Trademarks
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…
Old tactics but New game – Trademark Bullying
From the newspapers to our daily lives and our secret fears – it’s all about being intimidated by the big guy. Most of us believe (or is it just me?) that they can be overpowering because they are they and we are we. I can’t begin to fathom how it must be out there for the new entrepreneurs in the…
No monopoly over generally used words
While deciding an appeal late last year, a division bench of the Madras High Court (“Madras HC”) held “[T]herefore, such a word, which is of general use, cannot be a monopoly of the appellants alone….” It is awfully difficult to create a list of words in general use in any language. However there…
Trademark Crystal : Taking on Goliath and winning
In the world of fashion, Swarovski is known for its crystals. Yet in what could be described as a David vs. Goliath battle, Swarovski lost its registered trademark “Crystal Glamour” in January 2014 because of a rectification petition filed by an innocuous and relatively unknown textile…
The Five Commandments of Networking for Indian Lawyers
It all starts in the womb. I don’t mean anything euphemistic or metaphorical, but literally; I was recently told that to get into premier schools in India, parents have to apply for admission immediately after conception. One parent, was incredibly upset that he missed out because his child was…