Trademarks
Perspectives on trademarks across India and the subcontinent.
Durga Bhatt · 14 November 2014
IP for Fashion Designers: Protecting What You Create
Look in the mirror and you are wearing intellectual property — a brand protected as a trademark, a print protected as a design, artwork protected by copyright. For fashion, design registration is the natural fit, and the industry's reluctance to use it is the problem.
5 November 2014
The KHADI Trademark Story: From Gandhi to Germany
A German company registered KHADI abroad, angering India's KVIC — whose own Indian registrations had lapsed. A cautionary tale about the territorial nature of trademark rights, renewal discipline, and filing where you intend to trade.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 4 November 2014
Do I Need a Lawyer to File My Trademark Application?
You can file it yourself. The question is what happens afterwards — the objections, the hearings, the watching, the follow-up. Filing is where trademark work begins, not where it ends.
29 October 2014
Celebrity Trademarks: What SRK's 'SRK' Registration Really Protects
When Shah Rukh Khan trademarked 'SRK', headlines suggested he'd locked down the initials for everything. Not so. What a celebrity name/initials trademark actually protects — class by class, use by use.
18 October 2014
Delhi HC Quashes Blanket Bar on Trademark Application Amendments
The Controller General tried to restrict amendments to trademark applications by general order. The Delhi High Court quashed it — the Registrar is a quasi-judicial authority who must decide each amendment case by case, and can't take dictates from a superior.
14 October 2014
INN or Out? International Non-Proprietary Names as Trademarks in India
INNs are the global generic names for drug substances — and no one is supposed to own them. Section 13 bars registering INN-based marks, yet some slip through. Why they shouldn't, and what the law says.
Durga Bhatt · 2 October 2014
Trademark Licensing in India: An Overview
Licensing lets you 'rent out' your mark while keeping ownership — a powerful way to expand. Why quality control is the make-or-break clause, the key terms of a licence, how registered-user status (Sections 48–54) works, and how licensing differs from assignment.
25 September 2014
Can You Lose Your Trademark After Registration?
Registration is the start, not the finish. Licensing without quality control, five years of non-use, or letting the mark become the name of the product itself will each cost you rights that no certificate protects.
Durga Bhatt · 18 September 2014
The Law on Acquiescence: Wake Up Before It's Too Late
Sit on your rights while someone uses your mark, and Section 33 can bar you from suing after five years. What acquiescence means, why mere delay isn't enough, and the ingredients an infringer must prove.
Nikita · 17 September 2014
Character Merchandising in India — Part One: Protecting the Character
From Chota Bheem stores to Mickey Mouse mugs, character merchandising is booming. Part one of a two-part series: what it is, and how trademark and copyright law can protect a fictional character across the goods it appears on.
Durga Bhatt · 12 September 2014
Assignment of Trademarks in India: The Four Types Explained
A trademark can be assigned completely or partially, with or without goodwill. What each type means, the deed requirements, and how to record the assignment with the Registry.
10 September 2014
Where Can You Sue for Trademark Infringement? Section 134 and Jurisdiction
The Bombay High Court confirmed that a trademark owner can sue for infringement where it carries on business — a jurisdiction Section 134 grants independently of where the defendant lives or the harm arose.