We are having a lot of trademark disputes these days (keep a check on our weekly reviews.); with every other day seeming to bring new issues to look at. In the last two weeks, I noticed three cases that intrigued me and made me wonder about their conceptual coherence. In this post, I present those cases and broach some questions for discussion. Please note that a full discussion of facts and arguments is not done in this post. Who is …
On March 14, 2023, in Sirona Hygiene Private Limited Vs Amazon Seller Services Private Ltd, the Delhi High Court provided three interesting points on the issue of design infringement and piracy, in the context of an equally interesting fact scenario! The plaintiff claims that the registered design of a disposable female urination device titled “Pee Buddy” has been infringed by defendant who allegedly manufactures and sells identical devices under the name “Namyaa”. The first point is the court’s remark that …
Recently, on 6th March 2023, in Bennett Coleman & Co. vs ARG Outlier Media Pvt Ltd, a case concerning trademark infringement the Delhi High Court allowed the application for placing additional documents on records. But what makes this case worth tidbit-ing is the court’s open remarks and clarifications on adding new documents on record. The Court had stated that the “power … to permit additional documents to be taken on record if a party gives sufficient cause for not filing …
In a recent writ petition filed by M/s.Galatea Limited regarding its pending case before IPAB, Chennai to be heard before the Madras High Court (MHC), the court directed the State Government to issue notification for the inauguration of the Intellectual Property Division (IPD). The court noted that “litigants intending to pursue disputes pertaining to intellectual property are left remediless for a long time after the abolition of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board.” Respondent’s counsel argued that the Registrar General has …
Imagine a world where all numbers from 0 to 9 and their infinite permutations and combinations can be trademarked. In this unreal realm, Pinku, the owner of “89” can injunct Minku for using “82”, arguing that “8” is common in both of them. Now extend this logic to similar circumstances, such as 23 vs 28, 31 vs 91, 12 vs 21 and so on. Whoever uses a number first, gets to stop the next user! Now … what if you …
Our readers may be aware of Section 12 in the Trademark Act 1999 which allows the registration of identical or similar trademarks by more than one proprietor in case of honest concurrent use of some special circumstances. A few months ago, the provision was in the headlines saying that honest concurrent use (“HCU”) is not a defence to a trademark infringement claim. It came from the Delhi High Court’s (DHC) order in Kei Industries v Raman Kwatra (KEI-1), which came …
Honesty as a Defense vis-à-vis Trademark Infringements: Principle or Provision? Read More »
While remembrance often occupies a higher pedestal in our social setting, forgetting has its own charm! There is a reason muscle memory is often linked to remembering when forgetting may also require an active action! Why all this philosophical fodder suddenly on an IP blog … Well … there’s a (new?) right in the town called the right to be forgotten (“RTBF”), an antipode of the right to know (or a right to remember, by a logical extension?) which is …
Prof Antilegend is back to greet you all on this yuletide! After brooding over the basics in the last class, this session (i.e. class 5.2) sieves through the Indian drug regulation system, which has attracted much attention in the last few months. For the previous class, please go here. And if this is your first time coming across the IP Reveries series, you can see what it is about as well as get links to our previous classes in the …
IP Reveries: Class 5.2 – Interrogating India’s Drug Regulation System Read More »
We have two interesting IPO related tidbits for you. Read on ahead! 1. The Delhi Court rebuked the incomprehensible reasoning of the Assistant Controller of Patents & Designs: The incomprehensibility of judgments is not a new issue, and the Supreme Court has even given some tips for judgment writing recently. Surprising no one though, it still happens repeatedly, and this time a court gnashed at a gobbledygook(y) order. The Delhi High Court, in Art Screw Co., Ltd. vs The Assistant …
SpicyIP Tidbits: IPO deals with formalities and reasons! Read More »
This post is co-authored with Praharsh Gour. Trade mark rights are to protect both mark owners against the unauthorised use of their marks and the public from being confused about the source of the goods. In the case of pharmaceutical products, the equation changes substantially, and the prevention of confusion becomes more significant, given its disastrous implications for the consuming public. Aparajita recently wrote a thoughtful post on this issue. The present post brings a similar instance: Sun Pharma Laboratories …
