202211.17
17

Collaborating with Influencers for Brand Promotion

Businesses have worked with celebrities since the early days of advertising. Many advertising campaigns and brands have been inescapably linked with celebrities such as Michael Jackson for Pepsi or Michael Jordan for Nike. In today’s digital world, we have seen the rise of a new type of brand ambassador known as ‘Influencer’. These are everyday…

202211.14
16

Delhi High Court holds ‘Century’ is not descriptive of Kitchenware  

The Division Bench (Two Judge Bench) of the Delhi High Court recently held that Common dictionary words may also acquire secondary meaning and serve as a source identifier. The Division Bench made the ruling in an Appeal filed against the order of the Single Judge where parties were at loggerheads over the use of the word…

202210.10
16

Delhi High Court Refuses Injunction over use of the mark VASUNDHRA and holds it is a common name.

A jeweller and a readymade garment manufacturer are at loggerheads over the name VASUNDHRA. The Plaintiff, Vasundhara Jewelers Pvt Ltd (hereinafter VJPL) has brought trademark infringement and passing off action against Kirat Vinodbhai Jadhvani and others (hereinafter Defendants) for using the mark Vasundhra for readymade garments. The representation of both parties’ marks is depicted below…

202210.04
15

Delhi High Court recognizes the fame of ‘THE BRITISH SCHOOL’

The Court ruled that “Education is an area where chances of confusion should be completely avoided as it can result in having a damaging effect on the careers of children”. The court recognized that ‘THE BRITISH SCHOOL’ name is exclusive proprietary to the British School Society. ‘THE BRITISH SCHOOL’ is not a generic and common…

202209.19
14

Panasonic restrained from copying registered design of Havells’ Ceiling Fan

Havells India Limited (Havells) has approached the Delhi High Court alleging registered design infringement and passing off of their ceiling fan design and trade dress by Panasonic Life Solution India Pvt Ltd (Panasonic). Havells seeks to restrain Panasonic from using the designs and trade dress/get up for their Venice Prime ceiling fans which allegedly are…

202209.15
14

‘Safe harbour’ to Flipkart both for Civil and Criminal liability

Flipkart Internet Private Limited (Flipkart), the well-known e-commerce entity has filed this writ petition before the Delhi High Court to quash the First Information Report (FIR) registered against it under Sections 63 of the Copyright Act, 1957 and Sections 103/104 of the Trademarks Act, 1999, and all proceedings thereto. The criminal proceedings were initiated on…

202209.02
14

Delhi High Court frowns upon use of ‘Hillxxx’ for Energy Drinks

The crux of the dispute between the parties is the brand name and packaging of the energy drink manufactured and marketed by Hell Energy Magyarorszag Kft (hereinafter Hell Energy) under the brand name HELL with distinctive packaging, depicted below. The Defendant, Shri Brahm Shakti Prince Beverages Pvt. (hereinafter Prince Beverages) has allegedly copied the brand name…

202208.10
14

The Stringent Deadlines of the Patent System

The Indian patent system works on several deadlines throughout the patent prosecution cycle. While some of the deadlines are extendible, there is no flexibility in others, and as a result, missing them can result in the abandonment of the patent application. Thus, compliance with the statutory deadlines is critical to safeguard exclusive rights over the…