Insights
Practical perspectives on protecting, managing and enforcing intellectual property across India and the subcontinent.
Adlin Mini M · 30 August 2024
Fake Legal Notices: How Scammers Impersonate IP Law Firms
Scammers are impersonating well-known law firms — fake legal notices from look-alike emails and WhatsApp accounts, demanding payment over invented IP violations. How Shardul Amarchand, Anand & Anand and others fought back, and how to protect yourself.
Vaniah Dominic · 27 August 2024
Deemed Protection: The Trade Marks Act vs the Madrid Protocol
If the Indian Registry misses the 18-month deadline on a Madrid application, the mark can be 'deemed protected' — but India's trigger (failure to convey acceptance) differs from the Protocol's (failure to convey refusal). A crucial distinction.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 27 August 2024
Form 27 Now Every Three Years: The 2024 Statement of Working Change
The Patents Amendment Rules, 2024 cut Form 27 filing from annual to once every three years — and mean no working statement was due in 2024. The new deadlines, explained.
Rohit Magesh · 16 August 2024
Contractual Staff at the Trade Marks Registry: A Cloud Over Thousands of Marks
A Calcutta High Court ruling questioned decisions made by contractual staff performing quasi-judicial functions at the Trade Marks Registry — putting hundreds of thousands of 2021–2023 registrations under a re-validation cloud.
Khushboo Agarwal · 6 August 2024
Arijit Singh v. Codible: Personality Rights Against AI Voice Cloning
The Bombay High Court protected singer Arijit Singh against AI tools cloning his voice and likeness without consent — a landmark for celebrity personality rights in the age of generative AI.
Keerthana K · 31 July 2024
Proof of Use in Indian Trademark Hearings: A Practical Guide
There is no fixed standard for proving trademark use in India, yet hearing officers increasingly want sales invoices. What evidence actually works — especially for digital-first brands.
Adlin Mini M · 29 July 2024
Multiple and Partial Trademark Priority Claims: India's Strict Approach
India recognises only a single priority date per trademark application and rejects partial priority — a trap for International Registrations designating India. What applicants must do to avoid provisional refusals.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 26 July 2024
Statement of Working of Patents in India (Form 27): What to File and When
Every patentee and licensee in India must file Form 27 telling the Patent Office whether the patent is being worked. What it asks, the once-a-financial-year deadline, and what happens if you skip it.
Shehnaz Latheef · 22 July 2024
When Your Agent Drops the Ball: The Push for a Code of Conduct for IP Agents
A patent lapsed because the agent never properly told the applicant about the examination report. The Delhi High Court revived it — and ordered the IP Office to create a Code of Conduct for patent and trademark agents.
Keerthana K · 12 July 2024
Someone Registered Your Brand First: What You Can Do
A provisional refusal arrives because an identical mark is already registered — and the holder turns out to own fifteen marks belonging to foreign brands that haven't entered India yet. Four routes out, in order of cost, and why monitoring beats all of them.
Adlin Mini M · 2 July 2024
Defending Your Brand: Social Media and E-Commerce Takedown Requests
Before you litigate, you can act fast. How to use takedown request forms on Facebook, Instagram and Amazon/Flipkart to remove infringing pages and counterfeit listings — the evidence to gather, and what each platform's process looks like.
Shehnaz Latheef · 27 June 2024
The 'Average Consumer' in the Digital Age: Forest Essentials v. Baby Forest
A Delhi High Court judge refused Forest Essentials an injunction over 'Baby Forest', holding that 'Forest' can't be monopolised — and that today's better-informed consumer isn't fooled by fleeting, transient confusion.