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…

In its recent judgment ‘Excitel Pvt. Ltd. vs. The Registrar of Trade Marks’, the Delhi High Court has addressed the admissibility of internet extracts as evidence in trademark proceedings before the Trademarks Office. The Court observed that rejecting internet or website extracts as evidence of use of a mark in trademark proceedings on the ground…

The post covers an Appeal from the order of the District Judge-2, Nagpur, to the Bombay High Court over rights in the mark ‘SHRIPHAL’. The Plaintiff, Mysore Deep Perfumery Household (Mysore Perfumery) filed the action against Sunilkumar Amrutlal Jain (Sunilkumar), alleging passing off and to restrain the latter from using the mark SHRIPHAL in relation…

Alkem Laboratories Ltd (Alkem) has approached the Delhi High Court seeking permission to sell the existing stock of the product ‘ALDIGESIC PAIN RELIEF’ pending the final case decision. Laborate Pharmaceuticals India Ltd (Laborate) alleged that Alkem’s product packaging of ‘ALDIGESIC’ product was similar to the product sold by them under the mark ‘LABDIC RELIEF’. The…

This post covers a recent judgement of the Delhi High Court titled ‘KEI Industries Limited vs. Raman Kwatra & Anr.’ that focuses upon the issue- whether honest and concurrent use can be asserted as a defence against trademark infringement. The Plaintiff (KEI Industries) filed the suit against the Defendants alleging trademark infringement against use of…

To attract investment from companies and IP holders to manufacture and distribute their products in India and to assure brand owners that their rights are safeguarded, the Indian government has taken several steps to streamline enforcement procedures. The setting up of commercial courts to deal with IP disputes and, recently, establishing the IP Division at…

Google AdWords Program (now known as Google Ads) is a cause for consternation among brand owners. The keywords offered by Google as part of the Google Ads program, on which advertisers can bid, includes trademarks. As a result, the trademark owners and their competitors can bid for the keywords linked to the Google search algorithm…

An engaging tussle between two well-known entities operating in the electrical consumer goods industry over the word ‘Pebble’ being used as a sub-brand has reached the Delhi High Court. V-Guard Industries Ltd (V-Guard) filed the suit alleging trademark infringement, passing off, etc., against Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Limited (Crompton), seeking an injunction from using the…

In DHL International GmbH v DLH Express Services Private Ltd (22 April 2022), the IP Division of the Delhi High Court has not only restrained the use of a deceptively similar mark and logo, but also declared DHL to be a well-known mark. The conflicting marks are depicted below: Background DHL asserted rights in the trademark and…

Design of an AC starter switch depicted below is bone of contention between the parties.   Gelco Electronics Pvt. Ltd (Gelco) filed the suit at the Gujrat High Court against the Defendant, Ellico Controls Pvt. Ltd, (Ellico) alleging registered design infringement and passing off. The injunction application filed by Gelco is being considered by the court….

Conflict has arisen between Mankind Pharma Limited (Mankind) and Tata Medical and Diagnostics Limited (TMDL) over the similarity of marks OMIPURE and OMISURE. The OMI element in OMIPURE is derived from Omeprazole and from Omicron variant of Covid-19 for OMISURE. Mankind has filed the suit against TMDL based on its registration of the mark OMIPURE….

Background An interesting case has come up at the Delhi High Court on playing music/sound recording at the ‘marriage ceremonies’ which fall under the fair use exception under the Copyright Act. The case has been brought by Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) that claims to be a performance rights organization that licenses its members’ sound recording…