Raja Selvam
Statement of Working of Patents in India
Patent protection in India is governed by the Patents Act, 1970, which has undergone several amendments to align with international standards, most notably the TRIPS Agreement. The Indian patent system is administered by the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks…
Controller of Patents has the power to condone delay in filing responses to Examination Report - Madras High Court.
In a recent ruling dated April 4, 2024, the Madras High Court addressed a significant issue regarding the procedural timelines in patent filings. The appellant, claimed to have invented a system and method for converting waste materials into reusable oil products. He filed a patent application on…
Service of notice is completed when it is received by the party, not as soon as it is sent by the Trade mark office
Ramya S.Moorthy vs. the Registrar of Trade Marks When a trademark application is filed and subsequently accepted by the Trademark Office, it doesn't mean an immediate registration. Instead, the accepted application is published in the Trademarks Journal for third parties, who might have concerns or…
Can't sue for trademark infringement, but passing off remains an option if trademarks of both parties are registered rules Kerala High Court
The case involved a dispute between Wipro Enterprises Ltd., the registered owner of the trademark "Chandrika," in respect of goods covered in class 3, and M/S Mariyas Soaps and Chemicals, the registered owner of the trademark "Chandra" in respect of goods covered in class 3. The court's ruling…
Restoring Patent Applications: Indian Courts' Stance on missing of deadlines to request examination or respond to examination reports
As patent attorneys, adhering to deadlines is pivotal for the success of a patent application. In India, two critical deadlines to bear in mind while prosecuting patent applications are those for filing a request for examination and responding to the first examination report. Presently, while a…
Delhi High Court declares Cult Streetwear Brand 'Supreme' red-box device mark as a Well-Known Trademark in India
Charter 4 Corp, the plaintiff, claimed to have adopted the 'Supreme' mark back in 1994 in the United States and had been using it in India since 2006, gaining popularity among Indian customers. The company boasted over 700 global registrations for the mark 'Supreme', and they had also filed…
Affidavit Not Mandatory for Granting Well-Known Status to Trademarks in India
Kamdhenu Limited filed an appeal against a decision of the Registrar of Trademarks, who had dismissed their application to have their trademark 'KAMDHENU' included in the "List of Well-Known Trademarks." The Registrar's rejection was the absence of an affidavit along with the supporting evidence to…
The Establishment of the IP Division in Madras High Court: A Significant Step towards Efficient Resolution of IP Disputes
Practitioners have long wished for a separate IP division in High Courts. With the abolishment of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board in 2021, cases previously filed with or pending before the IPAB have been transferred to the High Courts. It then became imperative to establish a separate IP…
The H Device of HERMES International has been declared a well-known trademark by the Delhi High Court
In a trademark infringement suit filed by Hermes International, one of the prayers by HERMES is that the mark of Hermes is declared as a well-known trademark within the meaning of Section 2(1)(zg) of The Trade Marks Act, 1999. The Trade Marks law sets out five factors which are to be taken into…
Empire strikes again - Indian Trademark Office issues notice regarding non filing of reply to examination report & counter statement to oppositions
If one may recall, on April 1, 2016, the Indian Trademark Office abandoned 1,66,771 Trademark Applications on the ground that the reply to the examination report had not been filed within 30 days. As you would have rightly guessed, the Delhi High Court granted a stay on the orders of the TMO.…