Mathews P. George

Mathews is a graduate of National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata. His interest in intellectual property was kindled when he bagged the second position in his second year of Law School (in the prestigious Nani Palkhiwala Essay Competition on Intellectual Property). His stint as a student of Prof. Shamnad Basheer further accentuated his interest in intellectual property. Winner of almost a dozen essay competitions in his Law School days, he was involved in various research and policy initiatives relating to intellectual property. Mathews is, currently, based out of Munich, Germany. He had earlier done his LLM in 'IP and Competition Law' from Munich Intellectual Property Law Centre (jointly run by Max Plank Institute for Innovation and Competition, University of Augsburg, Technical University of Munich and George Washington University, Washington).

Trademark

Note on Malar Network (P) Ltd. Vs. Arun Prasath D

by Mathews P. George August 26, 2011

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In this post, I shall discuss the Madras High Court judgment dated 28th March, 2011 which decided on an appeal directed against Single Bench Order. The judgment is available here. Facts The Appellant/Plaintiff Malar Network (P) Ltd., with an intention to engage in the business of Telecommunications, T.V. Channels, websites and related fields, registered the domain names “MALARTV.COM” and “MALARTV.IN” in 2005 and 2007 respectively under Class 38. The appellant, however, did not put them into use in the public…

"Manual of Geographical Indications Practice and Procedure" released

by Mathews P. George August 1, 2011

From Cola Wars to Whisky Wars: If anything has been ‘Made Large’, they are Commercial Disparagement and Copyright violations

by Mathews P. George July 24, 2011

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Guest Post by Prateek Bhandari Prateek Bhandari is a fourth year student of NUJS, Kolkata. He is the Co-founder & Manager (Website Development & Finance) of Lawctopus. In the light of various judgments on commercial disparagement, he analyses the possible violations committed by McDowell’s advertisement which was, however, later withdrawn. versus If you thought the cola wars are losing the fizz, check out what could have snowballed into a high ‘spirited’ new edition- Whisky Wars! UB Spirits launched…

Patent

Indian granted patents…diminishing focus on future enforceability?

by Mathews P. George July 19, 2011

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Guest Post by Tarun Khurana Tarun Khurana, Partner in Khurana & Khurana, Advocates and IP Attorneys and its IP Consulting Firm – Institute of Intellectual Property Research & Development (IIPRD), has over 10 years of experience in Intellectual Property matters. In this guest post, he examines whether the Indian Patent Office has lived upto the expectation of granting patents which are enforceable. Objective The Indian Patent Act, 2005, like municipal statutes of other TRIPS compliant countries, incorporates the patentability grounds…

Trademark

Delhi HC on remedies pertaining to trademark infringement and passing off

by Mathews P. George June 26, 2011

4 Comments

In its judgment in M/S Mahashian Di Hatti Ltd. vs Mr. Raj Niwas, Proprietor of MHS, the Delhi High Court re-affirmed the differential evidentiary standards prescribed for trademark infringement and passing off. FACTS The plaintiff uses the registered logo, MDH within three hexagon device on red colour background, in its business of manufacturing and selling spices & condiments. The aforesaid logo has been in use since 1949 in respect of various products such as “Kashmiri Mirch” and “Kasoori Methi”. Registered…

IIPS Annual IP Essay Competition, 2011

by Mathews P. George June 22, 2011

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The Institute of Intellectual Property Studies (IIPS) is conducting a national IP essay competition on “THE ROLE OF THE LEGISLATURE, THE GOVERNMENT, JUDICIARY AND PRIVATE ENTERPRISES IN PROTECTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN INDIA”. In the context of the roles of any of the specific bodies mentioned above, participants may choose any one of the following topics: A) Compulsory licensing of Copyrights: Public interest and entertainment industry B) Is open source policy a competitive alternative to monopoly rights or can the…

Trademark

Bombay HC on passing off & shape of Vodka bottle

by Mathews P. George May 25, 2011

5 Comments

The Bombay High Court recently delivered an interesting judgment pertaining to passing off / trademark law. The dispute was over the shape adopted by the defendant for its Vodka bottle. Gorbatschow Wodka Kg v. John Distilleries Limited Facts The plaintiff which owned one of the top fifteen premium Vodka brands in the world – “Gorbatschow Wodka”, marketed it in a bottle which was quite distinctive in shape. The shape was registered in various jurisdictions. In India, claiming use since December,…

World Copyright Summit in Brussels on 7th & 8th June, 2011 – Javed Akhtar to be the keynote speaker

by Mathews P. George May 18, 2011

Determination of prima facie validity of registered mark

by Mathews P. George May 14, 2011

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The Delhi High Court once again examined the prima facie validity of a registered mark in its judgment in Bhole Baba Milk Food Industries Ltd v. Parul Food Specialities (P) Ltd. The Court had to decide plaintiff’s application for interlocutory injunction qua use of word “Krishna” (which is part of its registered mark) in the label mark “Parul’s Lord Krishna” of the defendant. A similar examination of registered mark was earlier carried out in Marico Ltd v. Agro Tech Foods…

Trademark

ANOTHER INSTANCE OF OUTSOURCING – HIGHLY UNHEALTHY PHENOMENA

by Mathews P. George April 8, 2011