Editorial Staff
Musical instruments and the law - The sound of IP
My science teacher in school (I’m certain most them around the world) always told us how science is connected to everything in our day to day lives. It was quite amusing to understand how it worked practically and I wondered if it was in fact possible to connect something else like we connect…
Sizopin and syzopin - Acquiescence makes no sense?
When I first came across the medicines SIZOPIN and SYZOPIN, I honestly thought it might have just been a typographical error and that they originate from the same source. Much to my astonishment, they are in fact two different drugs used for treating almost the similar thing. So naturally there had…
Board games and intellectual property - The way the law plays out
Growing up, board games were an integral part of my childhood and I particularly liked to play with my granddad because he’d always let me win! It is always fun to play a game of monopoly or scrabble with family or a group of friends, the losing and winning fights apart! Recently at work we were…
Can you register signatures as trademarks in India?
I’m sure most of us have or at least try to have a signature so unique that you wish is associated solely with you whether you are a celebrity or not. Some of us are also very particular about our signatures and we feel that it defines our personality. I’m sure we’ve all come across articles titled…
The Curious Case of Indian Startups and Trademarks
I have a startup story and it’s not a pleasant one. So if you’re expecting to read tales of college grads hunched over laptops in a basement, who created something unique, got funded and are billionaires by the time they are twenty eight, stop reading right away. I’m serious…. This here, is a story…
ZARA trademark dispute - Cocktails and clothes causing confusion?
The David-Goliath tussle in the trademark world is an unending one. It is a scenario where a big company is suing a small company and most often, the big company is made out to be a trademark bully. Though that might be true, in my opinion, it has more to do with protecting one’s trademark rights…
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,…