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SURANA & SURANA > Posts tagged "SSIA" (Page 2)

Issues with Repeat Appointments of Statutory Arbitrators

Issues with Repeat Appointments of Statutory Arbitrators

Arunima Das A. Introduction: Repeat appointments of arbitrators refer to the appointment of an arbitrator for multiple arbitration proceedings. It ordinarily involves the same arbitrator being repeatedly chosen by a single  party or counsel for various cases. In the context of statutory arbitrations, arbitrators are appointed by statutory bodies, rather than by the parties themselves. Consequently, when a sole arbitrator is appointed by a statutory body, for cases with the same subject matter and involving a common party, it can also be considered a form of repeat appointment within statutory arbitrations. Although this definition may be subject to debate, this article assumes...

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METAPLEX: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

METAPLEX - ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

A Solana-powered structure named Metaplex supports the generation and minting of non-fungible tokens as well as auctions and standardised NFT visualisation across wallets and applications. An on-chain programme and a self-hosted front-end web2 application make up its two main parts. Modern blockchain Solana is very different from the Bitcoin network. Modified cryptographic algorithms are used by Solana to build a quick and scalable blockchain. Blockchain technology has come a long way since the launch of the first decentralised Bitcoin network in 2009. It has changed from being a safe computer network for trading digital currencies to a place where complete virtual...

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GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES NEED FOR UNIFORMITY IN NOMENCLATURE WITH RESPECT TO NATHAM LANDS

GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES NEED FOR UNIFORMITY IN NOMENCLATURE WITH RESPECT TO NATHAM LANDS

The Government has announced that the nomenclature with respect to lands will be changed to reflect the difference between private and Government ownership. As Natham land records have adopted different nomenclature for different areas, the Government has found an urgent need to bring in uniformity in these records. This change will have to be bought to all Natham land records of different places excluding Chennai. Natham lands belongs to no one. There is no legal proof of the ownership of such a land. Grama Natham land can only be used for residential purposes and not commercial. There is no surrounding social...

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Legal remedies in case of fraudulent credit card transactions

Legal remedies in case of fraudulent credit card transactions

Niranjana T G, Associate, Dispute Prevention & Resolution Practice As the popular saying by Eckhart Tolle goes, ‘Awareness is the greatest agent of change’, it is vital in today’s technology-driven world to know about various kinds of cybercrimes that we could possibly be exposed to and the legal remedies available for the same. In this article, the author intends to discuss about one particular kind of cybercrime - credit card fraud and the legal solutions. Fraudulent credit card transactions may happen due to multiple reasons notably due to hacking, phishing[1] or the card being stolen. In such cases, a third party fraud...

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PATENT PROTECTION IN THE FIELD OF NANOBIOTECHNOLOGY

PATENT PROTECTION IN THE FIELD OF NANOBIOTECHNOLOGY

Nihaarika Prudhvi, Trainee - Intellectual Property Rights Practice INTRODUCTION: Since we live in a scientific era, it is important that we understand several aspects of rapidly developing field of nanobiotechnology, including patent protection. Nanoscience is the study of marvels and manipulation of material at the nanoscale, in substance an extension of being lores into the nanoscale. Accoutrements reduced to the nanoscale can suddenly show veritably different parcels compared to what they show on a macroscale. With Nanotechnology, a large set of accoutrements with distinct parcels (optic, electrical or glamorous) can be fabricated. The lower a nanoparticle gets, the larger its relative face area...

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PATENTING OF MICROORGANISMS & GENES

PATENTING OF MICROORGANISMS & GENES

VERSHA YADAV Patent Agent /Patent Associate, Surana & Surana International Attorneys ABSTRACT In the 21st century, it is becoming increasingly clear that access to cutting-edge technologies and discoveries can be the difference between progress and failure in the business world. This has led to a rise in patenting of various microorganisms, genes, and viruses.  Although, the government of India permitted patenting of microorganisms in India under the Patents Bill (Second Amendment) on 14th May 2002. The government of India has so far granted many patents for microorganisms, and various pharmaceutical companies and research institutes have filed an application for patenting of microorganisms. But patenting...

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WTR 1000 2023

WTR 1000 SSIA Awards - IPR News

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 efficiency of online IP enforcement, reduced examination times for patent and trademarks and increased...

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The FIFA IP Law : Qatar’s Ticket To A Booming Economy

FIFA IP Law

Chinna Aswathy Abraham, Associate, Dispute Prevention and Resolution Practice S. Nagarjun, Student Intern Introduction: Organizing and staging a global sporting event is no small feat. The strategic use of trademarks and other commercial rights helps generate the revenue streams required to fund such events (1).With the increasing commercialisation of sports, large corporations and brands are keen on enhancing the fan experience by making sporting events accessible to every household, be it in the form of live broadcasting of these events or by way of sports merchandising. The Federation Internationale De Football Association (FIFA) World Cup is the world's largest single-sport event and the World...

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AN ANALYSIS ON PROTECTION OF FILM TITLES UNDER TRADEMARK LAW

AN ANALYSIS ON PROTECTION OF FILM TITLES UNDER TRADEMARK LAW

RAKSHANA. MK Associate, Surana & Surana International Attorneys INTRODUCTION: Unlike William Shakespeare’s famous quote "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” names and titles, especially in the entertainment industry have proven to be as important or unique, in line with that bestowed upon the script, the cast and crew or any other aspect of a work. With specific reference to the film industry, the title of a movie is what promotes and popularizes the work to reach the public and its audience, thus holding utmost importance comparative to any other part of...

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LEGAL ANALYSIS OF THE DRAFT INDIAN TELECOMMUNICATION BILL, 2022 – LIBERATIVE OR OBSTRUCTIVE?

Sara Suresh Associate, Surana & Surana International Attorneys On September 21, 2022, the Department of Telecommunication under the Ministry of Communication released the Draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022 along with an explanatory note into the public domain for the people and the stakeholders to accord their comments. The Bill intends to consolidate the existing legal framework of telecom industry in order to make them future-ready to keep up with the innovations and technological advancements in the sector. Primarily, the Bill seeks to repeal the three existing laws – the age old British era Indian Telegraph Act, 1885; Indian Wireless Telegraph Act, 1933 and...

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EXPEDITED EXAMINATION AND PROCESSING OF TRADE MARK APPLICATIONS – A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Balaji P L.L.M., Principal Associate, Surana & Surana International Attorneys Introduction The examination of trade mark application is the pivotal stage in the process of ascertaining registrability of the applied mark by the trade mark offices around the world, which starts with the issuance of an office action/examination report with the list of objections raised by the trade mark offices or a letter of acceptance of the trade mark. Subsequently, the application may go through re-examination, advertisement, oppositions, hearings, etc., before reaching the stage of registration. The time period taken by the trade mark offices, for completing the first examination of application and...

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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 “SADANAND”, “TADAAKHA” and “BASANT” from 2014. Later,...

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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 bagged by them among the public for their website...

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Necessity of Pre-Suit Mediation in Commercial Disputes: An Analysis of Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015

Necessity of Pre-Suit Mediation in Commercial Disputes

By Sonam Nanda, IPR Practice, Surana & Surana International Attorneys, New Delhi Office Introduction The Commercial Courts Act of 2015 with its amendment in 2018 is a recent exercise undertaken to adjudicate commercial disputes quickly. The object of this exercise was steered with the introduction of Section 12A by an amendment in 2018 that made mediation necessary before institution of a suit for commercial matters. This article will elaborate on need for such an exercise and critically analyze the interpretation and nature of Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 taken by the courts of the country. Need for the Commercial Courts...

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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 Nast said that the defendants also produced a fake issue of Vogue that...

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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 now scheduled for ex-parte...

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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 Justice UU Lalit made up the panel that heard the...

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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 international registration of the trademarks. The petitioners made the...

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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, Apple contested the legality of the patents at...

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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 identified would have rendered Merck's patent apparent. LIVE LAW...

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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 be caused not only to the Plaintiff, but also to public at...

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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...

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THE SCOPE OF GEO-TAGGING OF IMMOVABLE ASSETS IN THE CORPORATE INSOLVENCY RESOLUTION PROCESS

THE SCOPE OF GEO-TAGGING OF IMMOVABLE ASSETS IN THE CORPORATE INSOLVENCY RESOLUTION PROCESS

Chinna Aswathy Abraham Associate, Dispute Prevention & Resolution “Geo-tagging refers to the process of adding geographical identification like latitude and longitude to an asset. The information included in a geo-tag may include place co-ordinates, bearings, altitude, distances, or even place names.”(1) This helps users access location specific information about an asset at the click of a few buttons, without having to physically travel to the said location. The Indian government has been using geo-tags to monitor assets in several of its national rural development programmes- such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (‘MGNREGA’), the Integrated Watershed Management Programme, Per Drop...

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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 2001 whereas the name Meta Platforms which has been revamped from Facebook since 2021. CHAAYOS V. CHAIPOS This is...

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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 group. GI REGISTRATION OF KASHMIR NAMDA AND GABBA...

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DOES THE STATE COMMISSION HAVE THE POWER TO SET ASIDE EX-PARTE ORDERS WHILE EXERCISING REVISIONAL JURISDICTION?

DOES THE STATE COMMISSION HAVE THE POWER TO SET ASIDE EX-PARTE ORDERS

T.G Niranjana, Associate, Dispute Prevention & Resolution It has been settled by a catena of judgments that the District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commissions do not have the power to set aside the ex-parte orders passed by them. The current trend to ‘overcome this difficulty’ is to file a Revision Petition before the State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commissions seeking to set aside the ex-parte orders passed by the District Commission. However, are such Revision Petitions maintainable in law? Power to set ex-parte: According to section 38(3)(b)(ii) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019,(hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’), the District Commissions are empowered to...

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BINDING THIRD PARTIES TO ARBITRATION – THE NEW NORM?

BINDING THIRD PARTIES TO ARBITRATION – THE NEW NORM

Shweta Surana, Assessment Intern INTRODUCTION One of the most fundamental cornerstones of arbitration is consent.  It is by virtue of this unique characteristic of arbitration, that only those parties which consented to the arbitration agreement can be bound by the agreement and the resulting arbitral award.  However, like all things go, there exists an exception for this principle as well.   Sometimes, there are certain disputes that cannot be resolved without involving a third party to the arbitration.  At times like this, it is crucial to decipher whether there exists implied consent of the third party to be bound by the arbitration agreement....

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The Baffling Case of Infosys Non-Compete Clause: A critical analysis

The Baffling Case of Infosys Non-Compete Clause

SARA SURESH, Associate, RE & Corporate During the month of April 2022, there were extensive discussions over the legality and enforceability of Non-Compete clauses among the IT workforce. Media Reports stipulates that the IT giant corporation, Infosys, had been summoned by both the Central Labour Commissioner and Karnataka Labour Department over the incorporation of Non-Compete clauses in their Employment Agreement.  According to the media reports, Infosys has been working with both the Central and State Government with regard to their Non-Compete issue.  Howbeit, the media has remained inactive and dormant over the issue for quite some months. In this article, let’s break down...

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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 author, the...

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Case of Coca-Cola for Cancellation of US Trademarks based on“MISREPRESENTATION OF SOURCE” before the TTAB and CAFC

Case of Coco-Cola for Cancellation of US Trademarks

By P. Saranya, Senior Associate, IP Practice INTRODUCTION:                 The concept of identifying the source of manufactured goods by its unique brand or trademark was an ancient practice but its importance in trade and commerce was realized with the advent of the industrial revolution. Trademarks soon became an indispensable form of intellectual property rights in the industry of trade and commerce. Further, the mass production, sale and distribution of goods created a lot of confusion with regards to the trade origin of the goods thus giving rise to a creation of trade mark law.           In an economic scenario where, multiple manufacturers tried...

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Doctrine of Fair Dealing in Indian Copyright Law

Doctrine of Fair Dealing in Indian Copyright Law

By Jai Vignesh K, Associate, IP Practice Introduction:             Copyright is a branch of law that grants the creators (writers, musicians, artists and other creators) protection over their works. The Copyright Act defines it as an exclusive right to do or authorize others to do certain acts in relation to original, literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, cinematograph film and sound recording including computer program. It gives the holder some exclusive rights to control reproduction of works of authorship, such as books, music, paintings, songs, movies for a certain period of time. The object of copyright is to protect the author of...

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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. Therefore, restrained the defendant from using...

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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 parties are encouraged to settle...

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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 an interim injunction that had...

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The need to regulate E-Pharmacies in India- Necessary checks for a booming industry

Adithya Narayan Student Intern, Dispute Prevention & Resolution INTRODUCTION Over the last few decades, there has been a significant increase in the digital commercialization of goods and services. "E-Pharmacies" have entered the race during the Covid-19 lockdown and the need for medications has fueled their growth.  As a result of this transformation, nearly everything, including medicines and medical tests, has become available at one's fingertips via e-commerce portals in recent years. The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 (‘D&C Act’) (80 years old) still regulates the entire medical supply industry in India. Amendments or replacement of this law are needed to adequately address the...

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The intersection between admiralty laws and cross-border insolvencies: in deep water or smooth sailing?

The intersection between admiralty laws and cross-border insolvencies - in deep water or smooth sailing

Chinna Aswathy Abraham Associate, Dispute Prevention and Resolution The intersection between admiralty laws and insolvency laws has been making waves for the last many years With respect to India, questions arose as to the jurisdictions of the courts- while admiralty jurisdiction generally exercised by the High Courts, the National Company Law Tribunals (‘NCLT’) exercise jurisdiction over the subject of corporate insolvencies. The operation of moratorium over admiralty suits and the treatment of these plaintiffs as creditors under the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (‘IBC, 2016’) were also areas that needed clarity. In January this year, in Angre Port Pvt Ltd v. TAG 15 &...

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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 to the audience that the product of the petitioner is ineffective has amounted...

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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 defendants are the owner of the...

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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 modification...

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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 able to demonstrate that the mark was being used more than purely ornamentally, and...

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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 purchase certified copies of their trademark registrations will also be available. The Supreme Court's Effort to Resolve the Date on Section...

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Resolution of Legal Issues in Metaverse

Resolution of Legal Issues in Metaverse

At the end of October, at Connect 2021, Mark Zuckerberg relaunched Facebook as Meta in October 2021, in quest of the metaverse. The once-loved concept of a virtual world parallel to the actual world has now been mainstreamed by the internet giant's makeover. Gradually, the metaverse is becoming a part of our lives, with millions of users spending several hours a day in virtual social spaces like Roblox, and more individuals gravitating toward digital ownership of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies. With rapidly developing online networks, the metaverse aims to improve the overlap of our social and digital lives in...

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RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN

Right to be forgotten

Can one be forgotten from the internet? The need In the hyper connected nature of the web today, personal information about anyone can be easily obtained within a few clicks on the internet. Personal Identifiable Information (PII) refers to any data that can distinguish a living individual uniquely or can trace it back to them. Name, identification number like Aadhar or Pan number, address, mother’s maiden name or social media identifiers constitute PII primarily. It may also include news articles indexed with the search engines like Google, financial information like credit card, bank account details, or data of violations and criminal convictions. There are...

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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 of Dec...

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IPR Challenges in the Metaverse

IPR Challenges in the Metaverse

Metaverse, to many is that enigma where the demarcation boundaries between the virtual and real get blurred. It is the coming together of virtual reality and augmented reality. Metaverse presents a world of boundless potential. You may take virtual trips, live an ‘imagined’ life through digital avatars or trade in digital assets. You can own a Raja Ravi Varman painting or a Thor’s hammer in metaverse. In short, metaverse is the virtual extension of our real world. Why is Metaverse Important? The importance of Metaverse extends not only to personal experiences but also commercial viability. Brands now can offer you a ‘lived...

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National Conference on Intellectual Property for National Growth

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 Tamil Chamber of Commerce. In his inaugural Address by Dr Vinod Surana, Managing Partner & CEO, Surana & Surana...

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NON-FUNGIBLE TOKENS & INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – AN ANALYSIS

NON- FUNGIBLE TOKENS & INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS- AN ANALYSIS

By RAKSHANA. M. K., Associate, Intellectual Property Practice Introduction: Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) have been the talk of the investment world and among the Crypto community in the recent times. Over the last decade, terms such as Blockchain technology, Cryptocurrency and Non-Fungible Tokens have gained popularity among the public in this digital era. As far as NFT is concerned, the platform has planted the confidence of generating revenue both for the creators and the purchasers involved in the process. There are huge speculations in relation to Blockchain technology being the ‘next big thing’ and its ability to revolutionize the future. Cryptos and NFTs...

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WILL THE CTC GO UP WHEN THE LABOR CODES ARE IMPLEMENTED?

WILL THE CTC GO UP WHEN THE LABOR CODES ARE IMPLEMENTED

M. DarshikaAssociate Introduction: Over the years, for governing and regulating the labor and employment regimes, several labor laws were implemented in our country.  This multiplicity of labor laws had resulted in several distinct compliances thereby making it very onerous for businesses to adhere to them.  In order to simplify, restructure and modernize the labor regime to suit the current state of labor affairs, the Central Government had subsumed 29 existing labor legislations into four new Labor Codes viz., (i) The Code on Wages, (ii) The Code on Social Security, (iii) The Industrial Relations Code and (iv) The Occupational Safety, Health and Working...

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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) & INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) & INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

By D.Sai Meera, Senior Associate, IP Practice 1. Introduction Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of computers and machines to perform mental tasks commonly associated with humans, such as learning, reasoning and problem solving.1 AI is one of the emerging Frontier Technologies.2 Frontier technologies are defined as technologies that transform the world. The emerging and merging of Frontier technologies is viewed as the Fourth Industrial Revolution or Industry 4.0. Frontier technologies include: digital technologies, such as the Internet of things (IoT), blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), big data and cloud computing. Physical technologies, such as autonomous driving, 3D printing, hardware innovations and biological technologies such as genetic engineering, human...

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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 the usage by the Defendant...

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