The court opined that this manner of dealing with a patent application was extremely arbitrary and whimsical and when the judgment was reserved on 29 September 2014, there was an obligation on the Hearing Officer to pass orders within a reasonable period. The time of four years that had been consumed was completely contrary to…

Two entities using an identical mark/name ‘Addison’ are at logger heads. The Plaintiff, Addison & Company Limited filed the suit against the Defendant, Addison Cable Pvt. Ltd, before the Madras High Court, alleging trademark infringement, passing off, etc. This note discusses the contentions raised by the parties and the judgement passed by the High Court….

There is no copyright in ideas and copyright can only be claimed in expression of the ideas as also that there must be a substantial similarity between the two rival works for the Plaintiff to claim copyright infringement. The Delhi High Court recently reiterated the idea-expression dichotomy and upheld that an author cannot be granted…

The Plaintiff, Marico Limited (Marico) filed the suit to restrain the Defendant, K.L.F. Nirmal Industries Pvt. Ltd (Nirmal) from using the trade dress for their KLF Nirmal Coconut Oil. Marico alleged that Nirmal’s packaging is similar to the blue packaging and trade dress of the Parachute Coconut oil. This note discusses the contentions raised by…

Two entities engaged in restaurant services vie for their rights before the Madras High Court. The Plaintiff, Paulsons Beauty and Fashion Private Limited, filed the suit against the Defendant, Sulthana Restaurant, alleging trademark infringement, passing off etc,. The Plaintiff seeks to restrain the Defendant from using the name Sulthana in relation to their business. This…

This post discusses an appeal before the Division Bench (DB, Two Judge bench) of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh against the order of the Commercial Court, Indore. The Plaintiff, Pernod Ricard India Private Limited, (Pernod Ricard) had filed the suit against the Defendant, Karanveer Singh Chhabra Trading as J.K. Enterprises (Karanveer) alleging infringement of…

Patent filings around the world jumped from 3.40 million in 2021 to 3.46 million in 2022, according to the latest World Intellectual Property Indicators Report. This development highlights three consecutive years of growth as far as global patent applications are concerned. The report further shows China and India had a lot to do with it,…

In the dynamic business landscape, many businesses are pushing the digital medium to advertise their goods/services and connect with consumers. As companies jostle to increase their market share and brand recall, the tall claims are made. Resultantly, the boundaries between puffery and misleading advertisements is blurring. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) annual report…

If a physician desires his patient to be treated with AZIWOK, the patient must not end up taking AZIWAKE. Facts and Background The Plaintiff, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL), filed the suit against Defendant (Smart Laboratories) to protect its registered mark ‘AZIWOK’ and sought an injunction against Smart Laboratories of a deceptively similar mark (phonetically, visually,…

Considering that the parties deal in an identical sphere of business, it is incomprehensible that the Plaintiff was not aware of the Defendant’s hospital. The Plaintiff’s contention that they had become aware about the existence of the Defendant’s hospital only in the year 2022 prior to filing of the suit appears to be farfetched. Apollo…