The Madras High Court has reaffirmed the expansive protection accorded to well-known trademarks, dismissing an appeal against the refusal of registration of FEDEXO in Class 1. Finding that the impugned mark substantially incorporated the well-known mark FEDEX, the Court rejected the appellant’s claims of honest adoption and prior use. It further held that the use…

The Madras High Court was called upon to adjudicate a trademark dispute between RPG Enterprises Limited and RPG Marble Private Limited in a rectification petition instituted under Section 57 of the Trademarks Act, 1999, challenging the registration of the mark Background RPG Enterprises Limited filed the rectification petition challenging the registration of the impugned mark…

The Delhi High Court, in a dispute between ASR Market Ventures Private Limited (ASR) and Fitship Private Limited (Fitship), examined whether prior adoption of a trademark, without demonstrable use as a source identifier and independently established goodwill, could sustain a passing-off claim and justify rectification of a rival registration. The dispute concerned the mark FITFEAST,…

The Delhi High Court Division Bench, in an appeal against an ex-parte ad-interim injunction granted by a learned Single Judge, vacated the injunction in a trademark dispute involving NUREWIRE and RewireX, used for nutraceutical products. The Bench found that the Plaintiff had wilfully suppressed material facts concerning its prior knowledge of the Defendants’ adoption of…

The Bombay High Court, in proceedings under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, has restrained a former franchisee from using “KIDZEE”, “KIDGEE” or any deceptively or phonetically similar name after the expiry of her franchise agreement with Zee Learn Limited. The Court held that regulatory permission to operate a school under a…

Artificial intelligence is increasingly used in advertising to edit content, create virtual influencers and synthetic voices, personalise messaging, and produce realistic product demonstrations. As AI-generated content becomes more sophisticated, consumers may find it difficult to distinguish between authentic depictions and content that has been generated or materially altered using AI. When does AI-generated content need…

In the landmark judgment Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India, the Supreme Court made clear that the state cannot intrude into personal privacy without meeting a three-part test. The intrusion must have a valid legal basis, pursue a legitimate state aim, and be proportionate to that purpose. In other words, the state can access…

The Delhi High Court, in a recent judgment of its Division Bench, considered the interplay between prior use, descriptive marks, third-party use, deceptive similarity, and limitation in a passing-off dispute concerning the marks HASLAB’S DIGESTO and DIGESTO PLUS. The appeal was preferred by Hahnemann Scientific Laboratory India Pvt. Ltd. against the order of the District…

India’s revised film-certification guidelines largely preserve the existing certification framework, but one change is likely to matter in practice: scenes involving narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances must now carry a prescribed statutory warning. For filmmakers and producers, the point is not merely editorial. Drug-related scenes may now require early compliance review during scripting, editing and…

Introduction An unchallenged order of the Trademarks Registry can have significant consequences in subsequent infringement and passing off proceedings. This was underscored by a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court in an appeal arising from an ex-parte ad-interim injunction restraining the use of DYNAFRESH against the registered trademark DYNA. The appeal was principally founded…