Sound Board

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

The paranoia around the COVID-19 continues to stretch the air, people, citizens and the government continue to strive to put their best foot forward to ensure maximum safety and avoid anarchy. With this, we would like to inform you that, the Indian government have been meticulous in their work and have always ensured the best for its citizens, with this the Indian Patent Office, the Indian Trade Marks Registry and the Indian Copyright Office have released their official notices dated,…

The pre-grant opposition can be filed by anyone at any time from the date of publishing of the patent application in the patent journal up to its grant. To initiate a Pre-Grant Opposition, the aggrieved party must submit their opposition representation, in writing to the Controller. This submission may be supported with additional and relevant evidence to substantiate the claims made therein.

The Indian Patent Office (IPO) released the guidelines on November 29, 2019. These procedure guidelines mention the procedures that applicants need to follow while requesting for expedited examination under the PPH pilot program.

With the announcement of the Bilateral Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Programme between the Indian Patent Office under the Controller General of Patents, Design and Trade Marks (CGPDTM) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the floodgates to investments and financing in India has opened opportunities beyond borders.

While trademark is meant for a dual function of identifying and distinguishing from others, public interest and community sentiments have also been taken into consideration in trademark law.

Upon a thorough examination, the Court concluded that if a patent has not been renewed, no action for infringement would lie. Similarly, once the patent is published, no infringement action can be filed until the patent is granted, though damages can be sought with effect from the date of publication. Thus, the continuation of an injunction, even for a day, would not be permissible once the patent is revoked.

This order by the Hon’ble Bombay High Court, delivered on 28th September, 2019 pertaining to subtitles in movies, is one such droplet that will potentially open the floodgate for the entertainment and media law sector in India.

Imagine not being able to label your lungis, as “lungi” because a juggernaut has registered a trademark for the word? Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Kim Kardashian West attempted to trademark the word, “kimono” for her new line of shapewear. The application was withdrawn following backlash from netizens accusing Kim for cultural appropriation. This is not the first time the global community has created an uproar about a trademark being cultural appropriation of a community.

Celebrities influence us the deepest. Irrespective of our ‘literacy’, they help us ‘decide’ whether to buy a particular brand or not, through their appearances in advertisements. A celebrity endorsing a product or service, serves as a promise of quality and trust and strikes an instant credibility to the brand.To keep a check on this the Advertising Standards Council of India (hereinafter ‘ASCI’) released a set of guidelines in 2017 to ensure that the advertisements starring them are not…

The Cell for IPR Promotion and Management, under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DIPP) floated a 23 page model guidelines booklet on the implementation of IPR policies in Academic Institutions, in early September, 2019.