A recent writ petition before the Delhi High Court (Mylan Laboratories Limited Vs. Union of India & Ors., W.P.(C) 5571/2019 & C.M. Appln. 24540/2019 & 26833/2019) brought to court’s notice gridlock at Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) with no cases being heard considering the vacancies of technical member for Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights lying vacant…

The siblings, Gopal Sabu and Rajkumar Sabu (Raj) both working together, at one stage, as Directors of Sabu Trade Private Limited (STPL) are now at loggerheads to assert their rights over the mark SACHA MOTI (Pure Pearl) being used in relation to Sabudana (sago) for human consumption. The battle ground is Madras High Court where…

What constitutes functionality of a Design has been considered by the court in this case. The court in its ruling determined whether constraints of functionality are such that the design in question is the only design which could have been devised. The product in question is a travel pillow and its ergonomic design. Travel Blue…

A number of interesting issues have come up in this matter a) whether a registered proprietor can enforce and restrain another proprietor from using its registered mark? b) is a registered proprietor obligated to pursue every party that infringes its mark c) how strong is the trademark search report in support of the contention that…

Two mobiles companies are at loggerheads over use of ZEN as a brand. Teleecare Network India Pvt. Ltd. (Teleecare) had filed suit for trademark infringement and passing off seeking an injunction against Asus Technology Pvt. Ltd. (Asus) from selling, offering and advertising for sale mobile phones, mobile accessories bearing mark “ZENFONE” and/or any other mark…

A peculiar requirement under the Indian Patent Act, section146 (1) read with Rule 131 (2), requires every Patent holder to submit before 31st March, a statement on Form 27 whether a Patent has been worked or not in India. The structure of the form and details required to be submitted have been subject of intense…

Internet penetration and widespread use of handheld devices is fuelling ecommerce in India. With the rise in online purchases of goods and services, complaints about counterfeit goods are also rising. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade released a Draft National E-Commerce Policy (hereinafter referred to as the policy) on February 23, 2019…

Fantasy sports (also called esports) has caught the attention of sports fan. This is exemplified by 1.1 billion valuation of Dream11, in the latest round of funding. Dream11 – the Tencent-backed fantasy sports startup is the poster child of India’s fantasy gaming ecosystem. The mass penetration of mobile 4G, and cheap data, has popularized the…

Can a licensee turnaround and claim rights in a licensed mark when faced with termination of the agreement.  The marks in questions are “EURO”, “EUROBOND” and EURO device of a globe. The Plaintiff, Euro Panel Products Private Limited (EPPL) filed suit against the Defendants, Eurobond Industries Private Limited (Eurobond) and ors, to restrain the latter…

The scope of “Bolar provision” (under Section 107A of the Indian Patent Act) is bone of contention between two generic companies Natco and Alembic Pharmaceuticals Ltd (Alembic) pitted against Bayer. One of the major issue addressed by this decision is whether a non-patentee can export the patented drug under Section 107 A, taking refuge under…

The instant dispute between two entities in the hospitality industry over the mark INTERCITY for hotels revolves around prior adoption and use; whether use has to be considered in India or international use and adoption can be relied upon to claim superior rights. The Plaintiff, Intercity Hotel GMBH, Germany, (Intercity) has filed the suit before…

Crocs is embroiled in several disputes with local footwear manufacturers in India (the defendants) to protect its clog design. Separate actions were brought by Crocs based on registered design and passing off to protect its footwear design. The lawsuits based on registered designs were dismissed as the court found no novelty in Crocs’ design based…