Infringement
Bigbasket v. Daily basket – the blurring line between trademark protection & bullying
Trademark bullying has always been a cause for concern because it spells out overstepping the line, monopoly and power all in one place most of the times. As the name suggests, trademark bullying happens when a registered trademark owner, without justifiable reason, threatens or tries to threaten…
Plex v. Zee - better never than too late?
In a competitive global market, businesses need to strive to get ahead of their competitors. One of the ways to do this is by creating unique brand identities which help make a strong impact on the minds of consumers. Trademarks are especially useful in this respect, as consumers can easily make…
Legal Notices in Intellectual Property Right cases: A slippery slope?
More often than not, when a “bona fide” proprietor of the trademark (I use the term “bona fide” rather loosely here) finds unauthorized use of their mark by a third party, the first step taken (often) is to send the other party a legal notice. While some legal notices sent/received are convoluted…
Public Performance of Music & Copyright Licenses. Time to Face the Music?
Most commercial establishments often play popular music as a form of entertainment for their patrons. Step into any mall, hotel, pub, restaurant, or gym, and there is a high chance that they will be playing a song that you know. Since music falls under the scope of copyright as intellectual…
As Vistara Takes off –Legally
It is of common knowledge that planes fly by taking off, but sometimes they just have to take off in the other sense of the word! Rightfully! Recently, a case was filed by TATA SIA AIRLINES LIMITED (party to the VISTARA joint venture) against PILOT18 AVIATION BOOK STORE when they saw that the…
Infringement & the Essential Feature of a Trademark
The importance of a Trademark and the benefits it confers on a business entity cannot in any manner be overlooked. Through a logo or a symbol, a Trade Mark is inherently capable of conveying a company’s reputation or goodwill on a cursory glance made by an average purchaser. Such being the case,…
Trademark Pulse pulses the Deceptively similar Pulser
In this case, the Plaintiff had instituted a suit against the Defendant and his proprietorship for infringement of trademark, copyright, trade dress, layout, colour combination, get up of the Plaintiff’s trademark PULSE candies adopting the trademark PULSER along with a deceptively similar trade…
Customs Recordal in India - Averting the cross-border movement of infringing goods
With the advancement of technology and the expansion of the grey-market, brands worldwide are currently facing a large-scale import and export of infringing/false & counterfeit goods. Accordingly, to stop the illegal import/export of the counterfeit goods and products into the Indian market,…
Protection of Hashtag Trademarks - #cautionwithtrademarks
It is an undisputed fact that the social media platforms have become indispensable marketing medium for brand owners. Especially after hashtag emerged as an online marketing tool, interest in registering hashtag trademarks has gone up. Recent research by Clarivate Analytics (formerly Thomson…
Statutory Licenses And Internet Broadcasting
In a recent judgement, the Bombay High Court had clarified an issue of copyright law that is likely to have an immediate impact on the rise in popularity of music streaming services. Justice Kathawalla, in his order in Tips Industries Ltd. vs. Wynk Music Ltd. & Anr., had categorically rejected…