In my career as an IP professional so far, the myth that I have heard most from unwary clients is that an idea is protectable by way of copyright. However, the truth is that an idea is never the subject of a copyright, it is the expression of the idea that is. For instance, if...
The Delhi High Court rendered its preliminary opinion on 31st October, 2014 on a rather unique trademark and copyright dispute. The dispute surrounds the use of animated firefighters in a television advertisement for an antacid to extinguish a ‘fire’ in the actor’s stomach (the fire being symbolic of heartburn caused by acid reflux which antacids...
The office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDT) has introduced the e-filing of design applications. This is part of the recent activity and measures which have been taken by the office to decrease the usage of paper and to make filing an easier and more efficient. Agents and attorneys can...
As a lawyer trained primarily in the United States, the approach that Indian courts have taken on the issue of trans-border reputation has been a fascinating revelation for me. This approach is quite diametrically opposite to the approach taken by US courts. US courts have strictly enforced the territorial nature of trade marks. A prime...
The introduction of the new law governing companies in India, namely, The Companies Act, 2013, has brought about the issue of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to the forefront. CSR is basically a management concept by which companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations. As per the law, every company, private limited or...
The new government has announced the “Make in India” initiative (http://www.makeinindia.com/). The objective of this initiative is to bring investment to India by encouraging investors to manufacture in India. How the initiative plays out, only time will tell. From the standpoint of foreign companies, the question of intellectual property protection in the country will undoubtedly...
A hashtag is a word or an unspaced phrase prefixed with the hash character (or number sign), #, to form a label. A hashtag allows grouping of similarly tagged messages, and also allows an electronic search to return all messages that contain it. Because of its widespread use, the word, hashtag, was added to the...
Burger King comes to India. The US-based fast food chain has finally arrived in India and has aggressive expansion plans! The chain’s advent was marked by a judgment of the Delhi High Court in which the court ordered a status quo on all legal proceedings against Burger King. The fast food giant is in the...
On 15 October 2014, a division bench of the Delhi High Court held, in World Wrestling Entertainment v. M/S Reshma Collection & Ors, FAO(OS) 506/2013, that in cases where a plaintiff sells goods via its web site, a buyer’s place of residence can determine jurisdiction. By way of background, in October 2013, a single judge...
Apple faces yet another trademark dispute over its IPHONE mark. By way of background, in 2013, an Indian company, iVoice Enterprises, filed a cancellation action against Apple’s 2002 registration for the mark IPHONE covering computer hardware and software in Class 9 on the ground of similarity with its IFON mark. The cancellation action was filed...
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