Insights
Practical perspectives on protecting, managing and enforcing intellectual property across India and the subcontinent.
Durga Bhatt · 14 November 2014
IP for Fashion Designers: Protecting What You Create
Look in the mirror and you are wearing intellectual property — a brand protected as a trademark, a print protected as a design, artwork protected by copyright. For fashion, design registration is the natural fit, and the industry's reluctance to use it is the problem.
Nikita · 12 November 2014
Section 8 Non-Compliance Doesn't Auto-Revoke a Patent: Delhi HC
Does missing a Section 8 disclosure automatically kill your patent? The Delhi High Court said no — while Section 8 is mandatory, revocation under Section 64(1)(m) is 'may', hence discretionary. Courts must weigh whether the omission was deliberate or a bona fide slip.
Durga Bhatt · 6 November 2014
Copyright for Scriptwriters: Register Before You Pitch
A scriptwriter alleged his script was lifted for a hit film — and couldn't prove it. The practical lessons: handing over a full script (not just an idea) can support an infringement claim, register with the Copyright Office (not just a writers' association), and skip the 'poor man's copyright'.
5 November 2014
The KHADI Trademark Story: From Gandhi to Germany
A German company registered KHADI abroad, angering India's KVIC — whose own Indian registrations had lapsed. A cautionary tale about the territorial nature of trademark rights, renewal discipline, and filing where you intend to trade.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 4 November 2014
Do I Need a Lawyer to File My Trademark Application?
You can file it yourself. The question is what happens afterwards — the objections, the hearings, the watching, the follow-up. Filing is where trademark work begins, not where it ends.
29 October 2014
Celebrity Trademarks: What SRK's 'SRK' Registration Really Protects
When Shah Rukh Khan trademarked 'SRK', headlines suggested he'd locked down the initials for everything. Not so. What a celebrity name/initials trademark actually protects — class by class, use by use.
18 October 2014
Delhi HC Quashes Blanket Bar on Trademark Application Amendments
The Controller General tried to restrict amendments to trademark applications by general order. The Delhi High Court quashed it — the Registrar is a quasi-judicial authority who must decide each amendment case by case, and can't take dictates from a superior.
14 October 2014
INN or Out? International Non-Proprietary Names as Trademarks in India
INNs are the global generic names for drug substances — and no one is supposed to own them. Section 13 bars registering INN-based marks, yet some slip through. Why they shouldn't, and what the law says.
Durga Bhatt · 8 October 2014
How to File a Design Application in India: A Step-by-Step Guide
Protecting the look of a product — its shape, pattern or ornamentation — starts with a design application. Where to file, what a design is, the documents (including the crucial statement of novelty), and the timeline.
Nikita · 8 October 2014
Magic and Intellectual Property: Very Tricky
How do you protect a magic trick without revealing it? A tour of the options in India — patents (unlikely), copyright as a dramatic work, performers' rights (a conjurer is a 'performer' since 2012), and trade secrets — and why secrecy usually wins.
8 October 2014
Minimum Commitment Charges: CCI Fines T-Series Over Music Licensing
The CCI found T-Series dominant in Bollywood music licensing to private FM radio, and its per-hour rate acceptable. What it struck down was the minimum monthly commitment — payment for roughly 198 hours whether used or not.
Durga Bhatt · 2 October 2014
Trademark Licensing in India: An Overview
Licensing lets you 'rent out' your mark while keeping ownership — a powerful way to expand. Why quality control is the make-or-break clause, the key terms of a licence, how registered-user status (Sections 48–54) works, and how licensing differs from assignment.