Author name: Sreyoshi Guha

Sreyoshi is a law student at Symbiosis Law School, Pune. Her favourite thing about Intellectual Property Law is Copyrights. She can usually be found doing one of three things: dog-earing her favourite pages of her books, looking up a Zomato menu, or day-dreaming of the day she'll finally meet John Mayer. She doesn't have any notable achievements, except probably that one time when she encountered a crazy pigeon, and lived to tell the tale. Send her your thoughts at: [email protected].

Up Against a ‘Deewaar’: Bombay HC Says No to Unauthorized Remix

/ By / Copyright

A few days after his birth anniversary (read: in an instance of freakish coincidence), one of Kishore Kumar’s famous performances, Keh Doon Tumhe (well known as a hit RD Burman – Kishore Da collaboration) wound up at the Bombay High Court, in the form of subject matter of a copyright dispute. The song was part of a very popular movie from the 70’s – Deewaar. It so happened that the makers of the movie, Trimurti Films, woke up one morning …

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (August 27 – September 2)

/ By / Others

This week’s thematic highlight is Balaji’s post on the decision making process involved in the issuance of the CRI Guidelines, 2017. Through his post, Balaji analyses the response to an RTI application filed by him regarding the same. The information he requested via his application included inter alia, reasons for change in the 2016 Guidelines, details of the Expert Committee which recommended the issue of the 2017 Guidelines: its constitution, stakeholder consultations etc, and the final report finally by the EC including its …

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The ‘Kwik’ Fix – Part II

/ By / Trademark

Previously, in Part I, I had introduced the facts of the case and had dealt with some of the key issues thrown up by this order, including: infringement of the word-mark “Fevikwik”, disclaimers on the registrations, and validity of registration of “Kwikheal”. Here, I deal with the remaining issues and attempt an analysis of the order. Distinctive Packaging Pidilite claimed that even if Poma-Ex’s registration was valid, it wouldn’t allow for a defence u/s 28, 29 or 30 of the …

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The ‘Kwik’ Fix – Part I

/ By / Trademark

Earlier this month, through an interim order, the Bombay HC held that the mark “Kwikheal” is deceptively similar to “Fevikwik”. The court through J. Dhanuka undertook an elaborate analysis of the issues at hand and went on to grant an injunction against the proprietors of “Kwikheal.” As simple as the above seems to be, the order is equally layered. It records an exhaustive back-and-forth between the two parties and well-reasoned findings by the Judge. Before we launch into an analysis …

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Delhi HC Issues Directions for Time Bound Issuance of Certified Copies of TM Records

/ By / Trademark

Last month, the Delhi High Court through Justice Endlaw issued directions to the Registrar of trademarks, facilitating time bound issuance of certified copies of trademark office records. These directions were issued via an order passed in pursuance of a revision petition filed by the Registrar of trademarks (C.R.P. No. 146/2015). The revision petition was filed against an order of the Additional District Judge, issuing proclamation against the Registrar, under Order XVI Rule 10 of the CPC for non-production of records …

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Not in God’s Name: Bombay HC Refuses Monopoly Over Names of Hindu Gods

/ By / Trademark

I have often worried about the tendency of our Gods these days, to slip out of our churches, mosques and temples and dance (the proverbial tandav?) about our secular spaces. It could be that my thinking is influenced by the ‘sickular’, ‘libtard’ narrative. But, no Indian will deny that the usurpation of the secular space by our Gods, influences reactions of a very limited range – anger, fear, sadness, and sometimes just a massive facepalm. Perhaps the only upside is …

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (August 7-13)

/ By / Others

This week’s thematic highlight is a guest post by Mr. Adarsh Ramanujan, who is an advocate with Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan, New Delhi. Adarsh discusses the recent amendment to Implementing Regulations to the European Patent Convention (EPC). The amendment makes plants and animals that are exclusively obtained through an essentially biological process, non-patentable. He notes that although the amendment is significant for the EU, given that prior to the amendment such plants and animals were patentable, this has limited implication for India. He …

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The Red Cross With A Twist: IMA Seeks IP Protection For New Logo

/ By / Copyright, Trademark

The last time the Red Cross’s red cross emblem (read: red coloured Greek cross on a white background; feeble attempt at a word-pun) became wrapped up in trademark law, it made big news in the US. The company, Johnson & Johnson had sued the American Red Cross over trademark infringement of the famous emblem, and lost. Now, it appears that the emblem is making news within IP circles in India. According to reports, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has come …

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Google Me A Research Scandal

/ By / Others

In a controversy that has doubtless become the subject of conversation in most academic circles lately, Google has been accused of paying academics for research supporting its policy interests. Readers should note that while this controversy has been picked up and reproduced on several news reports, the primary allegations were mounted by an organization called the Campaign for Accountability (CFA) which issued the report earlier this month. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) then picked up on this and echoed most of …

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Chemtura Patent Restoration: Bombay HC Reverses IPAB’s Revocation Order

/ By / Patent

On 19th June, the Bombay HC in exercise of its writ jurisdiction, passed an order restoring Chemtura Corporation’s patent (patent number 213608) on the register. While doing so, the Court also effectively overturned a 2012 IPAB decision revoking the same patent. Prior to this, the Chemtura patent had been subject to judicial scrutiny in 2009. We covered that order extensively over here and in passing here. The facts leading up to the present order are as follows: Chemtura was granted …

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