Trademarks

How Toyota turned the table for Trans-Border Reputation in India

In the recent verdict of the disputed Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki v M/S Prius Auto Industries Ltd, the Supreme Court’s stance on affirming the Delhi High Court’s decision to grant the mark PRIUS to Prius Auto Industries has been heralded as the new will lit (albeit narrower) path of the Trans-Border…


TN govt re-christens video piracy cell to IP Right Enforcement Cell

The new policy is clearly informed by conservative pro-Intellectual Property (IP) ideology; yes, we are talking about the Tamil Nadu Government’s recent development on re-designating Video Piracy Cell as “Intellectual Property(IP) Right Enforcement Cell”. It is a first of its kind policy for the…


Protecting your brand/trademark with the Amazon Brand Registry

In spite of being a developing country, India has shown immense growth in the e-commerce sector. Amazon is one such e-commerce site which is widely known and as any other e-commerce business, it allows sellers to sell their products on their website. Since there are thousands of sellers on Amazon,…


Why Startups need to protect their Intellectual Property before disclosing it

Intellectual Property – Creations of your Mind ‘A hundred and one wonders our mind holds, And out of it rarely a creation unfolds!’ Isn’t that true? Imagine you have created something ingenious, what we formally call “Intellectual Property” or simply IP, like a truly mind-blowing…


Trademark Opposition proceeding in India

Trademark Opposition proceeding in India, though very extensive, is very interesting and fun. Before diving into the procedure of opposition proceeding, a quick run through of the general procedure of trademark filing until registration would be helpful. Once a trademark application is filed, the…


Six things you need to know when you receive a provisional refusal from India

Deadline to respond to objections: The deadline to respond to the objections raised by the Indian Trademark Office is one month from the date of receipt of the provisional refusal notification by the Applicant. Accordingly, the date to calculate the deadline will be from the date when you actually…


Difference between filing a trademark as a word and as a logo

Indian trademark law saw its origin back in the 1940s with the advent of the Indian Trade Marks Act subsequently increasing the need for protecting trademarks. This upsurge can be attributed to the rise in growth of trade and commerce in the country over the years. Ever since then, the trademark…


Ownership of family trademarks

Family trademarks are marks which are used by a person for his family business, where the trademark ownership lies with each member of the family. Such trademarks provide parallel rights for use of the mark, thus, protecting each heir under the doctrine of shared goodwill and common family legacy.…


The case of Toyota Prius & trans-border reputation

It was a sigh of relief for the Delhi based automotive accessories Company (Prius Industries) when the infringement case wasn’t decided against them as Toyota failed to prove trans-border reputation. Prius Auto Industries, set – up in Delhi in the year 2001 and engaged into manufacturing automotive…


Indian TMO issues guidelines for recognizing well-known trademarks

An owner of a well-known trade mark can now shout it from the rooftops; so to speak. Answering unspoken prayers, a public notice was issued on May 22, 2017 elucidating a list of guidelines to be followed for determination of a well-known trade mark by the Registrar which, if followed ensures that a…