Trademark – SpicyIP

SpicyIP Weekly Review (May 18 – May 24)

May 25, 2026 / By Md Sabeeh Ahmad / Copyright, Others, Patent, Trademark

Entering the last week of May with a post tracing Indian copyright doctrine and what exactly does it protect. Post on the Delhi HC’s ruling in Bansal v. Philips, a consequential SEP/FRAND decision. And a post on the expanding and increasingly amorphous scope of personality rights in India, most recently in the case of Aniruddhacharya Ji Maharaj. Case summaries and IP developments from the country and the globe and much more in this week’s SpicyIP Weekly Review. Anything we are […]

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In the Aftermath of Parle: Unsettling Questions for Trade Mark Law

May 25, 2026 / By SpicyIP / Trademark

What happens when trademark law privileges filing priority over marketplace reality? The Delhi High Court’s April 10 ruling in the ‘20-20’ dispute raises difficult questions about whether registration can meaningfully coexist with decade-old goodwill, and whether identical marks can survive in the market outside the framework of honest and concurrent use. In this post, Eleen Garg examines the structural tensions the decision leaves unresolved between registry formalism, consumer protection, and passing off. Eleen is a lawyer and is practicing before

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A Personality Too Spiritual for Satire?

May 22, 2026 / By Ambika Aggarwal / Copyright, Others, Overlaps in IP, Privacy, Trademark

I had underestimated how much of the personality rights space in India is one big, vague, wild west! The personality rights order passed by the Delhi High Court in favour of the plaintiff, Anil Kumar Tiwari (aka Aniruddhacharya Ji Maharaj) shows what happens when an already confusing jurisprudence continues to develop without guardrails: IP law protections are claimed for ineligible content; social commentary based on meme-culture collides with ambiguous private rights; and, doctrinal confusion continues to blur the scope of

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Copyright Enforcement in the Gaming Industry: Key Takeaways from the University of Geneva’s 2026 IP Conference from an Indian Observer’s Perspective

May 12, 2026 / By SpicyIP / Copyright, Design, Overlaps in IP, Trademark

As the global gaming industry evolves far beyond entertainment into a sophisticated IP ecosystem built on software, art, music, branding, and competitive digital economies, conversations on questions of classification, cloning, and enforcement are becoming increasingly relevant. Reflecting on his experience attending the University of Geneva’s 2026 IP conference, Dhritiraj Paul Choudhary explains how jurisdictions across the world are actively rethinking copyright enforcement and classification in response to the commercial and technological realities of modern gaming, while Indian copyright jurisprudence has

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (May 4 – May 10)

May 11, 2026 / By Md Sabeeh Ahmad / Copyright, Others, Patent, Trademark

Into the second week of May with a post on the Bombay HC’s reliance on section 65 for setting aside a refusal of atomic energy patent. Another post examining the Academy’s control on the Oscar statuette that blurs the boundaries between contract, property, and IP law. Case summaries and IP developments from the country and the globe and much more in this week’s SpicyIP Weekly Review. Anything we are missing out on? Drop a comment below to let us know.

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The $1 Oscar: Can Contract and IP Quietly Create Illusory Ownership?

May 7, 2026 / By SpicyIP / Copyright, Trademark

The Oscar statuette may look like a personal trophy, but legally, it is something far more controlled. Through a contractual regime supported by intellectual property considerations, the Academy has ensured that an Oscar cannot become an ordinary tradable asset. Soundarya Lakshmi K examines how the Academy’s famous “$1 rule” blurs the boundaries between contract, property, and IP law, while also questioning whether Indian courts would uphold similar restrictions on ownership and transfer. Soundarya Lakshmi is a PhD Research Scholar at

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Shooting The Second Suit: Castrol v Sonavane & The Application of Order II Rule 2

May 4, 2026 / By SpicyIP / Trademark

IP disputes rarely unfold in neat, linear ways, and Castrol v. Sanjay Sonavane is a case in point. Faced with a fast-evolving conflict spanning threats, raids, and a coordinated media campaign, Castrol had to navigate a tricky procedural question: one suit or many? In this post, Naman Singh examines the Delhi High Court’s answer and why its nuanced take on “cause of action” under Order II Rule 2 CPC carries significance well beyond the facts of the case. Naman is

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (April 27- May 3)

[This Weekly Review is authored by Naman Singh. Naman is an LLB (Hons.) student at National Law School of India University, Bengaluru. Having a background in music, film, and media, He enjoys all things at the intersection of IP and law.] The call for applications for SPARC Cohort 1 is now open! This week, marking the end of April, also saw a batch of interesting discussions that ranged from lapsed trademarks, generics production, the needed evolution of the GI tag

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Dead Marks, Live Assets – The Case for a Registry Supervised Auction of Lapsed Trademarks in India

April 30, 2026 / By SpicyIP / Trademark

India’s trademark register is quietly bleeding value. Each year, marks with real commercial recall lapse not because they’ve lost relevance, but because renewal deadlines are missed, erasing years of built goodwill from the legal record. In this post, Lakshmidevi Somanath argues that instead of letting these assets vanish, India should rethink its approach and create a system to recycle lapsed trademarks back into the market. Lakshmidevi Somanath is a Partner – Litigation & Strategy in Anand and Anand and former

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (April 20- April 26)

April 27, 2026 / By SpicyIP / Copyright, Geographical Indication, Patent, Trademark

After an exciting week of discussion on GIs, ambush marketing, and the right of publicity, here is a round-up of the week with the latest edition of the Weekly Review for April. This week featured discussions on the Delhi High Court’s orders in the Peruvian Pisco appeal and the Allu Arjun personality rights matter. We also had posts on ambush marketing and the IPO’s rejection of Dr. Stephen Thaler’s patent application for a DABUS-invented invention. Are we missing anything? Drop

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Lokesh Vyas on Searching for Indian IP History
Dear Sir, I stumbled upon this comment and could not resist responding. I have been rummaging through archival material recently…
Eleen Garg on In the Aftermath of Parle: Unsettling Questions for Trade Mark Law
Removal of trade marks from the register for non-use is contained as a ground under Section 47 of the Trade…
Eleen Garg on In the Aftermath of Parle: Unsettling Questions for Trade Mark Law
Thank you for your kind comments. Even if Parle’s mark is removed from the Register, it does not affect its…
Mustafa Safiyuddin on In the Aftermath of Parle: Unsettling Questions for Trade Mark Law
Since Avon is the prior applicant,isnt Parle's registration vulnerable to an attack for removal on the basis that under section…
Anonymous on In the Aftermath of Parle: Unsettling Questions for Trade Mark Law
Just as a granted patent may be revoked for non‑working, trademark law too should evolve to address the imbalance created…