202001.06
13

Roundup of top 10 IP news and developments of 2019

There is never a dull moment in Indian IP scenario. The vibrant market is growing with courts taking up contentious issues in digital world, brand protection and Patent enforcement to provide stable IP environment. The law makers have been busy plugging gaps in IP policy and regulatory issues to encourage innovation. Our post briefly summarizes…

201912.23
13

Understanding the functioning of the Indian Trade Marks Registry

The increased adoption of technology has resulted in better efficiency and accuracy of records at the Indian Trade Marks Registry. It takes under 12 months to register a trademark; it used to take around two to three years. This article analyses the improvements that have been made by the Trade Marks Registry and remaining challenges…

201912.20
13

Dynamic Injunction for “Hydra Headed” Rogue websites

Dynamic injunction has been the newest device to curb the menace of resurfacing pirated websites. In a recent case, UTV & Ors. vs. 1337x.to & Ors., the Delhi High Court issued India’s first ever dynamic injunction, to put a leash or control the websites resurfacing with a different name, by extending the existing the injunction…

201912.11
13

Draft Amendment Rules for regulation of medical devices in India

India is one of the largest market in the Asia for medical devices. A report compiled by India Brand Equity Foundation in May 2019, a trust established by the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, estimated the Healthcare market in India to reach US$ 372 billion by 2022, while medical…

201911.27
13

Polo player device for fragrances not publici juris

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…

201911.24
13

Geo-blocking or global take-down

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…

201911.14
13

Delhi High Court intervenes to streamline functioning of Trademarks Registry

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…

201911.12
13

Indian IP Office Annual Report 2018 – A further step towards the progress

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…

201911.05
13

The draft patent rules comes into effect

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…

201910.22
13

Strict test for comparing Nutraceuticals marks

Sun Pharma Laboratories Ltd (Sun) has filed this suit before the Delhi High Court to restrain the Defendant, Ajanta Pharma Ltd (Ajanta) from using the mark GLOTAB. Sun and Ajanta are registered proprietors of the GLOEYE and GLOTAB marks respectively both of which are used for treating eye ailments. Interestingly both parties’ products are registered…