Author name: Anubha Sinha

Anubha Sinha - @anubhasinha_ on Twitter — is a graduate of Dr. RML National Law University, Lucknow, and presently works at the Centre for Internet and Society. She also blogs on www.cis-india.org

IPAB interrupts Patent Prosecution for Lack of Proof of Right

/ By / Patent

The applicants in this case challenged the rejection of their patent application. One of the objections was “proof of the right should be filed”. The applicant however failed to produce any proof of right. S 7(2) of the Patents Act, 1970 requires for production of such proof, which was the core issue in this matter. In view of non-production of such proof, the IPAB dismissed the applicant’s challenge. Further, the IPAB directed the applicants to file an amended application with the […]

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Boehringer Ingelheim v. Premchand Godha: Passing-off of Pharmaceutical Products

/ By / Trademark

An action for passing-off was brought by the plaintiff in respect of a pharmaceutical trade mark which was yet to be used by it in India. The principal question was whether the plaintiff’s unregistered trademark ‘MUCOSOLVAN’ was deceptively and confusingly similar to ‘MUCOSOLVIN’. Both the marks were used on cough syrup bottles. The defendants had been injuncted from using the mark MUCOSOLVIN by an interim order by this Court and the present application was filed to vacate that order. Justice

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Global Patent Filings hit 1 Million mark in 2012: China Leads the Pack

/ By / Innovation, Others, Patent, Plant Variety Protection, Trademark

The World Intellectual Property Organization released its 2013 edition of the World Intellectual Property Indicators recently. The Report highlights a couple of firsts occurring in the global IP landscape. In 2012, for the first time, the total number of patent grants issued worldwide exceeded the one million mark and an estimated 8.66 million patents were in force worldwide. Patent filings saw a growth of 9.2% in 2012, the highest in two decades. The number of industrial designs contained in applications

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SC upholds Concurrent Use of ‘Kohinoor’ rice by Rival Proprietor in the State of Uttar Pradesh

/ By / Trademark

Satnam Overseas v. Sant Ram and Co & Ors. [Civil Appeal No. 10528 Of 2013] The dispute was regarding the territorial use of the trademark ‘Kohinoor’ on rice. The SC dismissed the appeal by Satnam Overseas( Indian rice exporter major) to restrict its rival Sant Ram’s use of the trademark Kohinoor to only six cities in Uttar Pradesh(UP), because that would create a lot of complications and litigation as to the exact boundary of a particular or district. The Court

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Micromax Files Complaint: CCI Orders Investigation into Ericsson’s FRANDly Licensing

/ By / Competition Law, Patent

In a major setback to the telecommunications technology major Ericsson, the Competition Commission of India(CCI) has ordered an investigation into anti competitive licensing of its Standard Essential Patents(SEPs). Ericsson is unarguably the largest holder of SEPs in mobile communications in 2g, 3g, 4g and EDGE technologies. Ericsson is embroiled in several SEP based litigations worldwide. In its Press Release dated 28th November, Ericsson has stated that the complaint filed by Micromax is a general defense to the ongoing patent infringement

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‘Watch’out for Trademark Wars between Titan and Saint

/ By / Trademark

Titan Industries v. Saint Watches Pvt. Ltd and Ors. In 2010, the Deputy Registrar of the Trademarks Registry dismissed an Opposition filed by Titan Industries challenging the Saint Watches logo. Titan (appellant) then appealed to the IPAB, and IPAB in the instant Order remanded the matter to the Deputy Registrar owing to non-consideration of a point raised by the respondents before the Registrar. The respondents (Saint Watches) had claimed that the Notice of Opposition was barred on grounds of limitation and

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (October 4th Week)

/ By / Others

The week saw the official unveiling of the new SpicyIP. SpicyIP 2.0 is now a website purely dedicated to covering the latest developments in the Indian intellectual property arena and all things relevant. Apart from the revamped look, we have a host of new features such as IP Polls, IP Petitions, IP Jobs and IP Events. We also have a Resource page, which is currently in the works, a special feedback and anonymous tip-off page available here. We would like to thank our ever-so-supportive and

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Dilution of Trademark Bloomberg: Delhi HC on ‘mark with reputation’

/ By / Trademark

The judgment in Bloomberg Finance LP v Prafull Saklecha delivered by Justice Muralidhar earlier this month has widened the scope of anti dilution protection of trademarks in India, thus lending more clarity to the concept. To quickly recapitulate, Section 29(4) of the Indian Trade marks Act, 1999 embodies the concept of Trademark Dilution. (Click here and here for detailed analysis of trademark dilution in the Act). A trademark is diluted when its uniqueness is lost owing to its unauthorised use in relation to products

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IPAB removes trade mark Nirma from Metal Products Category

/ By / Trademark

The detergent major Nirma was recently hauled up by the IPAB for its monopolistic attitude regarding the ownership of trademark Nirma. The dispute arose from Nirma Chemical Works’ registration of the mark Nirma in Class 6 which relates to metal goods. Interestingly, Nirma has registered the mark under all 42 classes. In this particular case, Nirmal Industrial Control sought to register the trade mark ‘Nirmal’, which was met with opposition from Nirma on grounds of deceptive similarity between the marks

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Delhi HC rejects the "Hot News" Doctrine: A Summary

/ By / Copyright

The applicability of the Hot News doctrine was rejected recently in a landmark ruling delivered by Justice Bhat of the Delhi HC. This post is a summary of the decision. Shamnad discussed the crux of this decision here. The judgment is extremely well written and researched, employing a multitude of cases from several foreign jurisdictions. Read the decision in full here. Long post follows. Background In 2012, by an Agreement, BCCI granted exclusive broadcasting rights to Star TV to disseminate

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