Lokesh Vyas

Numeral Marks, Passing off, Trademark Infringement – Delhi High Court’s All-in-One Approach?

February 17, 2023 / By Lokesh Vyas / Trademark

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 […]

Numeral Marks, Passing off, Trademark Infringement – Delhi High Court’s All-in-One Approach? Read More »

Honesty as a Defense vis-à-vis Trademark Infringements: Principle or Provision?

February 10, 2023 / By Lokesh Vyas / Others, Trademark

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 »

Kerala High Court on Publishing Judgments and Right to be Forgotten: Some Points to Ponder Upon

January 18, 2023 / By Lokesh Vyas / Others

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

Kerala High Court on Publishing Judgments and Right to be Forgotten: Some Points to Ponder Upon Read More »

IP Reveries: Class 5.2 – Interrogating India’s Drug Regulation System

December 25, 2022 / By Lokesh Vyas / Drug Regulation, Trade Secret

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 »

SpicyIP Tidbits: IPO deals with formalities and reasons!

December 23, 2022 / By Lokesh Vyas / Patent

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 »

SITARA-D & SITARED are Not Similar, says the Delhi High Court: What about Consumers, Confusions, & Contradictions?

December 13, 2022 / By Lokesh Vyas / Trademark

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

SITARA-D & SITARED are Not Similar, says the Delhi High Court: What about Consumers, Confusions, & Contradictions? Read More »

‘Certificate of Registration’ Equals ‘License from Registrar’: Looking at Gujarat High Court’s Infringement Equation

Copyright registration is not mandatory in India. However, one may register the same and it would be prima facie evidence of the registered details therein. But if a registered copyright is alleged of copyright infringement, can the “voluntary registration” come to its rescue? As per a recent order of the Gujarat High Court in Maheshbhai @ Kanbhai Haribhai Sojitra v/s State Of Gujarat, the answer is yes. This post examines this order and highlights certain anomalies that lie within or

‘Certificate of Registration’ Equals ‘License from Registrar’: Looking at Gujarat High Court’s Infringement Equation Read More »

Taking IP “Rights” Too Seriously – A Look Through History

In his independence day speech, the Indian P.M. Modi urged people to focus more on ‘duties’. Earlier, he said that a focus on “rights” has made India weak. Previously, President Droupadi Murmu also spoke of duties and Justice N.V. Ramana highlighted the importance of knowing our constitutional rights and duties. While I may share some sentiments with this ‘right-duty’ talk, such focus on rights-duties language makes me wonder if we are becoming dependent on “Right” in the sense of ‘right-izing’

Taking IP “Rights” Too Seriously – A Look Through History Read More »