Trademark
Can trademark law be used to extend protection over product shapes after design rights expire? The Harpic bottle dispute raises important questions
Product packaging plays a crucial role in the consumer goods market where distinctive designs often become closely associated with a brand, such as the iconic Harpic bottle. To protect such features, companies commonly rely on design registrations, however, design protection is limited in duration…
Well-Known Trademarks Are Not Absolute: Key Takeaways from the Vicks Judgment
It is a well-settled principle of trademark law that marks declared or recognised as well-known by the Trade Marks Registry or Courts enjoy a higher degree of protection. However, trademark owners often operate under the assumption that such protection grants blanket exclusivity across all classes…
3D shape marks can now attain ‘Well-known’ status in India: Does your brand qualify for the enhanced protection?
The recent Delhi High Court ruling by Justice Tejas Karia in Hermes International & Anr. vs Macky Lifestyle Private Limited & Anr (Cs(Comm) 716/2021 & I.A. 17569/2021) granting well-known trademark status to the 3D shape of Birkin bags marks a significant development in Indian trademark…
India Accepts Its First Smell Mark – Can Your Brand Register One?
We bring to you a recent significant development in Indian trademark law, which may be helpful to enhance protection for your brands in India. The Indian Trade Marks Registry has, for the first time, accepted a smell trademark for a rose-scented tyre filed by Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd., which…
Maldives Enacts Modern Trademark Regime: What Rights Holders Need to Know About the New Trademarks Act
The Maldives has taken a major step toward strengthening its intellectual-property framework with the introduction of the Trademarks Act (Law No. 2/2019, implemented in 2025) (“The Act”). For the first time, the country will operate a comprehensive, statutory trademark registration system,…