Editorial Staff
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…
Exhaustion of trademark rights in India - The whole world is one market, or is it?
The Division Bench of the High Court of Delhi says it is, after having ruled in favour of “International Exhaustion” in the case of Kapil Wadhwa vs. Samsung Electronics Ltd., the only latest case available on the Doctrine of Exhaustion in India. So the bundle of exclusive rights granted to a…
Trademark for export trade – ‘use’ of the mark in India?
Over the last few decades, the world economy has witnessed a paradigm shift as far as transaction of goods and services are concerned. Companies have expanded their business operations and established their manufacturing units across the globe and services have traversed boundaries, which has in…
Indian Trademark Filing Fee increased – Retrospective effect from August 1, 2014
A year ago, we wrote about the tentative amendment to the Trademark Rules which involved the increase in filing fees. The Trademark Rules have been Amended and published in the Official Gazette of India issued by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. Indian Trademark Filing Fee…
OMG - 'WTF' is a registered trademark ?!
One of the main benefits of working as an intellectual property lawyer is that I get to know the latest in everything. Whether it is the latest technology through patents, products through brand names and designs or movies/songs/art etc through copyright, I get to live vicariously in the present…
Images on the Internet: Who owns the copyright?
Copyright in any literary, artistic, dramatic or cinematographic work comes into effect when the work is created. So if one takes a photograph or paints a picture, for all purposes the copyright begins from the time the work is created irrespective of its artistic quality. One can scribble on a…
Copyright Licenses: Authorized Agents v. Copyright Societies
As discussed in an earlier post, it is mandatory for owners of establishments to obtain copyright licenses in order to play music on their premises. In this way the law seeks to regulate the issuance of such licenses through creation of Copyright Societies under Section 33 of the Act, thereby…
3 Things your Marketing Team needs to know about Trademarks
Lawyers in general are not the most loved people on the planet. There is always a sense of caution when we’re dealt with. It’s also probably why the legal profession has two patron saints St. Ives and St. Thomas Moore (must be twice as difficult for us to get into heaven). Anyway leaving God and…