201802.22
1

Territorial jurisdiction in the new interconnected world

The interesting issue in this case was whether the Plaintiff can invoke territorial jurisdiction of Delhi High court considering the Defendants were based in United Arab Emirates offering for sale their goods and services through App Store, Google Play Store and e-commerce portals such as www.amazon.in. The case concerns use of the mark ifit/IFIT on fitness…

201802.22
1

Prior use becomes “Turning Point” and prevails over registration

The parties engaged in imparting educational and training services vie for rights in the mark “TP Turning Point”. The Plaintiff, Turning Point Institute Private Limited (TPIPL) filed the action before the Delhi High Court alleging passing off, damages, etc, against the Defendants, Turning Point (TP) for using an identical mark/name in relation to identical services,…

201802.22
1

Bollywood Filmmakers clash over title that means My Best Friend’s Wedding

Bombay High Court recently ruled in a dispute concerning rights over the title of the Plaintiff’s film Veere Di Wedding which in English is stated to mean “My best friend’s wedding” which was alleged to be deceptively similar to the Defendant’s film title Veere Ki Wedding. The competing titles do convey the same meaning and…

201802.22
1

Columbia Sportswear held guilty for suppression of facts

The Delhi High Court recently set aside the interim injunction granted in favour of Columbia Sportswear Company (Columbia Sportswear) and allowed Galaxy Footwear Pvt. Ltd. (Galaxy) to use COLUMBIA mark for footwear. The court in its ruling appears to have taken a narrow view of global reputation of COLUMBIA brand and spill over of reputation…

201802.21
2

Lively Debate on Bolar Provisions at the Delhi High Court

Bolar Provision provided under Section 107 A of the Indian Patent Act was subject of next round of litigation between Natco and Bayer over Sorafenib (marketed as Nexavar). Natco already holds compulsory license for manufacturing generic version of Sorafenib. Please see our earlier post here and here on compulsory license decision. As is widely acknowledged, the provisions under section…

201802.21
1

Taj Mahal Palace Hotel Trademarked

The Indian Trade Marks Registry recently granted trademark registration for image of the iconic 114-years-old building of ‘Taj Mahal Palace’ hotel in Mumbai, thereby making it the first in the country to secure such trademark registration as depicted below: The story that was widely covered in main stream media with suggestions being made that henceforth…

201802.21
1

Auroville knocks Chennai High Court to protect its name

Auroville Foundation (Auroville) established in 1991 has brought a suit for passing off against Ramaniyam Real Estates Private Limited (Ramaniyam) to stop them from using the name “AUROVALLIE” in relation to real estate project or services in any manner. Auroville in the suit contends: Auroville Foundation is an administrative body of international cultural township, Auroville…

201802.21
1

Bombay High Court frowns upon copycat container

The container design was subject of design infringement and passing off dispute between two Bombay based manufacturer of plastic containers. The question before the Bombay High Court was whether the Defendant’s (Om Plast) product infringes the 1st Plaintiff (Selvel Industries) registered design. The designs of the plaintiff and defendant’s product can be seen below. Selvel has…

201802.21
1

Carlsberg bottle design not so novel

The Delhi High Court has recently ruled in a case brought by Carlsberg Breweries A/S against Som Distilleries and Breweries alleging design and trademark infringement, and passing off. Carlsberg’s claim was based on: • the unique and distinctive bottle and trade dress/get-up of its Tuborg beer bottle registered under the Designs Act 2000; • an…