Trademarks
Perspectives on trademarks across India and the subcontinent.
Durga Bhatt · 4 September 2014
Comparative Advertising: Where Puffery Ends and Denigration Begins
You may praise your own product as extravagantly as you like, and you may compare it with a rival's. What you may not do is denigrate theirs. Section 30(1) permits comparative advertising on honest practices; Section 29(8) is where it stops.
Nikita · 3 September 2014
Madrid Protocol: Using India as the Origin Country
Filing an international trademark with India as your origin country? The Madrid System's single filing and central management are attractive — but the five-year dependency (central attack), series-mark limits, and India's Registry backlog mean it isn't always the cost-saver it seems.
Navarre Roy · 30 August 2014
Misspelt Words as Trademarks? Not Kool
Spelling a descriptive word wrong — AER, SNAX, KOOL — rarely turns it into a registrable trademark. Why the Registry treats misspellings as descriptive, and the narrow exceptions where a clever mis-spelling actually works.
Durga Bhatt · 28 August 2014
Trademark Disclaimers: What They Are and What They Cost You
To register a composite mark with a generic word in it, you may have to 'disclaim' that word — giving up exclusive rights over it. What a disclaimer does, why it exists, and how it affects enforcement.
Durga Bhatt · 18 August 2014
Exhaustion of Trademark Rights in India: Parallel Imports and the 'One Market' Question
Once a branded product is sold, can the trademark owner control its resale? India follows 'international exhaustion' — the whole world is one market — so genuine parallel imports are allowed. The Samsung case, explained.
Nikita · 18 August 2014
Trademark for Export: Does Branding in India Count as 'Use'?
If you brand goods in India but sell them only abroad, does that count as 'use' of the mark in India? Section 56 says yes — with real consequences for registration and enforcement.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 7 August 2014
Six Things That May Be Stalling Your Trademark Application
The Registry rarely tells you it is waiting on something. A failed formalities check, an unscanned logo, an unpaid excess-character fee, or an examination report you never received will each sit quietly on the file for months.
1 August 2014
OMG, WTF Is a Registered Trademark? Slang on the Register
WTF for education, OMG for online marketing, SELFIE for construction repair — internet slang keeps landing on the trademark register. A light look at why people file slang marks, why most are pointless, and what actually decides whether they register.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 1 August 2014
Meta Tags as Trademark Use: Shaadi.com v. ShaadiHiShaadi.com
A rival matrimonial site copied Shaadi.com's services, near-identical tagline, and — invisibly — embedded its trademark in the page's meta tags to capture search traffic. The Bombay High Court treated the hidden use as actionable and ordered the domain cancelled.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 29 July 2014
Why You Can't Just Amend a Trademark Application's Use Date
The Trademark Office bars 'substantial' amendments to a pending application — you cannot change the proprietor, the goods (except deletions), or the crucial statement of use. Why the restriction exists, and the workaround.
Raja Pannir Selvam · 23 July 2014
Making the Right Trademark 'Choice': Officer's Choice v. Collector's Choice
A new entrant's 'Collector's Choice' whisky couldn't stand against the market-leading 'Officer's Choice' — the court injuncted it. Why a shared word plus a new player's lack of goodwill tipped the balance, and why precedents don't decide every case.
Navarre Roy · 21 July 2014
Three Things Your Marketing Team Should Know About Trademarks
Marketing wants a name that says what the product is. The law refuses to register exactly that. Why descriptive marks fail, why disclaimers put you back where you started, and why even a granted registration may not stop a competitor.