Insights
Practical perspectives on protecting, managing and enforcing intellectual property across India and the subcontinent.
25 June 2019
The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018 — and What Replaced It
The 2018 Bill drew heavily on the GDPR — data fiduciaries, sensitive personal data, localisation, penalties at 4% of global revenue. It never became law. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 took a markedly different shape, and this is how the two compare.
24 June 2019
Adidas and the Three Stripes: Distinctive, or Distinctive Enough?
The EU General Court upheld the annulment of Adidas's three-stripe mark — not because nobody recognises it, but because the evidence of acquired distinctiveness covered five member states out of twenty-eight. A lesson in what EU-wide proof actually requires.
24 June 2019
Key Features of the GDPR
The EU's GDPR reshaped how organisations handle personal data — with strict obligations, powerful data-subject rights, and revenue-based fines. A clear rundown of its scope, the rights it grants, the duties it imposes, and why it reaches Indian businesses too.
24 June 2019
An Introduction to the GDPR
The GDPR applies wherever EU residents' data is processed, regardless of where the processing happens — which is why it reached Indian businesses that had never operated in Europe. Scope, consent, access rights, and penalties reaching 4% of global revenue.
21 June 2019
A Guide to Copyright Registration of Cinematograph Films in India
How to register copyright in a cinematograph film in India — what counts as a cinematograph film, the 60-year term, the documents and fee required, and the step-by-step registration and examination process.
21 June 2019
Fake Job Scam on a Look-Alike Domain: Colgate Wins an Injunction
Fraudsters registered colgatepalmoliveindia.in, posed as HR recruiters, and took 'deposits' from job seekers. The Delhi High Court injuncted them, ordered NIXI to block the domains, and directed banks to freeze the accounts — a template for tackling brand-impersonation fraud fast.
21 June 2019
India and the GDPR: Adequacy, Compliance and Cost
India has no adequacy decision from the European Commission, so transfers to Indian entities need safeguards — standard contractual clauses, pseudonymisation, DPOs. For the IT sector, that made GDPR compliance a commercial requirement rather than a legal one.
Archana Priyadharshini · 19 June 2019
Scandalous, Obscene, or Offensive: The Lesser-Seen Bars in Section 9
Beyond the usual distinctiveness objection, Section 9(2) bars marks that hurt religious sensibilities or contain scandalous or obscene matter. What these lesser-seen grounds cover — and why the 'obscene' bar is contested.
15 June 2019
No Removal Without Notice: Section 25(3) and the O-3 Renewal Reminder
The Registry removed a mark for non-renewal, relying on a public notice and claiming it had sent the statutory notice without any proof of service. The Delhi High Court restored the mark — and directed the Registry to reconsider every case removed without a record of Section 25(3) notice.
11 June 2019
India Joins the Nice, Vienna and Locarno Agreements
In June 2019 India acceded to the three WIPO classification treaties — Nice for goods and services, Vienna for figurative elements, Locarno for industrial designs. It aligned Indian classification practice with the rest of the world and gave India a vote on how those systems evolve.
5 June 2019
Can You Register a Hashtag as a Trademark?
The hash symbol adds nothing distinctive on its own. A hashtag is registrable only where the words it contains function as an identifier of source — and enforcing one against ordinary social media use is harder still.
31 May 2019
Shape as a Design or a Trademark? The Crocs Ruling and Its Puzzle
Can the shape of a product be both a registered design and a trademark? The Delhi High Court's Crocs decision said no — what is registered as a design cannot be a trademark, even after the design lapses. A ruling that raised as many questions as it answered.