Insights
Practical perspectives on protecting, managing and enforcing intellectual property across India and the subcontinent.
Jayashri Suresh · 13 January 2016
Parallel Imports and the Exhaustion of Trademark Rights in India
Grey-market goods are genuine — just sold through unauthorised channels — and in India they're legal. Why, thanks to the international exhaustion principle (Kapil Wadhva v. Samsung), a brand owner can't stop resale after first sale, and the narrow Section 30(4) exception.
Shwetha · 12 January 2016
Orphan Works: Copyright When the Author Can't Be Found
An orphan work is a copyrighted work whose author can't be identified or traced. How India's Section 31A compulsory-licence route works, why the internet makes orphaning easier, and why metadata and registration matter.
2 January 2016
Naming Your Startup: Search Before You Settle
A group brainstorms names loudly in a café. A man at the next table quietly registers the good ones and offers to sell them back. Whether or not the story is true, the lesson is — search before you commit, and register once you do.
1 January 2016
Why Register Your Trademark?
A registration converts a name you use into a right you own — enforceable without proving reputation first, transferable, licensable, and renewable indefinitely. The case for treating it as an early milestone rather than a later formality.
Shwetha · 30 December 2015
Amul: The Well-Known Taste of India Gets Well-Known Status
Amul — and its iconic Butter Girl — was declared a well-known trademark, joining a coveted list with Pepsi, Coca-Cola and Benz. The IMUL infringement case that triggered it, what well-known status means, and the Section 11(6)–(9) factors behind it.
30 December 2015
Phantom Trademarks: Why India Doesn't Recognise Them
A phantom mark leaves an element blank — '___ FOR DUMMIES' — so one registration covers every variation. The US allows them only where the permutations are limited. India doesn't recognise them at all, because infringement here turns on the mark's essential features.
30 December 2015
Labels Are Not 'Designs': Delhi HC on the Copyright–Design Overlap
A package label is a trademark and an artistic work — but not a 'design'. The Delhi High Court's Midas Hygiene v. Sudhir Bhatia held labels fall outside the Designs Act, so Section 15(2) of the Copyright Act doesn't extinguish copyright in them.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 18 December 2015
What Every Software Developer Should Put in Their Development Agreement
Without a written agreement, the developer owns the code — which surprises clients. With a badly drafted one, the developer loses the right to reuse their own library. Both outcomes come from the same omission.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 23 November 2015
Proof of Right for Indian Patent Applications: What to File and When
When a patent application in India is filed by someone other than the inventor, you must furnish 'proof of right' within six months — or risk refusal, and revocation even after grant. The forms and the deadline.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 5 October 2015
The A.A. Selvam–IDIA Scholarship: Honouring a Mentor
In memory of Albert Arul Selvam — a Madras High Court lawyer who chose integrity over advancement, and quietly funded children's education — Selvam & Selvam partnered with IDIA to sponsor a law-school scholarship for a deserving, underprivileged student each year.
23 September 2015
Four Things to Know When Filing a PCT National Phase Application in India
India takes the 31-month national phase deadline, not 30. It is not extendable. Claims can't be amended at the time of filing — the documents must match the International Bureau's record. And the official fee covers only 30 pages and 10 claims.
Navarre Roy · 7 September 2015
Filing an IP Suit in Delhi Got 10x Pricier: The 2015 Jurisdiction Change
The Delhi High Court (Amendment) Act, 2015 raised the court's pecuniary jurisdiction from ₹20 lakh to ₹2 crore — pushing IP suits toward less IP-experienced district courts, or a tenfold court fee to stay in the High Court. What changed, and why it mattered for IP owners.