanted to live or rather…


Of Intellectual Property and brand

When the Tata motors bought Jaguar back in 2008, why did they buy it? For the quality of their products? Their technology? May be. Similarly, when Geeley Motors of China acquired the Swedish brand Volvo and Krafty bought Cadbury, what did they buy it for? They were all bought because of the brand…