Insights
Practical perspectives on protecting, managing and enforcing intellectual property across India and the subcontinent.
18 July 2021
Delhi High Court Creates India's First Intellectual Property Division
When the Tribunals Reforms Ordinance abolished the IPAB in 2021, its work moved to the High Courts. Delhi responded by creating a dedicated Intellectual Property Division — the first in India, and the model the others have since followed.
Drisya R · 26 May 2021
Prosecution History Estoppel in Trademarks: A Double-Edged Sword
What you say to distinguish your mark during examination can be used against you later. How prosecution history estoppel plays out in Indian trademark disputes — and why the usage claim often beats splitting hairs over cited marks.
7 May 2021
Branding Due Diligence: Four Checks Before You Launch
Myntra revised its logo overnight after a complaint, changing its website, app, packaging and labels across India. It could absorb that. A startup could not. Distinctiveness, perception, global acceptance and professional clearance are the checks that prevent it.
Prachi Jain · 1 May 2021
How to Search for Logos and Device Marks in India Using Vienna Codes
Word searches cannot find a logo. How the Vienna Classification works, how to run a device search on the IP India portal, and why it matters before you file.
Adyasree Prakriti · 16 April 2021
The Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2021: What Changed
The 2021 Copyright Rules modernised the regime — a new online Copyright Journal replacing the Gazette, simpler software-copyright filing (first and last 10 pages of code), annual transparency reports for copyright societies, and alignment with the IPAB's abolition.
Shana Varughese · 5 April 2021
Renewing a Customs Recordal in India: The Missing Provision
A customs recordal lasts five years — but the 2007 Rules give no way to renew it, forcing rights holders to refile from scratch. Why that gap exists, the practical pain it causes, and the simpler fix that's needed.
27 March 2021
Making Platforms Pay for News: Australia's Bargaining Code
Australia's Code requires platforms to pay news organisations for content, with arbitration if negotiations fail. It works for large publishers — but the revenue threshold excludes the independent journalists most in need of it.
26 March 2021
BigBasket v. Daily Basket: Trademark Protection or Bullying?
BigBasket's cease-and-desist to tiny startup Daily Basket over the common word 'basket' drew accusations of trademark bullying — and a viral pushback site, bbisabully.com. Where legitimate enforcement ends and bullying begins, and the Section 142 groundless-threats risk.
26 March 2021
Pakistan Joins the Madrid Protocol
Pakistan acceded on 24 February 2021, becoming the fourth SAARC country in the Madrid system. From 24 May 2021, brand owners could designate Pakistan through a single international application rather than filing nationally.
8 March 2021
Lifting the COVID Extension of Limitation: How the Deadlines Finally Reset
The Supreme Court's suo motu extension of limitation ran from March 2020, was lifted in March 2021, revived during the second wave, and was finally closed by the order of 10 January 2022 — excluding 15 March 2020 to 28 February 2022, with 90 days from 1 March 2022. Here is the full arc and what it meant for IP filings.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 9 February 2021
Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2020: A Simpler Form 27 (Working Statement)
The 2020 Rules made the annual 'statement of working' (Form 27) far simpler — one form for related patents, a longer filing window, and much less required data. What changed, the new deadlines, and the priority-document rules for PCT applications.
27 January 2021
The Designs (Amendment) Rules, 2021: What Changed
Startups and small entities now pay the same fees as natural persons — roughly a 50% cut for small entities — foreign startups can qualify on an affidavit, India formally adopted the current Locarno Classification, and service addresses must now carry an Indian mobile number.