The business opportunities emerging from health scare caused by coronavirus pandemic, has resulted in many small and big pharmaceutical companies worldwide filing for trademarks containing the word CORONA. India is not far behind. A search in class 5 shows 25 pending applications for the marks containing the expression CORONA. All of the marks have been…

Monsanto and its Indian subsidiary, Mahyco Monsanto Biotec (India) Pvt Ltd (MBML), are embroiled in several disputes with its licensees and other seed manufacturers over Bt Cotton Technology (Bollgard-I and Bollgard-II). The technology was patented and sub-licensed by MBML in two parts 1) a non-refundable fee to be paid upfront 2) a recurring fee to…

This case has some interesting aspects. First, the simple one, does a registration grant exclusive right to use and restrain the third party from its use. Can the other side in defense argue that the mark in question is descriptive to defeat the claim? The Plaintiff, Bharat Biotech International Limited (Bharat) filed the suit before…

Facts in brief The Plaintiff claims they are running four schools under the name ‘Brilliant Public School’ in the state of Chhattisgarh. By use since 2000, they have acquired fame and reputation over the mark. The mark ‘Brilliant Public School’ is registered in class 41 since 2015. The Plaintiff has objected to the Defendant’s adoption…

The Indian Patent Office has undergone tremendous change in the last five years with digitisation of record and streamlining its procedures. As an example, a new patent application can be filed electronically and all steps during the prosecution can be taken through the patent office portal. Further, India has agreed a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)…

The Direct Selling Entities (“DSEs”) Amway, Oriflame and Modicare that have a specific business model are embroiled in dispute with leading e-tailers, Amzon, Snapdeal, Cloudtail alleging the sale of their products on e-commerce platforms are unauthorized and without their consent. The Single Judge found in favour of DSEs and passed a common order in interlocutory…

COVID-19 has created an unprecedented crisis resulting in the Indian government clamping down the movement of people, goods, and services. This has impacted every facet of business and has brought consumers attention to its health and well being. With social distancing becoming ‘new normal,’ the impact of coronavirus on brick-and-mortar stores during the lockdown phase…

The new Telemedicine Practice Guidelines enabling Registered Medical Practitioners (RMPs) to provide healthcare remotely as per Telemedicine guideline were released by NITI Aayog on 25 March 2020. The guideline aims to address challenges faced in providing health care and access to doctors on account of large geographical distances and limited resources in India. As per…

The parties in the suit are at odds over brand names of spice mixture popularly known as ‘masala’ sold under the name ‘White Chinese Pepper Masala’ and ‘Black Chinese Pepper Masala’. Sky Enterprise (Sky), Plaintiff filed a suit before the Bombay High Court restraining Abaad Masala (AM), Defendant  from using the marks ‘White Chinese Pepper…

Does use of a trademark post retirement from the partnership business would result in violation of rights? What would constitute acquiescence? These are the two main issues of conflict between the parties in catering business. The Plaintiff, Rajesh Kumar Agarwal & others (Rajesh) filed suit before the Calcutta High Court alleging trademark infringement, passing off…

This post discusses on-going battle over ‘MATRIMONY’ marks. The word Matrimony is being offered by Google and used by various third parties along with various prefixes as key words to attract internet traffic as part of Google ‘Adwords’ program (now known as Google Ads). Matrimony.com has objection to such use by parties. The primary issues…

Should a prior used mark though used intermittently be given higher threshold and protection than registered mark? The two companies in mattress trade are loggerheads over use of the mark NO TURN. The Plaintiff, Peps Industries Private Limited (Peps) filed the suit alleging trademark infringement and passing off to restrain the Defendant, Kurlon Limited (Kurlon)…