Trademarks
Perspectives on trademarks across India and the subcontinent.
Navarre Roy · 1 June 2015
Startups and Trademarks: The Clearance Step You Can't Skip
A founder ignored a cease-and-desist over a name one letter off a 15-year-old mark — and had the website shut down by injunction without even a hearing. A cautionary tale, and the clearance checklist that prevents it.
29 May 2015
Zara v. Zara Tapas Bar: When 'David vs Goliath' Is Really Infringement
Fast-fashion giant Zara took on a Delhi restaurant, Zara Tapas Bar — and won an interim injunction. Why the 'trademark bully' framing missed the point: deceptive similarity, trans-border reputation, and why not suing every infringer doesn't forfeit your rights.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 28 May 2015
Madrid Protocol vs National Filing: The Problem of 'Use'
A Madrid Protocol application designating India is filed on a 'proposed to be used' basis — you can't claim use. In common-law India, where prior use is king, that quietly shifts the burden of proof against you in opposition. Why a national filing may serve better.
Durga Bhatt · 22 May 2015
Can You Trademark a Surname in India?
You can no longer be barred from registering a surname outright, but you usually can't monopolise a common name either. When a surname is registrable, when it needs proof of distinctiveness, and the meaning that helps.
Durga Bhatt · 17 April 2015
Marks as a Whole vs Side-by-Side: A Trademark Contradiction?
Trademark law says compare marks 'as a whole', not meticulously — yet courts also place composite marks side by side to spot similarities. A Calcutta High Court pressure-cooker case (Hawkins v. Shyam) exposes the tension between two 'well-established' principles.
4 April 2015
A Rehabilitation Scheme Is Not a Licence to Infringe
The maker of TIT BITS argued its trademark suit should wait for clearance from the BIFR, since an injunction would jeopardise its rehabilitation scheme. The Delhi High Court refused — a sick-company process cannot shelter infringement.
Durga Bhatt · 20 March 2015
Comparative Advertising in India: You Needn't Praise Your Rival
Havells complained that Eveready's LED ad compared only price and lumens, omitting Havells' other advantages. The Delhi High Court held there's no rule requiring all features be compared — and a rival need not point out your product's strengths.
20 March 2015
IP Crossovers Between the Real and Fantasy Worlds
Bertie Bott's beans, Duff Beer, a real Central Perk — fictional products keep crossing into the real world ('reverse product placement'), and real brands keep appearing in films. Who can do it, when it infringes, and cases like Rooh Afza, Fevicol and 'Clean Slate' in The Dark Knight.
12 March 2015
Café Madras: Geography No Longer Limits a Brand's Reputation
A restaurant argued that distance and a shared name meant no confusion. The Bombay High Court disagreed — in the internet age, reputation travels, and a distinctive mark used since the 1950s is protected.
Durga Bhatt · 27 February 2015
Trans-Border Reputation: Protecting a Global Brand Before It Arrives in India
A brand can be protected in India through reputation that spilled across borders — via advertising, international magazines and online sales — even before it sells here. How the doctrine developed, and its limits.
Archana Priyadharshini · 25 February 2015
Taglines as Trademarks in India: Catchy, but Hard to Register
A tagline can be a trademark — the definition is wide enough — but most fail because they're built from everyday words. Why distinctiveness is the catch, and what Anchor v. P&G ('allround protection') settled.
Durga Bhatt · 19 February 2015
Removing a Trademark for Non-Use: Rectification Under Section 47
A registered mark that has sat unused for five years and three months can be struck off the register. How rectification for non-use works under Section 47, who can file, and what counts as 'use'.