Scandal and Obscene Trademarks: Determining Immoral Trademarks in Indian Law

/ By / Trademark

Discussing the historical foundation of the absolute ground of refusing scandalous marks and its implementation by the Indian Trademark Registry, we are pleased to bring to you this guest post by Prof. M P Ram Mohan and Aditya Gupta. In this post, the authors highlight the historical justification behind the drafting of the provision prohibiting the registration of scandalous and obscene marks and undertake a purposive sampling of the actions taken by the Trademarks Registry against applications for such marks. […]

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A Spotlight on TKDL Once More: Oppose, Only To Abandon?

/ By / Traditional Knowledge

Recently, Laila Impex’s application pertaining to an herbal composition (IN201641013908) was opposed by CSIR’s TKDL unit. However, in a surprising turn of events, the unit did not attend the hearing, and the representation given also did not emphasize any of the specific grounds of opposition.  Initiated in 2001, the TKDL aims to serve as a vital link between traditional knowledge books and patent examiners, safeguarding Indian traditional medicinal knowledge and thwarting its misappropriation at international patent offices.  The question of

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (December 25- December 31)

/ By / Copyright, Patent, Trademark

[This post has been co-authored with SpicyIP intern Jyotpreet Kaur. Her previous posts can be found here.] Wishing our readers a very happy and healthy new year ahead. As we bid adieu to 2023, let’s take account of the interesting developments that we came across last week. Highlights of the Week A Look Back at India’s Top IP Developments of 2023 Continuing with our annual tradition, we curated a list of the top IP developments in India. We divided these

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A Look Back at India’s Top IP Developments of 2023

/ By / Biological Diversity, Competition Law, Copyright, COVID-19, Geographical Indication, Others, Patent, Trademark, Traditional Knowledge

[This post has been co-authored with Jyotpreet Kaur, Tejaswini Kaushal, Praharsh Gour, and Swaraj Barooah].  As 2023 comes to an end, in line with our annual tradition, we take stock of the top IP developments that occurred this year. And as we move to the cusp of the new year, here’s to wishing our readers a very happy and healthy year ahead! As in previous years, we have divided these developments into five categories: a) Top 10 IP Judgements/Orders (Topicality/Impact)

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AI and Copyright: Prompts and Intellectual Inputs This Time From China

/ By / Others

The Beijing Internet Court recently decided an interesting copyright infringement lawsuit concerning AI generated images (GW law translated version here). The court held that the defendant’s use (which was of a non-commercial nature) of an image generated using AI (created by the plaintiff using Stable Diffusion) violated the plaintiff’s copyright. The defendant was asked to apologise and pay the plaintiff CNY 500. The plaintiff created an image called ‘Tenderness Sent by the Spring Breeze’ using Stable Diffusion (below). The final

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Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC V. The Assistant Controller of Patents and Designs- A Reasoned Judgement or Inherently Contradictory?

/ By / Patent

In a judgement passed on May 15, the Delhi High Court despite noting the lack of clarity on the concepts of “technical effect” and “contribution” in the context of the patentability of Computer Related Inventions, declared that the subject invention had technical effects. Highlighting this contradiction within the judgement, we are pleased to bring to you this guest post by Bharathwaj Ramakrishnan. Bharathwaj is a student at the Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, IIT Kharagpur and loves reading

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (December 18- December 24)

/ By / Copyright, Geographical Indication, Patent, Trademark

From an in-depth discussion on the terms of copyright and translations in India to the recent UK Supreme Court’s order regarding the patentability of inventions by an AI, we had some engaging posts on this blog this week. To read these, along with a round up of IP developments around the country, and world, read on below. Highlights of the Week The Evolution of Copyright and Translation Terms in India: Part I- Framing the Debate Discussing the history of the

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Institute of Directors v. Worlddevcorp Technology and Others : Delhi High Court cautions against the tendency to monopolise common words as trademarks

/ By / Others

The Delhi High Court, vide Order dated 11 December 2023, declined to grant the prayer of plaintiff (that uses the word mark “Institute of Directors”) to restrain the defendant from using the mark “Directors’ Institute”. Facts The petitioner registered its word mark “Institute of Directors” under the classes 16, 35 and 41. The plaintiff used the mark for running an institute, conducting events, networking and other associated activities.   The petitioner sought interim injunction against the defendant’s usage of “Directors’

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UK Supreme Court Confirms No Patent for “AI-invented” Inventions

/ By / Patent

[On December 20, the UK Supreme Court affirmed its previous decision to deny registration to inventions by Dr. Stephen Thaler’s AI DABUS, holding that an AI software cannot be listed as an inventor. SpicyIP intern Vedika Chawla discusses this development. Vedika is a third-year B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) student at National Law University, Delhi. Her previous post can be accessed here.] On December 20, 2023, the UK Supreme Court ruled against granting patent protection to two inventions whose investor was listed as

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Interpreting “and” Under Section 21 of the GI Act: The MP High Court’s Interaction with TRIPS and the GI Act

/ By / Geographical Indication

[Recently, the Madhya Pradesh High Court passed a detailed order clarifying that a Registered Proprietor is not required to implead an Authorised User to institute GI infringement suits. SpicyIP intern Jyotpreet Kaur writes on this development. Jyotpreet is a third-year law student from the National Law University, Delhi who is interested in Intellectual Property Rights and Competition Law and looks to study their interaction with each other. Her previous post can be accessed here.] On 18th December 2023, a 2

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