Trademarks

Celebrity Rights in India: AMMA – The Mother of all Trademarks?

Cases and issues relating to personality and image rights in connection with trademark law have always intrigued me. For one, it raises the question of whether a person can register their name as a trademark solely on the ground that they are a celebrity having brand value and that their reputation…


Trademark Injunctions and Damages in India – Part One

Registering a trademark is only the first step. What is more challenging is to be wary all those conflicting marks out there in the market trying to make a place for themselves. At the outset, in a suit of trademark infringement or passing-off, the two probable reliefs that can be sought are an…


Yet another trademark triumph for Pepsico's Aquafina

Pepsico India Holdings Pvt Ltd has won yet another trademark battle, this time in respect of its mineral water brand “Aquafina.” The Delhi High Court, in a recent judgement, upholding the submissions of Pepsico, has restrained  the defendant Aqua Mineral (India) from using the trademark “Aquafine”…


Web Analytics and Website Visitor Statistics – Trademark Usage in India

The Delhi High Court recently had the opportunity to decide a case on trademark infringement and passing off where they examined the concept of usage of a trademark in India. While we have blogged about the concept of usage earlier (read our posts here and here) what was interesting in this case…


Types of Trademarks – The Super Mark

There are a couple of different Types of Trademarks. Most people who want to get a trademark registered, search for the Super Mark. What is this Super mark? Super mark is the Invincible Superman of the Trademark world, i.e. it is a mark that would less likely to be objected to by the Registry. The…


Trending: Hashtags as Trademarks

Not too long ago, advertisements on the radio, print media and television were the best means to spread the word about any goods or services that were to be marketed. Times have changed and it takes more than just a few ads and discounts to retain consumers and maintain a steady market share.…


Dynamic trademark utility - yet another step towards transparency!

We have been providing regular updates on the efforts taken by the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (CGPDTM) to achieve complete automation and more significant, absolute transparency (some of our articles on this could be found here and here). In yet another move towards…


Google Glass - The United States and Indian Scenario

So what if the awe-inspiring Google GLASS had everyone spell bound; the spell and the GLASS appear to be unceremoniously shattered(pun intended!) by the United States Patent and Trademark Office(USPTO). The American Angle The USPTO had issued an intimation suspending all  action with respect to the…


The Politics of Indian Intellectual Property

For those of you who decided to read the article based on the title, expecting some hard hitting piece of English prose on India and US talks on IP based on the issue of pharma patents and the like; I’m sorry to disappoint. I started off this post with a very simple question in mind as to whether…


Trademark Application Status “Advertised as Accepted (AAA)” - Explained

When a trademark application is filed, it is examined by the Trademark Office to check if it overcomes the objections laid down by the Trademarks Act 1999 (predominantly Section 9 and Section 11 of the Act). If there are objections to registration of the said mark, an opportunity is given to the…