This post outlines the major differences between procedures involved in obtaining a trade mark registration in the United States of America and India. In both countries, only a person with a bona fide intention to use a mark can apply to register it. However, while the United States Patent and Trade Mark Office (“USPTO”) asks...
Copyright is a legal right that protects the interests of creators of original works. One such category of works is “artistic works”. The term “artistic works” brings to mind the paintings and murals of the likes of Van Gogh and Michelangelo. However, to qualify as an “artistic work”, a work need not possess a high...
It is not uncommon to see Defendants in trademark infringement law suits challenge the validity of the trademark registration(s) relied upon by Plaintiffs. For a trademark infringement claim to lie, the Plaintiff must have a trademark registration. Challenging the very validity of such a registration, in effect, threatens the claim of trademark infringement in the...
On September 6, 2016, the Delhi High Court granted Seven Towns Limited., the owner of the world-famous RUBIK’s Cube, an interim injunction against a third-party that was manufacturing and selling puzzles under the name of RANCHO’S Cube. The Order can be accessed here. The 50-page decision, rendered by J. Manmohan Singh, succinctly sums up the...
A recent judgment of the Delhi High Court involving a photocopying shop operating in the prestigious Delhi University’s campus is expected to have far reaching consequences in the field of copyright law in India. The judgment is the result of a 2012 suit that was filed by various publishers, including Oxford University Press, Cambridge University...
On July 28, 2016 the Trade Marks Registry (“TMR”) has announced that it will no longer issue original Certificates of Registration for applications published on and after November 23, 2015. Rather the TMR will, starting August 1, 2016, issue Certificates of Registration for such applications via email. The notification states that the TMR will send...
Does registration of the individual components of your composite mark, alone, confer effective protection to your composite mark taken as a whole? Likewise, is the mere registration of your composite mark, without separate registrations for its constituent elements sufficient enough to enforce your rights in the constituent elements? Read on to find out the answers...
Filing a trade mark application in India should be simple, right? Wrong. Consulting with a specialist is a good idea because there are many nuances to an application in India and ignorance regarding these nuances could cost you heavy. 1. Which is the appropriate application? Currently it is possible to file twelve (12) different types...
Despite gradual improvements over the years, the time frame from filing to decision in civil suits in India tends to be very long, only to get further elongated if the other side deploys delaying tactics, and significantly so if a plaintiff does not take appropriate counter-measures. Though recent amendments to procedural law promise to address...
Under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 (hereinafter “the Act”), a trade mark includes a trade name. The Act states that a registered trade mark may be infringed owing to unauthorized use of the trade mark as a trade name or part of a trade name if the party accused of such unauthorized use is dealing...
© 2026 Created with Royal Elementor Addons
