intellectual property
The Establishment of the IP Division in Madras High Court: A Significant Step towards Efficient Resolution of IP Disputes
Practitioners have long wished for a separate IP division in High Courts. With the abolishment of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board in 2021, cases previously filed with or pending before the IPAB have been transferred to the High Courts. It then became imperative to establish a separate IP…
Who can file the request for examination of a patent application in India?
In the Indian Patent system, an application for the grant of a patent is taken up for examination by the Indian Patent Office only when a request for examination of the application is filed. Unless a request for examination is filed by either the Applicant or any other interested party there shall…
Pre-Litigation Mediation in Commercial Disputes in India
Alternate methods of dispute resolution are amicable methods of resolving disputes without the intervention of courts. It decreases the burden of the courts and encourages settlement proceedings among the parties. Generally, Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) uses one or more neutral third parties…
Trademark renewal in Pakistan
A trademark in Pakistan can be renewed for a period of 10 years. A request to renew a trademark in Pakistan should be made at any time during 6 months before the expiry of the trademark. A trademark application filed post-April 12, 2004, is granted registration for 10 years from the date of…
Maintaining a Trademark in Sri Lanka
A trademark once registered in Sri Lanka, is valid for a period of 10 years from the date of filing of the application or from the date of last renewal, as the case maybe. A trademark can be renewed in Sri Lanka by filing the request on Form M05 and paying the renewal fee. The request to renew the…
Moment Marketing and its legal implications
The power of the internet, in particular that of social media is humungous. People are constantly tied to their phones, eyeing for any latest news that may spring up, be it in the form of a tweet, a meme or a viral video. When used strategically, social media becomes one of the most powerful tools…
The much needed check: An order of the Delhi High Court
The Intellectual Property (IP) Division of the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi, in its recent judgment has once again upheld the order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India and has issued further directions in this regard. A quick recap The Hon’ble Supreme Court, on March 23, 2020 rendered a laudable…
Groundless threat of trademark infringement: Is Section 142 a means to combat trademark bullying?
The trademark law firmly establishes that a trademark owner reserves the exclusive right to use the trademark and enforce the same. However, there are instances when economically stronger entities or large corporations aggressively secure their intellectual property against, mostly, smaller…
Fantasy Sports and Trademarks
Fantasy Sports refers to an area of online gaming wherein participants put together virtual teams composed of proxies of current professional players within a league and play for points and/or money. The teams earn points based on the real life performance of the players and compete against other…
The Registrability of Alphabet or Number trademarks in India
The basic purpose of a trademark is that it serves to distinguish the goods or services of one person from those of another. If a mark is not distinctive, it would lead to confusion among consumers between the mark and existing brands present in the market, as well as be unable to distinguish the…