Sound Board

Our thoughts and views on the practice of Intellectual Property in India and around the world.

In a major development, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan acceded to the Madrid Protocol on February 24, 2021, making it the 108th member of the Madrid system which now covers 124 countries in total. Pakistan also becomes the fourth SAARC country to join the Madrid Protocol after India, Bhutan, and Afghanistan.

The recent spat between BigBasket and Daily Basket borders on this blur. BigBasket, the largest online grocery store in India slapped a Cease-and-Desist notice on Daily Basket, a young startup, alleging infringement of their trademark. They claimed that the mere mention or reference of a name containing “basket” in word or logo form for any E-commerce business and related products would confuse the relevant class of consumers into assuming association with BigBasket.

The Supreme Court indicated that it was proposing to lift the suo moto extension of the limitation period granted by it on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, with effect from March 15 this year. Following this, on 8th March 2021, the Court passed an order ending the extension of the limitation period.

The much-awaited amendment to the Indian Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2020, came into force on 19 October 2020. The amendment relates to the Indian Patent Office's requirement of annual filing of the statement of working of patents by the Patentee/Licensee.

The Indian Government has recently notified an amendment to the Designs Rules, 2001. The Designs (Amendment) Rules, 2021 (“the Amendment Rules”), were notified in the Official Gazette on January 25, 2021, and are deemed to be in effect from that date.

Over the years, movies and TV series have driven our imaginations of the versions of AI. Whether it was Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey, Samantha from the movie Her, Chitti from Endhiran or G.One from the Hindi movie- Ra. One, or simply every episode of the Black Mirror, the infinite possibilities with AI never cease to amaze and scare us. Given the development of technology, the reality of AI capabilities seems to be inching towards what we have seen in countless movies for decades.

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 connections with their favourite products and services with the businesses that provide them, which in turn can ensure consumer loyalty.

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 for the registration of his mark in Country B, claiming a “priority date” (from the original application in Country A) whereby his mark will be considered to be registered as on the date of application…

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 and packed with legal jargon, some are brief and get the message across. A legal notice simply outlines the rights of the sender (“bona fide” proprietor) and cautions the infringing party to refrain…

“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 imagination and the output of such imagination.