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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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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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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 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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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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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 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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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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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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Rethinking Employment Contracts in the Era of Remote Working

Rethinking Employment Contracts in the Era of Remote Working

Remote work is here to stay.  Our understanding of the traditional employer-employee relationship is gradually becoming altered.  In this evolving world, would the traditional employer- employee contract still be relevant?  If not, then what are the key issues that need to be pondered upon to customise employment agreements to suit the present day needs of remote / hybrid working.  Through this post, we attempt to explore how employment contracts need to be re-thought and re-purposed in this era of remote / hybrid working. Traditional Employment Agreements vis-à-vis Remote working agreements Traditional employment agreements inter alia, specify the nature of the job, location,...

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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 substantial investment in...

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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 at 9.35 million filings followed by US. India’s...

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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 certification upto 8 Lakhs and a cap of 15 Lakhs has been fixed for...

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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 new deadline stands as November...

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IP NEWS WEEKLY UPDATE – 20 OCT 2021

IPR News update template - 20 Oct

Delhi High Court circulates Intellectual Property Division (IPD) Rules, 2021 for inputs from the members of the Bar 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 IPD Rules, 2021 deals with the practice and procedure for the exercise of the original and appellate jurisdiction of IPAD and for other miscellaneous petitions arising out...

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IP NEWS WEEKLY UPDATE – 7 OCT 2021

IPR News update template - 7 Oct

Piaggio v. Peugot Piaggio v. Peugot The Tribunal Judiciaire of Paris and Tribunale of Milan have found the control system which enables a three-wheeler to tilt like a regular two-wheeler employed by Peugeot Metropolis (Mahindra Group) to be infringing Piaggio Group’s patent and has banned Peugeot Motorcycles from producing, promoting, marketing, importing, exporting, using and/or possessing any three-wheeled scooter employing Piaggio’s patented technology in France. The court also imposed a fine of 1.5 million euros (Rs 12.95 crores) in addition to other penalties.AI cannot be an inventor AI cannot be an inventor Judgment dated 21 September 2021 ([2021] EWCA Civ 1374), the Court of Appeal has...

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IP NEWS WEEKLY UPDATE – 21 SEP 2021

IPR News update template - 20 Sep

Protection of the Aaj Tak trademark Protection of the Aaj Tak trademark Delhi High Court granted an interim injunction to Living Media Limited, the parent company of the Aaj Tak brand and ordered Google and Facebook to block the four defendants and also extended its order to 25 different websites, carrying infringing brands.  Hon'ble Mr. Justice Suresh Kumar Kait impleaded these 25 websites and the domain registrars, the order blocks in the interim the use of  Aaj Tak Live, Aaj Tak IndiaNews, E-Aaj Tak. Trademark Ownership over Greek Alphabets Trademark Ownership over Greek Alphabets Affinity Client Services apparently hold trademarks in the UK over the...

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The Smart Hijack – Unimaginable Threats from Smart Devices

The Smart Hijack

There is no doubt that there are many advantages of Artificial Intelligence and IoT enabled smart devices. Technical advancements in facial recognition, voice recognition, automatic content recognition are adding newer dynamics to entertainment, household, and lifestyle. However, the smart devices are vulnerable to a plethora of cyber security threats that can be extremely scary....

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IP News Weekly Update – 31 Aug 2021

IPR News update - 31 Aug

V Guard Industries Ltd. Vs. Sukan Raj Jain and Anr – Delhi High Court The Plaintiff, a proprietor from Kerala manufactures and markets electrical goods under the mark ‘V-Guard’ across the country and furthermore has a subordinate (supply) office in Delhi. The Plaintiff instituted a trademark infringement action before the Delhi High Court against the Defendant for using the mark ‘N-Guard’ with respect to machines electronics, electronic, electrical parts, etc. The Court has issued an ex parte ad interim injunction against the Defendant. The Defendant challenged the territorial jurisdiction by stating that no cause of action arose within the Courts’ jurisdiction....

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IP News Weekly Update – 14 Aug 2021

IPR News update templatte - 14 Aug

Biscuit Battle Last year Britannia had taken ITC to court alleging that the latter’s product packaging “Sunfeast Farmlite 5-Seed Digestive” and  “Sunfeast Farmlite Veda Digestive” were deceptively similar to Britannia products. Soon after the dispute, ITC modified its packaging and Britannia expressed that it had no objection to the use of the modified packaging by ITC. However, the Delhi High Court ruled that the disputed packages “cannot be called as deceptively similar” as the name of the product on the packages are abundantly clear. Regardless, Britannia subsequently gave up its claim for rendition of accounts, damages, etc. as it was personally...

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