trademarks
Seeking Injunction in a Suit of Infringement and Passing off - Trademarks
Infringement & Passing Off The rights and remedies available under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 are not only limited to registered marks but also extend to unregistered marks. On one hand, an action for infringement provided for under Section 29 of the Act involves establishing issues such as…
Keyword Advertising and Trademarks
In this day and age, internet is a powerful tool for advertising with limitless reach and keyword advertising is the most popular form of digital advertising. It has generated massive revenue streams for search engines offering the service, for instance, Google’s ad revenue amounted to US dollars…
Prosecution history estoppel in India - A suit of armour or a double-edged sword?
Introduction Trademarks have over time, distinguished themselves as the popular kids among the Intellectual Property rights. This is so because they are perhaps the most protected amongst the bundle of IP rights and well, inevitably the face of your business. A trademark builds your brand value by…
Branding Due Diligence - Make it or Break it
“Buyers make most decisions by relying on their two-second first impressions based on stored memories, images and feelings.” – Malcolm Gladwell, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking Most of us know intuitively that first impressions are important. We don’t like to think that we judge a…
Pakistan joins the Madrid Protocol
In a major development, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan acceded to the Madrid Protocol on February 24, 2021, making it the 108th member of the Madrid system which now covers 124 countries in total. Pakistan also becomes the fourth SAARC country to join the Madrid Protocol after…
Trademarks- A sanctioned vent of cultural appropriation-II
Trademark law and combatting Cultural appropriation After a wave of backlash faced by Kim Kardashian and Disney for cultural appropriation, the debate over Trademark law and cultural appropriation awakened. The IP community and the activists stand divided on the issue. While trademark is meant for…
Trademarks – A sanctioned vent for cultural appropriation?
In the recent times we have seen bizarre trademark registrations from names like 'Blue Ivy Carter' to English phrases that are prima facie non-distinctive and could go out of style' (Taylor Swift, we’re looking at you). Imagine not being able to label your lungis, as 'lungi' because a juggernaut…
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,…