Editorial Staff
Protecting Jewellery Designs in India – Intellectual Property Simplified
At some point in a guy’s life, he just has to buy jewellery! Whether it’s for a girlfriend or partner, going through row after row of earrings, necklaces, rings and other adornments for someone else is one of the inescapable truths of life. Shopping for jewellery has changed a great deal as well -…
Assignment of Trademarks in India
Trademarks like any asset can be transferred from one owner to another. The transfers could be temporary through licensing or permanent through an assignment. Assignment of trademarks is a process in which the owner of the trademark transfers the ownership of the mark either with or without the…
Bombay HC rules on the issue of jurisdiction and cause of action in a Trademark case
The Bombay High Court in the case of Dalmia Cement Bharat Limited v. Ultratech Cement Limited recently ruled on the issue of cause of action and jurisdiction of Courts in cases of trademark infringement and passing off. The Court discussed various aspects of Section 134 of the Trademarks Act in a…
Madrid Protocol for the Indian Trademark Owner
When it comes to international treaties and agreements, India generally signs first and thinks later. We sign on fast and then push the limits of implementing and amending our national laws until the last possible day. India’s accession to the Madrid Protocol was done in a rather similar manner.…
Comparative advertisement and Trademark Infringement
Have you come across advertisement while watching TV that compare one product with another and it is quite obvious which the contender is despite them having “blurred” the brand name? The Pepsi and Coke disputes and one-upmanship have been going on for several years. What’s generally noticeable is…
Madrid Protocol Designation: India as the Origin Country
The Madrid Protocol has simplified the process of filing trademark applications across the world by bringing it all under the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Once a trademark application has been filed in the home country or what is generally referred to as the origin country, one…
Indian Patent Office extends deadline to submit comments on revised Guidelines for Examination of Pharmaceutical Patents
The Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (CGPDTM) released a document titled the draft guidelines for examination of Patent applications in the field of pharmaceuticals on February 28, 2014 which was open for comments until March 31, 2014 which was eventually extended…
Misspelt words as trademarks? NOT KOOL!
In my previous post I discussed three major reasons as to why descriptive words are bad trademarks. They generally will be objected to by the Registry, or they may be allowed with disclaimers and even if they are registered, they may not let you stop someone else from using a similar mark. A common…
Trademark Disclaimers – Use these words with caution!
What happens when you want to get a composite mark, which has both distinctive and non-distinctive elements,registered as a trademark? The answer is this - you simply have to disclaim that you claim no exclusive rights over the particular element or elements of the mark that the Registry concludes…
Blatant use of well-known trademarks – Acting on intention or ignorance?
We’ve all come across counterfeit products of popular brands and first copies. People have taken it one step further by selling products under the brand name of well-known trademarks like Facebook, WhatsApp and the like on clothing, food stalls and what not. There are a two possibilities; either it…