Insights
Practical perspectives on protecting, managing and enforcing intellectual property across India and the subcontinent.
Nikita · 19 June 2014
Trademark Injunctions and Damages in India — Part One: The Prima Facie Case
In an infringement or passing-off suit, the real battle is often the temporary injunction. Part one of a series: the two kinds of injunction, and the first of three ingredients — the prima facie case — with the tests Indian courts apply.
Navarre Roy · 18 June 2014
Playing Music in Your Shop? You Need a Licence — Here's Why
That saxophone in the elevator isn't free to play. A song carries three separate copyrights — lyrics, music and sound recording — and playing it in any commercial space needs a licence. How music licensing and copyright societies work in India.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 13 June 2014
Form 27 and Confidentiality: What Companies Actually Disclosed
Statements of working are published. So a survey of what multinationals filed for 2012 is revealing: patents 'not worked' for 'nothing in particular', portfolios too large to know, and offers to provide figures if the Patent Office ever asks.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 13 June 2014
Aquafina v. Aquafine: PepsiCo's Repeat Trademark Win
PepsiCo again stopped a deceptively similar 'Aquafine' from riding on its well-known 'Aquafina'. Why 'Aqua' alone is generic but the accompanying prefix/suffix decides distinctiveness — judged through the 'average intelligence, imperfect recollection' consumer.
Nikita · 12 June 2014
Designs and Passing Off in India: Can You Sue on Both?
Three thorny questions vexed the courts: can you sue a registered proprietor for design infringement, is passing off available under the Designs Act, and can you combine both in one suit? The old split view — and how Carlsberg finally settled the composite suit.
11 June 2014
Website Analytics as Evidence of Trademark Reputation in India
Jane Norman had no stores in India but produced analytics showing over 18,000 Indian visitors to its website in a year. The Delhi High Court accepted that as evidence of spill-over reputation and granted an injunction — a position the Supreme Court later tightened.
Ratnavel Pandian · 9 June 2014
Compulsory Licensing in India: The Law and What Actually Happens
Sections 84 and 92 of the Patents Act let a third party work a patented invention without the owner's consent. In more than five decades, India has granted exactly one — Natco over Bayer's Nexavar. Here is the framework, and why the route stays theoretical.
6 June 2014
Registering a Trending Hashtag as a Trademark
What cannot be registered as a trademark cannot be registered as a hashtag either. Beyond that, the practical filter is longevity — a hashtag that identifies the brand for years may be worth protecting; one riding a passing trend is not.
4 June 2014
Recording Your IP with Customs in India: Stop Counterfeits at the Gate
Found counterfeits bearing your mark? If they're imported, you can stop them before they enter. How the IPR (Imported Goods) Enforcement Rules, 2007 let you record your IP with Customs, the process and documents, detention timelines, and the exceptions.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 27 May 2014
The Dynamic Trademark Utility: Transparency at the Registry
The Trade Marks Registry introduced a 'dynamic' utility letting anyone see how many applications sit at each stage, by class and jurisdiction. A small but telling step toward transparency and accountability.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 8 May 2014
The SICLD Registry and Its Empty Journal
India has a registry dedicated to semiconductor layout designs. It publishes a journal every month, and for years every issue reported the same thing: no applications received. A note on an unused IP right, and why layout designs are worth knowing about.
Navarre Roy · 5 May 2014
Do India's Political Parties Trademark Their Names and Symbols?
A 2014 look at whether India's major parties registered trademarks for their names, symbols and slogans — mostly they hadn't. Why party symbols run into the Emblems Act, and what protection is even available.