Category Archives: Trademark

Trademark

Bombay HC Imposes A Whopping Amount Of Rs. 5 Cr Costs For Trademark Infringement

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On April 15, 2019, the Bombay HC imposed costs of Rs. 5 crores in its order in Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation vs. Kishor D Jain & Anr. Nippon Steel, represented by Remfry and Sagar, filed a suit when they received a complaint made to them by Yanbu Steel Company, a trading company based in Saudi Arabia, about the quality of some Carbon Seamless Pipes which were to be used in oil plants. The company informed Nippon Steel that…


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Others Trademark

The Nature of Orders and Quorum Requirements at the IPAB (Part I)

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In January, I had written a brief post alleging the illegality of the hearings conducted and the orders passed by the IPAB. I had argued that the IPAB had violated the law because it failed to meet the quorum requirements under provisions of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 read with the IPAB (Procedure) Rules, 2003 (‘quorum requirements’) when conducting hearings and passing orders. Since the retirement of Technical Member Sanjeev Kumar Chaswal on December 5, 2018, the IPAB has remained…


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Comparative Advertising Trademark

All About Men’s Fairness Creams and Generic Disparagement

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In a country where a person’s beauty is usually based on the melanin content in one’s skin, products promising fairness and “even skin tone” are abundantly available in the Indian cosmetics industry, most of which target the fairer sex (pun intended) as their main customer base. Lately, however, the Indian cosmetics industry has been acknowledging changing gender roles and the  shift from traditional perceptions of masculinity and femininity by introducing beauty products especially targeted towards men, including fairness products. A…


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Trademark

Need for Boosting Trademark Law for Keeping Pace with Artificial Intelligence

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We’re pleased to bring to you a guest post by Shubham Borkar and Nitish Daniel. Shubham is a Senior Associate at Khurana and Khurana Advocates and IP Attorneys and Nitish is an Assistant Legal Advisor at ONGC. Need for Boosting Trademark Law for Keeping Pace with Artificial Intelligence Shubham Borkar & Nitish Daniel  Business Giants like Google, Facebook, IBM are integrating AI systems into their operations, so are online retailers, online marketers, and product manufacturers like Amazon. For example, you…


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Designs Trademark

SpicyIP Fellowship 2019-20: “See You Later, Alligator!” The Delhi High Court Rejects Crocs’ Suit For Passing Off of Registered Design

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We’re pleased to pleased to bring to you a guest post by our Fellowship applicant, Arushi Gupta. Arushi is a 2nd year student at Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai. This is her first submission for the Fellowship. “See You Later, Alligator!” The Delhi High Court Rejects Crocs’ Suit For Passing Off Of Registered Design  Arushi Gupta   On 7th March 2019, in Crocs Inc. USA v. Aqualite India Limited, the Delhi High Court rejected the maintainability of a suit of…


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Copyright Trademark

Draft E-Commerce Policy Extends India’s Intermediary Liability Woes

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It’s been a rough time for online intermediaries operating in India, lately. Jumping on the techlash bandwagon in the wake of multiple social media fiascos concerning online disinformation, data breaches, and mass propagation of hate speech and abuse, governments across the world are taking this as an opportunity to tighten regulation for online ‘intermediaries’ – platforms which host third party content, such as social media or online marketplaces. Similarly, the hornet’s nest of intermediary liability for copyright and trademark infringement…


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Geographical Indication Trademark

Certification Trade Marks and GI versus ‘Regular’ Trade Marks: The Calcutta High Court Ruling in Tea Board v. ITC

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We’re pleased to bring to you a guest post by Eashan Ghosh on the recent decision of the Calcutta High Court in the GI and Certification TM infringement case filed by the Tea Board of India against ITC for use of ‘Darjeeling’ as part of the name of a refreshment lounge (‘Darjeeling Lounge’) in one of its hotels. Eashan has been in practice as an intellectual property advocate and consultant in New Delhi since 2011, and teaches a seminar on intellectual…


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Others Trademark

IPAB Conducts Hearings and Passes Orders Despite Losing Quorum

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It has recently come to our notice that the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) has been conducting hearings and passing orders without the quorum mandated in the Trade Marks Act! Section 84(2) of the Trade Marks Act, read with Rule 20 of the IPAB (Procedure) Rules, 2003, require the presence of one Judicial Member and one Technical Member on the bench to form a quorum. Any order passed or hearing conducted without a quorum would, therefore, be illegal. Prof. Basheer…


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Trademark

IP vs Morality vs Free Speech: What the Fuct?

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As some of you may have heard, the USPTO denied a trademark to Erik Brunetti’s “FUCT” line of apparel on grounds that the mark was immoral/scandalous! The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) ruled that the refusal was unconstitutional since it violated the constitutional guarantee of free speech. The US government appealed and the US Supreme Court just granted cert and will hear arguments soon. As Dennis Crouch notes in Patently O: “..the Federal Circuit sided with Brunetti…


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Trademark

Trademarking “Hakuna Mata”: A Problem Free Philosophy For IP?

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Even as we were bidding adieu to 2018, one of the most contentious IP issues cropped up. Thanks to Disney’s trademark over Hakuna Matata (from the Lion King) and an online petition protesting against this blatant cultural (mis)appropriation! I reflect on this in the Hindustan Times and excerpt some portions below. Hardly a stress free issue. But then again, these are complex cases not amenable to easy resolution. The best we can do is to continue to debate and remain…


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