IPR NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATES FROM 11TH SEP – 17TH SEP
DIPALI SIKAND AND ORS v. SAMSUNG INDIA ELECTRONIC PRIVATE LIMITED AND ANR.
A temporary injunction prohibiting Samsung India and one Story Experiences from using the trademark “CONCIERGE,” which is being used by the Concierge conglomerate made up of Lesconcierges Services Pvt. Ltd. and Club Concierge Services (India) Pvt. Ltd., was issued by a civil court in Bengaluru on September 13th. Dipali Sikand, the founder of the plaintiff company, asserts ownership of the “CONCIERGE” trademark from May 2016.According to the claim, the plaintiff company created the ‘President Club’ loyalty programme for Samsung as part of the ‘CONCIERGE’ service with the intention of strengthening Samsung’s overall relationship with its dealers. The plaintiff’s “CONCIERGE” mark is now being used by both Samsung and Story Experiences on their brochures, publicity materials, commercials, etc., it is alleged that Samsung contracted Story Experiences for identical services last year, and both Samsung and Story Experiences are now doing so.
NIKHIL CHAWLA v. THE COCA COLA COMPANY
The trademark settlement suit of Coke studio and Cook Studio was settled in Delhi High Court after a successful mediation process. A suit seeking declaration of non-infringement of registered trademark filed by the plaintiff Cook Studio who is engaged in blogging and production of video relating to cooking against the Coco Cola company which is the owner of famous music platform Coke Studio. They came to a settlement that the plaintiff shall adopt the mark “Cook Pro” instead of mark “Cook Studio”. In the backdrop of the settlement, the Court decreed the suit accordingly.
PARAMOUNT PICTURES FILED A TRADEMARK APPLICATION TO TAKE MEAN GIRLS TO WEB3
The American film and television production company Paramount Pictures has filed two crypto-related trademarks for Mean Girls, a 2004 teen comedy film. The trademark for this covers the downloadable multimedia files containing artwork relating to field of entertainment which is authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This trend is also followed by Viacom International for the movie “The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”. The giants of multimedia had started to enter into NFT space about which they haven’t let out an official statement but the action of filing trademark demonstrates the commitment towards it.
NOVARTIS IN TROUBLE OVER REMARKS OF ILLEGAL USE OF PATENT
The Swiss Competition Commission (COMCO) and the European Commission has opened an investigation on September 15 against the company over illegal use of patent to reduce competitive pressure. According to COMCO, the pharmaceutical business allegedly tried to file a lawsuit using one of its patents in order to defend its skin condition medicine from rival products. The investigation’s goal is to evaluate if the claimed actions amount to the illegal misuse of an allegedly dominant position under the Swiss Cartel Act by using a so-called blocking patent. Novartis asserted that the beginning of an investigation does not indicate the discovery of wrongdoing or the imposition of any financial consequences. The firm stated it is collaborating with authorities and is confident in its ability to establish the veracity of its claims.
GILEAD SCIENCES v. APOTEX INC.
With regard to proposed generic versions of its HIV medications Descovy and Odefsey as well as hepatitis B drug Vemlidy, Gilead Sciences Inc. has settled patent issues with five pharmaceutical companies on September 12. The patents will be licensed to generic medicine producers Apotex Inc, Lupin Ltd, Cipla Ltd, Macleods Pharmaceuticals Ltd, and Hetero Labs Ltd on a non-exclusive basis, enabling them to market generic versions of the HIV medications beginning in October 2031 and Vemlidy in January 2032, respectively. The filing indicated the licenses might start early “in some instances,” but it did not provide any other settlement information. A Gilead spokeswoman expressed the company’s satisfaction with the outcome. Apotex’s representative and the lawyers for Cipla and Lupin both declined to comment on the matter.
VLSI TECHNOLOGY LLC v. INTEL CORP.
In its opening brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on September 14, Intel Corp. slammed a jury’s $2.1 billion patent judgment against it, calling the damages claims of VLSI Technology LLC “exorbitant” and the trial itself “fatally defective.” The U.S. District Judge Alan Albright, according to Intel, permitted VLSI to submit information that biased the jury against it and resulted in an exorbitant award. On Wednesday, Intel argued before the Federal Circuit that Albright should not have permitted VLSI to show the jury six agreements with Intel under which the company agreed to pay between $200 million and $1.5 billion to resolve prior patent problems. According to Intel, the contracts were “irrelevant” to the situation.
PEPSICO INDIA HOLDINGS PVT LTD v. KAVITHA KURUGANTI
The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Authority (PPVFRA) had granted Kuruganti’s request for the cancellation of PepsiCo India’s registration of the potato variety FL-2027, which was used to create its Lay’s potato chips, in December 2021. On September 12, 2022, the Delhi High Court heard an appeal by PepsiCo India against this decision. According to India’s Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers Rights Act, 2001 (PPVFR Act, 2001), the registration has been issued in February 2016. The PPVFRA is a statutory organization under the Act. In an email to IndiaSpend, a business representative stated that PepsiCo India had sought the High Court to reinstate its registration of FL-2027.
MAHESHBHAI @ KANBHAI HARIBHAI SOJITRA v. STATE OF GUJARAT
When a person uses a copyrighted material without the authorization of the license owner or the registrar, that is termed as copyright infringement under Section 51 of the Copyrights Act,1957. But a ruling in Gujarat High clarified that when the person is holding a certificate issued by the registrar that would not amount to copyright infringement. The court held that “A bare perusal of Section 51 of the said Act says that if any person uses without the permission of the license owner or from the Registrar, any product would amount to infringement of copyright. However, in the present case, the applicant is a holder of certificate issued by the Registrar of Copyright.”
MOHD ERSHAD SOLE PROPRIETOR EK AGENCIES v. REGISTRAR OF COPYRIGHTS& ORS.
A plea filed by EK agencies, a sole proprietorship firm seeking rectification of the artistic work titled “ASLI KESRI CHAI” which was the work of respondents. The High Court noted that the Copyright Act could not support the two competing registrations, which were nearly identical to one another, and that the respondent’s artistic work constituted a substantial and discernible imitation of the petitioner’s artistic work. The Court directed that the Respondent shall no longer rely on the copyright registration while granting the petition. It also said that it would be free to file for copyright registration if the respondent’s preferred review was approved.
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION TAG FOR MUNDU CHILLI, FARMERS APPROACH TAMILNADU GOVERNMENT
Farmers in Ramanathapuram want the State government to take action to give the “Mundu Chilli” variety a Geographical Indication (GI) tag because it is one of the most frequently produced horticulture crops in the district. The “Mundu Chilli,” also known as Ramanathapuram Mundu, is the most renowned of the several varieties of chillies that are grown in the district, according to the horticulture department, on an area of land that is approximately 14,998 hectares. It is appreciated that people around the country are taking steps to conserve the habitat and apply for GI tag which will improve the intellectual property rights and its importance all over the country.
LOUIS VUITTON MALLETIER v. JAVED KHAN & ORS.
The suit was filed against the sellers in Agra selling goods wearing LV logo under the name ‘Lee Vanz’ which is similar to Louis Vuitton, seeking a permanent & mandatory injunction over sale under the name in the form of buckles on their footwear. The court ruled in favor of the French company and ordered the sellers to pay litigation cost of rs.1 lakh to them in installment and also agreed to produce all the good they produced to the court within 15th September.
BARBERA V. CYRUS
Miley Cyrus, a popular singer, is being sued for copyright infringement after posting a photo of herself on Instagram that she was not authorised to use. The picture’s photographer, Robert Barbera, filed a lawsuit against Cyrus on Friday in a federal court in California over her use of the image without his consent, which she posted on Instagram in February 2021.He says that the entertainer’s “illegal use has hampered, if not eliminated, the potentiality of any market for the Photograph.”