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IPR NEWS

Featured in this section are a selection of articles on various topics, both of legal and non-legal nature.
  • IPR NEWS – OCTOBER

    ASIO Chief Rebukes China for Intellectual Property Theft at Five Eyes Summit At a historic Five Eyes summit, the head of Australia’s ASIO (Australian Security Intelligence Organisation) publicly rebuked China for engaging in a sophisticated scheme of intellectual property theft. The ASIO chief expressed concern about China’s extensive efforts to steal intellectual property, highlighting the significant threat it poses to the security and economic interests of Five Eyes member nations. The summit, which includes intelligence-sharing partners like the United States, the United Kingdo...

  • IPR NEWS – SEPTEMBER

    Renowned Authors, Including Grisham and Martin, Sue OpenAI Over Copyright Concerns Seventeen prominent authors, including John Grisham, George R.R. Martin, and Jodi Picoult, have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging copyright infringement. The authors claim that OpenAI’s language model, GPT-3, is being used to generate content that mimics their writing style, posing a threat to their intellectual property. The lawsuit contends that OpenAI’s GPT-3 generates text that closely resembles the authors’ work, potentially leading to confusion among readers and devaluing their uni...

  • IPR NEWS – AUGUST

    Siren Brew Faces Starbucks in Trademark Dispute In a recent legal clash, a coffee firm is engaged in a trademark dispute with Starbucks over the use of the “siren” logo. Atlanta-based Siren Brew faces allegations of trademark infringement from Starbucks, claiming that Siren Brew’s logo too closely resembles Starbucks’ iconic siren imagery. The lawsuit, filed on August 17, 2023, asserts that the similarities could cause confusion among consumers, potentially leading them to associate Siren Brew’s products with Starbucks. Siren Brew, known for its specialty coffees,...

  • IPR NEWS – JULY

    Overstock to rebrand as Bed Bath & Beyond after buying brand’s intellectual property In a transformative acquisition, online retail giant Overstock has revealed plans to undergo a complete rebranding, adopting the name of the renowned home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond after purchasing the brand’s intellectual property. This strategic move aims to bolster Overstock’s market position and broaden its product offerings. By aligning itself with Bed Bath & Beyond’s well-established reputation for quality home essentials and leveraging its name recognition, Ove...

  • IPR NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATES FROM 4th JUN – 9th JUN

    Jack Daniels Vs. Bad Spaniels Bad Spaniels is a dog toy maker based in Arizona, USA. As a part of their Silly Squeakers line of products, Bad Spaniels manufactures toys that mimic liquor, beer, wine and soda bottles. One such production was a parody of the acclaimed Jack Daniels Whiskey. Jack Daniels argued that the toy misleads customers, causes confusion and as a result leads to tarnishing the hard-earned goodwill of the brand. The US Supreme Court considered factors such as likelihood of confusion and up to what extent of similarity can be considered humorous or parody and ultimately ruled....

  • WTR 1000 2023

    The World Trademark Review’s WTR 1000 2023, focuses exclusively on trademark practice and has firmly established itself as the definitive ‘go to’ resource for those seeking world-class legal trademark expertise. India continues to foster innovations and, since last year, has climbed to the 40th place in WIPO’s Global Innovation Index. The 301 Report by the Office of the United States Trade Representative maintained India’s ranking as one of the seven countries where protecting and enforcing IP rights presents a major challenge. The report praised improvements to the e...

  • IPR NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATES FROM 27th NOV – 3rd DEC

    Delhi HC stops Andhra company from using Kohinoor Seed Fields trademarks The Delhi High Court on 1 December 2022, granted an ex parte ad interim order to an Andhra based company after the company has used the trade name deceptively similar to the plaintiff. In the present case, the Kohinoor Company, being a leading seed company, has put a non-exclusive contract with the defendant company for marketing and distributing their products. Further, the plaintiff has been selling transgenic BT cotton hybrid seeds, approved by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, in the brand names of “SADAN...

  • IPR NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATES FROM 20th NOV – 26th NOV

    In the battle over Vistara, Delhi High Court favours Tata Airlines According to the Delhi High Court’s order on 22 November 2022, Justice Jyoti Singh granted ex-parte ad-interim injunction, curbing the use of the well-known trademark, “VISTARA” belonging to the Tata Airlines by a Karnataka based news channel. The trademark “VISTARA” has been declared as a well-known trademark by this Court in TATA SIA Airlines Limited vs. M/s Pilot18 Aviation Book Store & Anr. Further, the Judge took account of the reputation and goodwill of the plaintiff, owing the accolades and popularity bagge...

  • IPR NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATES FROM 13th NOV – 19th NOV

    MARIA CAREY FAILS TO GET THE TRADEMARK “QUEEN OF CHRISTMAS” According to the BBC, on November 15, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected Maria Carey application, which was made through her business Lotion LLC. According to NME, the March 2021 file was made in order to obtain exclusive rights of many Christmas words. She wanted to secure the rights to “Queen of Christmas,” “Princess of Christmas,” and “Christmas Princess,” with the potential to use them on fragrances, tree decorations, audio and visual records, and other products. Carey ran into is...

  • IPR NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATES FROM 6th NOV – 11th NOV

    CONDE NAST v. DRAKE Conde Nast, the owner of Vogue magazine, on November 7 has filed a lawsuit against Drake and 21 Savage for using the Vogue trademark without authorization to promote their new album “Her Loss.” Conde Nast claimed that the rappers’ promotional campaign was “entirely” based on the unauthorized use of Vogue trademarks and false claims that they would appear on the magazine’s upcoming cover with the “love and support” of longtime editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, including to their more than 135 million social media followers. Conde N...

  • IPR NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATES FROM 30th OCT – 5th NOV

    LOUIS VUITTON MALLETIER V. FUTURETIMES TECHNOLOGY INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED & ORS The Delhi High Court on November 3 has granted Louis Vuitton Malletier, a French luxury fashion brand, Rs. 20 lakhs in fees in its trademark infringement case against Club Factory, a Chinese e-commerce platform that was outlawed in India in 2021. Louis Vuitton’s attorney informed the court on November 3 that the plaintiff only wishes to pursue costs in the case, despite the fact that the lawsuit was officially decided on March 24 when a permanent injunction was granted against the Chinese website and it was...

  • IPR NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATES FROM 23rd OCT – 29th OCT

    LIDL GREAT BRITAIN LIMITED AND ANOTHER v. TESCO STORES LIMITED AND ANOTHER Attempting to resurrect a portion of its lawsuit against bargain retailer Lidl on October 25, Britain’s largest retailer Tesco said in court in London that its German-owned rival had filed for trademarks for a yellow circle against a blue backdrop in “bad faith”. In response to Lidl’s initial lawsuit, which claimed Tesco was attempting to “ride on (its) coat-tails” by adopting a logo of a yellow circle on a blue background to advertise its “Clubcard Prices” discount progra...

  • IPR NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATES FROM 16th OCT – 22nd OCT

    K. N. GOVINDACHARYA  vs SECRETARY GENERAL & ORS On October 17, the Supreme Court issued notice in response to a petition asking for instructions to protect the Court’s copyright over video recordings of court proceedings that are live-streamed on websites like YouTube. The application also aimed to stop live-stream material from being used for profit. In the application, it was requested that the live-streaming closely adhere to the ruling in Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change (CASC) v. Secretary General &Ors., (2018) 10 SCC 639. Justice Bela M. Trivedi and Chief ...

  • IPR NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATES FROM 9th OCT – 15th OCT

    ALLERGAN INC AND ANR. v. CONTROLLER GENERAL OF PATENTS DESIGNS AND TRADE MARKS AND ANR. The Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trademarks has received criticism from the Delhi High Court on October 12 for failing to notify the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization of the filing of two entities’ opposition to the registration of international trademarks within the time frame required by the Trademarks Act. The order passed by the Controller General was contested by the two petitioners, who had filed oppositions in response to publication of the inte...

  • IPR NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATES FROM 2nd OCT – 8th OCT

    QUALCOMM v. APPLE Despite the fact that the two tech titans’ legal battle over three smartphone patents had been resolved, the U.S. Supreme Court on October 3, once more declined to consider Apple Inc.’s request to resurrect the case. In 2017, Qualcomm filed a lawsuit against Apple in federal court in San Diego, alleging that the company’s iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches violated many mobile technology patents. The lawsuit concerned a larger international conflict between the two digital behemoths. At the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office...

  • IPR NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATES FROM 25th SEP – 1st OCT

    MYLAN PHARMACEUTICALS INC V. MERCK SHARP & DOHME CORP An U.S. appeals court ruled that a patent held by Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. for its diabetes medications Januvia and Janumet is valid, rejecting a challenge to the patent made by generic manufacturer Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. The Court did not agree with Viatris Inc.’s Mylan’s argument that the invention was invalid because to an earlier patent and other publications. On September 29, the Federal Circuit concurred with the board that the patent was valid. It denied Mylan’s claims that the earlier works Mylan ident...

  • IPR NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATES FROM 18TH SEP – 24TH SEP

    INDIAMART INTERMESH LIMITED v. MR SAMEER SAMIM KHAN  & Ors. The petitioner IndiaMart filed a suit for permanent injunction against the fraudulent website https://india-mart.co/ who was fraudulently offering jobs under the plaintiff’s name. The IndiaMart is a registered trademark and also the registered domain www.indiamart.com way back. The High Court observed that “Plaintiff has made out a prima facie case for ex parte ad interim injunction. Balance of convenience lies in favour of the Plaintiff. If the activities of Defendant are not nipped in the bud, irreparable injury would b...

  • 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 ‘Presiden...

  • IPR NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATES FROM 4TH SEP – 10TH SEP

    INVESTMENT FIRM METACAPITAL SUES META FOR INFRINGEMENT Investment firm Metacapital Management LP sued Meta Platforms Inc in Manhattan in federal court on Wednesday, alleging that the Facebook parent company’s use of the name “Meta” to provide financial services would cause customer confusion and violate its trademarks. Metacapital has also asked the court for damages of at least $60 million, the same amount Meta Platforms paid last year to acquire the trademark assets of Meta Financial Group, a regional bank. The investment firm has been using their name since 200...

  • IPR NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATES FROM 28TH AUG – 3RD SEP

    SONY MUSIC INITIATES COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AND BREACH OF CONTRACT LAWSUIT AGAINST TRILLER Sony sued the platform seeking damages as the application failed to pay the license fees agreed upon back in March 2022 after which it considered that their deal was terminated. Whereas, the platform still allowed sharing of music owned by Sony in the Application which Sony claims to have contributed to Copyright infringement. It is pertinent to mention here that the platform has already been in disputes especially in relation to payments and licenses, with a number of companies including the Universal g...

  • IPR NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATES FROM 21ST AUG – 26TH AUG

    ALLAHABAD LAW AGENCY V. AMAZON RETAIL INDIA PVT. LTD. & ORS The plaintiff is a book publishing company and had filed a lawsuit seeking permanent injunction against third party sellers in the e-commerce website of the defendant. The plaintiff alleged that pirated versions of the book, “the Law of Torts by Dr. R.K. Bangia”, was being sold in the e-commerce website by many sellers thereby committing copyright infringement. The plaintiff had claimed that the copyright of the book was bought by them from the author by an assignment deed executed in August, 1968 and after the death of the au...

  • IPR NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATES FROM 14TH AUG – 20TH AUG

    FLIPKART INTERNET PRIVATE LTD. v. STATE OF NCT OF DELHI & ANR. The respondent company Sanash Impex Pvt. Ltd have procured the authorized rights to sell the cosmetic products of a Czech based company ‘DC DERMACOL’ in India . A FIR was filed against Flipkart by the complainant for trademark infringement of their mark ‘DC DERMACOL’ by unauthorized resellers who were selling fake products in Flipkart and Amazon. The complainant also alleged that this act was committed by them in collaboration and connivance with Flipkart, thereby accusing Flipkart of enabling the sale of fake DC DERMAC...

  • IPR NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATES FROM 7TH AUG-13TH AUG

    DFM FOODS LIMITED v. CHANDEL STORE & ORS. The plaintiff is the owner of the registered trademark of ‘CRAX CURLS’ and ‘CURLS’ which is a type of corn-based snack launched in December 2016. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant even though changed their trademark from ‘CURLS’ TO ‘KURVY’, the packaging of the same, both before and after name change is deceptively similar with that of the plaintiffs. The Court held that the plaintiff has prima facie case in their favor because customers can easily be confused and cheated since the goods are of low price. Ther...

  • IPR NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATES FROM 1ST AUG-6TH AUG

    Special drive for disposal of IP Disputes Marking the 75th anniversary of India’s independence the Government of India has launched the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’. As a part of the same, the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks has taken an initiative to run a special drive for disposal of IP disputes wherein parties are encouraged to dispose pending opposition and rectification cases and parties who have already settled their cases amicably are called upon to report to the same to the Registry of Trademarks. The public notice also states that...

  • IPR NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATES FROM 25TH JULY- 30TH JULY

    Mondelez India Foods Pvt Ltd And anr v. Neeraj Food Products Mondelez India Foods Private Limited (previously Cadbury India Ltd.) and Cadbury Schweppes Overseas Limited filed a suit against the defendant for trademark infringement of their product “CADBURY GEMS” or “GEMS”.  The Delhi High Court on 26th July 2022 gave the judgment in favor of the plaintiffs and ordered the defendants to pay Rs. 10 Lakhs as damages to Cadbury and the actual costs in the amount of Rs. 15,86,928 after noting that the company had incurred significant costs for the litigation in a case involving...

  • IPR NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATES FROM 17TH JULY- 23RD JULY

    Marico Limited vs Dabur India Limited The Petitioner initiated a suit for infringement and disparagement in relation to the advertisement published by Dabur in various newspapers containing a disclaimer that implies that the Device/ Label mark of ‘Nihar’ which is a part of their advertisement belongs to the petitioner. It is therefore evident that the respondent was aware that the petitioner owns the particular mark. The petitioner claims that the pictorial impact of the advertisements demeans and disparages the petitioner’s product and the comparison between the products conveying t...

  • IPR NEWS – WEEKLY UPDATES FROM 11TH JULY- 16TH JULY

    Franco Indian Pharmaceuticals vs Vatican Lifesciences Private On July 12, 2022, the High Court of Bombay held that in the case of rival marks where they are phonetically, structurally, aurally, and visually similar; in such a way that a mere cursory look at the rival marks brings out the overwhelming similarity in such a way that’ll lead to the likelihood of confusion and deception amongst members of the trade and public at large, a high degree of protection is required. The plaintiff is the registered proprietor of the marks “GLEAM’’, “GLEAM 1” and “GLEAM-2”. And defendant...

  • Weekly IP News Report – 1st Week of July (01-Jul-2022 to 10-Jul-2022)

    PS5 comes up with a new patent that can show the players “what if” scenarios based on choices they didn’t make This patent discloses what is basically a “what if” function, which could provide the players of the PS5 the ability to not only examine replays of their gaming but also view different varieties of outcomes that might have happened if they had made a different choice throughout the game. The technique of the interface involves providing the opportunity to pick at least one of the What-If scenarios from among the available possibilities. This option paves the way to a......

  • IP NEWS UPDATES – JUNE 2022

    OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY REGISTERS “THE” AS A TRADEMARK The term “THE” has been successfully registered by The Ohio State University in relation to apparel that the university wears during athletic activities. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) initially rejected the registration on the grounds that the University was only using the mark ornamentally and that there was a likelihood of confusion because the fashion house Marc Jacobs had previously filed a trademark application for an identical mark in relation to clothing items. But Ohio State was ab...

  • IP NEWS UPDATES -MAY 2022

    USPTO To Begin Issuing Electronic Trademark Registration Certificates On 2nd May, the USPTO announced via federal notice that, on June 7, 2022, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will start issuing electronic certificates of trademark registration. The electronic registration certificate will serve as the official registration certificate once it is issued. Trademark owners will have the choice to obtain paper “presentation” copies when the USPTO starts distributing electronic registration certificates, although doing so will carry a price. The ability to purchas...

  • IP NEWS WEEKLY UPDATE – 30 JUNE 2022

    India’s key achievements related to patent filings: The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry announced the key achievements that the country has been performing in relation to patent filings. The domestic patent filing has surpassed the international patent filing between the period of January to March 2022, which is the first time in 11 years. Further, there has been nearly five times increase in the grant of patents in 2021-22 as compared to the year 2014-15. Another key achievement by the patent office is that there has been a reduction in time of patent examination from 72 months as o...

  • National Conference on Intellectual Property for National Growth

    Inspite of growing awareness about the importance of intellectual property protection among corporates, practical information about what IP strategies and filings are best for corporate growth, remains low. The conference aimed at educating corporates on the various government schemes for MSMEs, Indian Patent and Trademark Office practices, and various approaches to effective IP filing and enforcement. The conference was organised by Surana & Surana International Attorneys in association with Intellectual Property Bar of India Trust, supported by Hindustan Chamber of Commerce & The Tam...

  • IP NEWS WEEKLY UPDATE – 25 FEB 2022

    New York Stock Exchange Files Trademark Application for NFT Applications have been filed o trademark the term NYSE for usage of the mark as an NFT and the Stock Exchange is officially entering into the Crypto and NFT marketplace. The NYSE has announced that it has no immediate plans of launching a Crypto or NFT and also stated that it regularly considers new products and their impact on its trademarks and protects its intellectual property rights accordingly. Coca Cola v. Pop Cola- Suit before Federal High Court, Kano Mamuda Beverages Nigeria Ltd. introduced its product Pop Cola which allegedl...

  • IP NEWS WEEKLY UPDATE – 14 FEB 2022

    Major companies including McDonald’s filing Trademark Applications for the Metaverse Various major companies including Nike and Walmart had filed Trademark applications for virtual goods and services in the Metaverse. Presently, McD has filed for the registration of its marks in relation to virtual goods, services and even virtual restaurants and cafes hinting its entry into virtual reality through Metaverse. The company has also applied for marks in relation to on-line actual, virtual concerts and other entertainment services within the virtual McCafe. Panera Breads is another company that ...

  • IP NEWS WEEKLY UPDATE – 9 FEB 2022

    Moonshine Technology Pvt Ltd v. Ticktok Games Pvt Ltd The Plaintiff initiated the suit against the defendant for the use of the mark ‘BAAZI’. The plaintiff claimed its marks containing the term BAAZI to be well- known and to have attained worldwide recognition. The Plaintiff alleged that the Defendant was a subsequent dishonest adopter of the mark BAAZI especially in relation to gaming services. The Plaintiff had also established that the Defendant was a direct competitor to the Plaintiff’s company as the Director of the Defendant company had been a customer of Plaintiff and claims that ...

  • IP NEWS WEEKLY UPDATE – 7 FEB 2022

    Bragg Live Food Products sues National Fruit Product Company for Copyright and Trademark Infringement Bragg Live Food Products, a company specialized in providing organic food products, has accused the NFPC of copying its trade dress and infringement of trademarks and copyrights. Bragg states that it has been using the yellow and red colour scheme on the packaging of its products for several years and that NFPC began selling Apple Cider vinegar under the brand name White House back in 2016 using a green label and after 2019, started using the same colour combination and artistic elements as th...

  • IP NEWS WEEKLY UPDATE – 25 JAN 2022

    Huawei’s Trademark applications for ‘Petal Search’ rejected The company had applied for the Trademarks ‘PETAL SEARCH’ in relation to search engine services and providing localized search services based on user search habits. The search engine was launched back in 2020 and applications for the registration of the trademarks was filed in 2021. The applications were initially rejected on the basis that there were similar marks which were already registered, containing the term ‘PETAL’ in relation to identical services, following which the company had applied for re- examination whic...

  • IP NEWS WEEKLY UPDATE – 20 JAN 2022

    HT Media Ltd. v. Pooja Sharma & Ors Hindustan Times had approached the Delhi High Court seeking permanent injunction and damages for infringement of their Trademark, Trade Name and Copyrights against websites which were portraying to the general public that they were in some way associated with the brand “Shine” which was owned by the company as a platform for providing new opportunities for job seekers, and its website using the brand name in an unauthorized manner. The company claimed that certain rogue websites have been advertising themselves as Shine, mirroring its website and off...

  • IP NEWS WEEKLY UPDATE – 12 JAN 2022

    AWS Music marks opposed by Amazon Amazon Technologies Inc. is opposing the registration of the mark “AWS MUSIC” claiming that the consumers are likely to be confused, mistaken, or deceived into believing that the goods offered under the newly applied AWS MUSIC mark are in some way endorsed by Amazon. It is also claimed by the Opponent that the company is the owner of 50 domestic registrations and pending trademark applications for its AWS Marks, covering a wide-range of goods and services and because of the company’s prior adoption and continuous use of the marks since 2002 and its ...

  • IP NEWS WEEKLY UPDATE – 04 JAN 2022

    Bacardi & Co v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office The company has sued the USPTO for allegedly violating the law by reviving a Cuban government entity’s trademark “Havana Club”. The legal battle between Bacardi and the Cuban entity was initiated by Bacardi and claim that they began selling Havana Club rum in the U.S. in 1995 after buying the brand. Cuba’s state-run entity sells rum under the same name in other countries, but are barred from selling it in the U.S.  Cubaexports claims that they first registered the “Havana Club” trademark in the U.S. i...

  • IP NEWS WEEKLY UPDATE – 30 DEC 2021

    Kyobo Life fined for letting subsidiaries use IPs for free The insurance company holds various forms of IPs including numerous trademarks and copyrights. The company was accused of letting their subsidiaries use the Kyobo brand without paying fees from 2016 to 2019. The South Korea’s financial watchdog has ordered Kyobo Life Insurance Co. to pay a fine of 350 million won for providing undue support to the subsidiaries. The action has been taken considering the economic value of the company as the unpaid fees are estimated to be billions of won. H&R Block claims trademark infringement...

  • IP NEWS WEEKLY UPDATE – 21 DEC 2021

    France.com Inc v. French Republic The legal battle for the trade name and mark France.com commenced years back and presently, the US Supreme Court has ruled in favour of the Government. This trade name and mark was used since 1994 by a U.S. citizen and French expat and owns protections for the trademark in US and EU. The trademark was used in relation to French travel services. The holder of the trademark sued a Dutch company in Paris for infringing its trademarks, and the French government came into play. The French Republic argued that it carried the sole right to......

  • IP NEWS WEEKLY UPDATE – 13 DEC 2021

    Abba v. Abba Mania: The pop group ‘ABBA’ sues a UK-based company that stages shows under the brand Abba Mania. This suit has been initiated by Polar Music International, the company that owns the Abba Group claiming that Abba Mania has been using the term ‘ABBA’ without the company’s prior consent/ permission or knowledge and the same amounts to infringement of its trademark. The pop group also states that an attempt to amicably settle the issue was undertaken from their side but the defendants refused to resolve the dispute and cease the use of the name Abba Mania. Axiva Health......

  • IP NEWS WEEKLY UPDATE – 8 DEC 2021

    UpGrad files trademark infringement suit against Scaler: A suit was filed before the Delhi HC against the EdTech company Scaler for using the brand name ‘upGrad’ through Google Ads to appear on top of the page on the Google Search Engine. The company has sought damages of more than 3 Crores. Presently, the Delhi HC has granted an ad-interim injunction in favour of upGrad and has directed Scaler to not to use upGrad’s registered marks and or its variants in relation to Google Ads Programs or any other keyword program. Brittex Financial v. Dollar Financial: The marks in dispute are......

  • IP NEWS WEEKLY UPDATE – 6 DEC 2021

    Lord of the Rings’ Crypto Blocked under JRR Tolkien’s Trademark Violation: The ‘LORD OF THE RINGS’ Crypto Currency was created and promoted back in August 2021. According to the developer of the Crypto, the ‘JRR TOKEN’ is a tribute to the late author JRR Tolkien. The family members of the author state that the digital token was set up for the developer’s personal commercial gain and have claimed that there is a trademark violation as the crypto uses the domain name ‘Jrrtoken.com’. The family had approached WIPO in relation to trademark infringement and WIPO ruled that the dom...

  • IP NEWS WEEKLY UPDATE – 25 NOV 2021

    YouTube expands guidelines on Copyright infringement detection The number of takedowns of content due to Copyright strike has been increasing and it was also announced that YouTube is testing out new features which aim to provide more capacity to manage channel engagement, and more options to help creators’ secure branded content deals, and monetize their efforts. The platform has now expanded access to a new content takedown process enabling creators to automatically take down duplicate uploads of any content that they’ve previously removed. The Copyright match tool has also been introduc...

  • IP NEWS WEEKLY UPDATE – 13 NOV 2021

    Increase in Global IP Filings despite Economic shutdown due to the pandemic WIPO recently released its report on the annual IP filings. The reports show an increase in the filing activities especially in relation to trademark filings despite the effect of the pandemic on the economy. Most of the filing activities took place in China which continues to dominate the world in the number of filings across most forms of intellectual property. The report states that Global Trademark filings surge 13.7% despite economic shutdowns and China received the most trademark application filings during 2020 a...

  • IP NEWS WEEKLY UPDATE – 8 NOV 2021

    Financial incentives for certification and Intellectual Property Rights reimbursement scheme notified by the Goa government This scheme of the government is part of the State Incentives to Encourage Investments Scheme, 2017 with an object to make the existing market more competitive and efficient both at a domestic and an international level. This scheme encourages the units which are based in Goa in relation to industries, academic institutions and hospitals to obtain certification from reputed certifying agencies and the department would reimburse 100% of the actual expenditure per certifica...

  • IP NEWS WEEKLY UPDATE – 30 OCT 2021

    Delhi High Court extends the deadline to submit comments on Delhi High Court Intellectual Property Rights Division Rules, 2021 The Hon’ble Chief Justice of Delhi High Court had announced the creation and functioning of a separate Intellectual Property Division which would solely deal with the IP matters in July, 2021. On 8 October, 2021, the Delhi HC had circulated the IPD Rules, 2021 among the members of the bar for their suggestions and recommendations. The Delhi High Court Registry has announced an extension for submitting suggestions and comments on the proposed rules. As per this, the n...

  • IP NEWS WEEKLY UPDATE – 26 OCT 2021

    YouTube content strikes misuse of Copyright laws in India, claims Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) The Indian Internet Freedom Foundation made a representation to Google India with relation to the recent rising number of YouTube Channel blocks in the country and claims that one major reason for content takedowns is due to weaponization of Copyright legislations and rules of the country by large media houses targeting individual content creators and channels. It was also stated that YouTube being one of the most primary platform of development for such individuals and channels, such measures b...