Insights
Practical perspectives on protecting, managing and enforcing intellectual property across India and the subcontinent.
10 January 2023
How to Renew a Trademark Registration in India
Check the status, file the renewal application in the twelve months before expiry, and the registration continues for another ten years. Miss it and you move into surcharge territory, then restoration, then removal.
5 January 2023
Trademark Prosecution in Bangladesh: A Practical Guide
Filing a trademark in Bangladesh? Applications are single-class, on the NICE 10th edition, on an intent-to-use or use basis. The process, the 2-month (extendable) opposition window, the unusual 7-year first term (then 10-year renewals), and non-use cancellation.
Rohit Magesh · 21 December 2022
India Is Losing Its Rank in the 'Ease of Piracy' — and That's Good
Software piracy was once almost frictionless in India. Not any more: a run of Delhi High Court judgments — ₹20 lakh against one infringer, ₹30 lakh against another — signals courts are done being lenient. Why businesses should switch to licensed or open-source software now.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 20 December 2022
Microsoft Wins 12-Year Software Piracy Case: Injunction and Damages
The Delhi High Court found a company using Microsoft software on 130 machines beyond its licences, and awarded ₹20 lakh in damages plus a permanent injunction. A reminder that under-licensing is copyright infringement — and that refusing an audit doesn't help.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 17 December 2022
India's Designs Office Goes Digital: E-Filing of Signed Forms
A December 2022 notice let design applications be filed fully online with digital signatures — no mandatory physical copies. What can be filed electronically, the documents still needed in original, and the e-certificates now issued.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 16 December 2022
When Courts Extend Patent Deadlines: Abandonment Requires Intention
Missing the examination request or FER deadline abandons the application. But courts have held that abandonment requires a conscious act showing intention to abandon — and have extended time where the agent was negligent and the applicant was not.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 15 December 2022
Adobe Wins ₹2 Crore Against a Habitual Cybersquatter
A serial cybersquatter registered addobe.com and adobee.com — and ran a 'catch-all' email to harvest misaddressed mail. The Delhi High Court gave Adobe a permanent injunction, ₹2 crore in damages, domain transfer and website blocking.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 15 December 2022
A New Owner Can Claim the Mark's Original First-Use Date: Pidilite's M-SEAL
When you acquire a trademark, you acquire its history too. The Bombay High Court let Pidilite claim M-SEAL's use from 1968 — its predecessor's date — and injuncted the deceptively similar R-SEAL obtained by fraudulent concealment.
30 November 2022
Amitabh Bachchan Wins Protection for His Voice, Image and Likeness
Scammers used Amitabh Bachchan's voice and image for a fake 'KBC lottery' fraud and unauthorised merchandise. The Delhi High Court granted an ex parte injunction protecting his personality rights — and ordered ISPs to take down the URLs and telecom providers to block the numbers.
Adlin Mini M · 18 November 2022
One IP Lawyer Sues Another Over a Logo
The defendant argued the font was freely available and that a LinkedIn pitch two years earlier meant the plaintiff had acquiesced. Both arguments failed — and the court observed that a higher standard of integrity is expected of IP practitioners.
Jacob Ninan · 18 November 2022
Who Can File a Request for Examination of a Patent in India?
An Indian patent application isn't examined until a request for examination is filed — and not only the applicant can file it. Who counts as a 'person interested', how the courts read that inclusive definition, and the current RFE timeline.
Sampada Kapoor · 15 November 2022
Pre-Litigation Mediation in IP Disputes in India: When Is It Mandatory?
Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act makes pre-institution mediation mandatory — but IP suits seeking urgent interim relief are exempt. Where the line falls, and why the pleadings decide it.