Trademarks
Perspectives on trademarks across India and the subcontinent.
3 May 2017
Registering Foreign-Language Trademarks in India
You can register a mark in any language in India — but you must supply a transliteration and translation, and if the English meaning is descriptive, registration gets harder. How the doctrine of foreign equivalents plays out here.
2 May 2017
Who Owns 'The Nation Wants to Know'? Slogans, Personality and Employment IP
When Arnab Goswami left Times Now, both the channel and his new venture rushed to trademark 'The Nation Wants to Know'. The fight turns on three questions — is it distinctive, whose identity does it evoke, and what did his contract say.
Archana Priyadharshini · 21 April 2017
The Rubik's Cube Loses Its 3D Trademark
The Court of Justice of the EU held that the Rubik's Cube's shape mark was invalid because its essential characteristics perform a technical function. Shapes that work cannot be monopolised indefinitely through trademark law — that is what patents are for.
28 March 2017
Priority Trademark Applications in India: All You Need to Know
File a trademark in one Paris Convention country and you have six months to claim the same filing date in India. How convention priority works under Section 154, and what to file.
Archana Priyadharshini · 17 March 2017
How to Get Well-Known Trademark Status in India
Well-known status gives a mark broader protection — even across dissimilar goods. Since the 2017 Rules, you can apply for it directly via Form TM-M. What the law requires under Section 11(6)–(9), the process, and the ₹1 lakh fee.
16 March 2017
Infringement vs Counterfeiting: What's the Difference?
All counterfeits infringe, but not all infringements are counterfeits. How Indian law distinguishes deceptively similar marks from exact fakes — and why the remedies (civil vs criminal) differ.
7 March 2017
The Trade Marks Rules, 2017 and the Fee Hike
The 2017 Rules simplified filing (75 forms down to 8) — but doubled the fee for most applicants. The upside: individuals, startups and small enterprises got a big discount (₹4,500/class), a 10% online discount, and a new end-to-end expedited processing option.
7 March 2017
The Trade Marks Rules, 2017: What Changed
The 2017 Rules overhauled Indian trademark practice — a 125% fee hike, forms cut from ~75 to 8, mandatory user affidavits, expedited processing, sound marks, video hearings, and a direct route to well-known status. A simplified rundown of the highlights.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 7 March 2017
The Trade Marks Rules, 2017: What They Mean for Startups and SMEs
The 2017 Rules cut official trademark fees by half for startups and SMEs, allowed reclassification without losing priority, and streamlined filing. What changed, who qualifies, and the limits.
Navarre Roy · 7 March 2017
The Trade Marks E-Filing System (Version 3.0): What's New
The 2017 Rules brought a revamped 'Online Filing Version 3.0'. A hands-on tour of the changes for new applications — 8 alphabetic forms, mandatory email and power of attorney at filing, MP3 sound-mark upload, a trademark-description field, and the glitches to watch.
7 March 2017
The Trade Marks Rules, 2017: Six Changes That Mattered
The 2017 Rules cut 74 forms to eight, made sound marks genuinely filable as MP3s, opened expedited processing at every stage rather than examination alone, and made user affidavits compulsory where a date of first use is claimed.
Prachi Jain · 20 February 2017
Celebrity Rights: The Public, the Private and the IP
A celebrity's face on socks, a movie dialogue on packaging, a 'meet the star' promo — done without consent, these violate celebrity rights: a blend of personality, publicity and privacy rights. How Indian courts (RajaGopal, Sourav Ganguly) recognise fame as intellectual property.