Does registration of a composite mark confer on the proprietor monopoly over prominent features of the mark? This is the crux of the issue in the lis between two entities dealing in perfumes and fragrances. The Plaintiffs, Lifestyle Equities C.V. and Ors (Lifestyle) has filed suit against the Defendants, Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club…
In the real world, we are territorially bound. In the virtual world, the boundaries do not exist. In the given scenario, application of the law of the land to the virtual world without any metes and bounds is a debatable territory. In one of the recent cases, Swami Ramdev v. Facebook [CS (OS) 27/2019], the Delhi…
A pro bono roundtable was organized by TrustLaw, TRF and RNA IP and Attorneys in collaboration with India Cares Foundation to discuss IPR regulations for NGOs and Social Enterprises in India on November 19, 2019 in Gurgaon. A number of NGO’s and SE’s attended the roundtable for a knowledgeable session on IP, especially tailored to…
Privileged to be invited by CIPAM to speak at first Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop recently held at Nashik Police Academy on Trademarks law, infringement cases, provisions of Information Technology Act and role of IPR in the cyber space. The workshop was attended by various police officers to be trained as master trainers! The sessions…
The Trademarks Registry recently received a directive from the Delhi High Court to lay down the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to be borne in mind by the officials working at the Registry to improve efficiencies and facilitate the process of prosecution and other related matters. The directions have been issued in the case of writ…
The Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs, Trademarks and Geographical Indications (Patent and Trademark Office) issued annual report for the year 2017-2018 analyzing how the office has performed. Listing out important achievement in terms of improvement in IP administration, digital reforms and reengineering of IP procedures that has resulted in decreased pendency and…
We are delighted that one of the pro bono projects that we worked for Trust Law (Thomson Reuters foundation) on behalf of Institute Transformative Technologies (ITTF) has been shortlisted for Trust Law Innovation awards. Based on research, ITTF had identified 50 Breakthroughs in which advanced technology can move the needle on the biggest social and…
The Indian Patent Office has notified Patent amendment rules on December 4th 2018 which after stakeholders consultation have now been finalized. The major changes brought by the rules are: Encourage electronic submission of documents: In order to further digitize the operations and move towards paperless office, the new Rules require that all documents including executed form…
The Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) created with much fanfare in 2003 with avowed objective of reducing the backlog has proved to be ineffective with cases languishing for years. The current chairman retired in September 2019 and no appointment of Chairman or Technical member (Patent and Copyright) has been made. This has brought functioning of…
Can the use of a house mark be sufficient to identify the origin of the goods so as to avoid confusion and deception? The parties in Meso Private Limited v Liberty Shoes Ltd (Commercial Appeal No 362 of 2019 in COMM Notice of Motion (L) No 1184 of 2019) were vying for the rights to…
