Intellectual Property Rights
Plex v. Zee - better never than too late?
In a competitive global market, businesses need to strive to get ahead of their competitors. One of the ways to do this is by creating unique brand identities which help make a strong impact on the minds of consumers. Trademarks are especially useful in this respect, as consumers can easily make…
Claiming multiple priorities for your trademark application in India
Businesses which have (or are) trying to register their trademarks in several countries would be familiar with the concept of priority rights. If a person has applied for registration/registered a mark in his home IP office at Country A, then on the basis of the original application, he can apply…
Legal Notices in Intellectual Property Right cases: A slippery slope?
More often than not, when a “bona fide” proprietor of the trademark (I use the term “bona fide” rather loosely here) finds unauthorized use of their mark by a third party, the first step taken (often) is to send the other party a legal notice. While some legal notices sent/received are convoluted…
Morality & IP – How far is too far?
“Intellectual property rights” is a paradox, where it promotes innovation and creativity, on the one hand, it might stagnate and monopolize ideas and business, on the other. With the development of human intelligence, complications also arose such that it became necessary to balance man’s…
Understanding the trademark distinctiveness spectrum
The primary purpose of a trademark is that it serves to distinguish the goods or services of one person from those of another. If a mark is not distinctive, it could lead to confusion in the minds of consumers and deceive them as to the origin of the product or service it represents. To prevent…
Statutory License, Royalties, Radio broadcasters and a Public Notice
Section 31 D of the Copyright Act, 1957 has been the bone of contention on many occasions with regard to issuing statutory licenses and the scope of broadcasters. In simple words, Section 31D of the Copyright Act 1957 states that any broadcasting organization that wishes to communicate sound…
Designating India in your IR trademark application with the ® Registered symbol
Time upon time, the significance of the ® (registered symbol) and the ™ symbol have been reiterated in our posts in our blog. The basic picture being ™ can be used with a trademark by entities to showcase and declare that the said mark is being used by the Applicant as a trademark in respect of…
Express & Expedited request for examination of patent applications in India
In India, a request for examination must be filed for a patent application to be considered by the Indian Patent Office. This request can be made by the applicant, or any interested third party and must be filed within 48 months of the earliest priority application. If no request for examination is…
Voluntary cancellation of trademark registration in India
Registration of a trademark in India is granted for a period of 10 years from the date of filing the application in India. The trademark registration can be renewed every 10 years infinitely. Voluntary cancellation of trademark registration in India There are several occasions when the…
Magical tug of war for a descriptive mark – ITC Vs Nestle
ITC (Yipee) Vs Nestle (Maggi) - Madras High Court ITC Ltd. and Nestle S.A. are two household names that have become indispensable in our lives. There is a minimum of one product in every household that belongs to these conglomerates. The demography of the consumers for these brands is vast and…