copyright registration

INFRINGEMENT-BY-REGISTERED-PROPRIETOR-OF-A-TRADEMARK

Relevant Sections of the Trade Marks Act

In the infamous case of The Coca Cola Company V Bisleri International Private Limited and Ors. – an issue arose as to whether the plaintiff had the right to register the trademark ‘MAAZA’ outside India. The defendants had sold their trademark rights, formulation rights, know-how, and goodwill of some of their soft drink products, including ‘MAAZA’, to the plaintiff through an agreement. In 2008, the defendants learned that the plaintiff had filed for the registration of the trademark ‘MAAZA’ in Turkey. Subsequently, they
patent-registration-in-delhi

SUN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED v. CIPLA LIMITED

In this case, Plaintiff filed a suit for a permanent injunction before the Madras High Court against Defendant for infringement of its copyright and trademark. The Court herein granted an interim injunction in favor of Plaintiff.  Following that, the Applicant/Defendant filed three petitions, each with a request to rescind the temporary relief granted on the basis of urgency. The appeal was predicated on the fact that the medications were in large quantities, had a one-year expiration date, and were in high
THE COPYRIGHT LAWS IN INDIA

CELEBRITY CULTURE, PAPARAZZI, AND THE COPYRIGHT LAWS IN INDIA

One may assume that a celebrity being photographed would at least have a right to make ‘fair use of the pictures they are the object of. However, in the world of internet and social media outreach, what may seem “fair” to some may not be to others—or at least what’s fair may be disputed.  In recent times, several megastars like Katy Perry, LeBron James, Jennifer Lopez, Gigi Hadid, Victoria Beckham, Ariana Grande, and Justin Bieber have come across to the legal
Facebook-to-meta

FACEBOOK TO META

Facebook, which now seeks to be known as Meta, recently encountered an issue as it attempts to register the trademark. It has come to light that ‘Meta’ is already applied for as a trademark by an Arizona-based start-up; the founder of which Zach Shutt says that Meta PC first began using the brand for its range of products in November 2020 and has now applied for its registration before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The said company is already
NFTs and Intellectual Property

NFTs and Intellectual Property

Non-fungible assets (NFTs) are basically digital copies of highly valued original work that exists on a blockchain. For encoding, software similar to many cryptos is used, and all the buying and selling happens online. The authenticity of all such assets is verifiable online since most of the buying happens through cryptocurrency or in dollars, all of which are recorded as a part of transactional records. While anyone can view the NFTs, the buyer has the status of being the official owner

Copyright and Personality Rights

In May 2020, the Amitabh Bachchan starrer film – ‘Jhund’, met with controversy when Nandi Chinni Kumar, a Hyderabadi filmmaker alleged copyright infringement of the film. ‘Jhund’ is based on the life of Akhilesh Paul. It is claimed that Paul sold the ‘exclusive rights to his story of becoming a slum-footballer Kumar, who was going to make a biopic, titled ‘Slum Soccer’, based on Paul’s life.  The pertaining question here is, what is the legal framework surrounding such ‘exclusive rights and
Design-registration-lawyers-in-Delhi

THE CONFLICT WITH THE RIGHT TO PUBLICITY

The right of publicity is the right of a person to control the commercial use of their identity, or in other words, the right to prevent others from using their image, name, or other aspects of their identity for commercial purposes without their consent. Although the right of publicity is not codified in India, it has been recognized and also enforced by Indian courts in a number of cases. While copyright law provides the photographer ownership of the photograph (unless shot under a contract), the right of publicity gives
TRADEMARKS AND THE INDIAN JUDICIARY

TRADEMARKS AND THE INDIAN JUDICIARY

Trade Marks have long been a long-fought battle through and through the Indian justice system. In the year 2021, we have some significant cases that came to the forefront that have been discussed below. – Decided by Delhi High Court on 1st September 2021 The plaintiff herein had been using the trademark “Rajdhani” for food products, condiments, confectionery, etc., having originally conceived and adopted it when they started their business. In due course of their business, they came across the defendants
Trademark-infringement-IN-india

INFRINGEMENT BY REGISTERED PROPRIETOR OF A TRADEMARK

In the case of Consolidated Foods Corporation v. Brandon and Co., Private Ltd. – AIR 1965 Bom 35, it was observed that “Priority in adoption and use of a trademark is superior to priority in registration”. N.R. Dongre and Ors. Vs. Whirlpool Corporation and Anr. – 1996V I A D(SC)710 In the instant case, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India confirmed with the observation of the Division Bench which states that “From the aforesaid facts including the extensive advertisements of the goods
gi registration lawyers in delhi

Geographical Indications and The Curious Case of ‘Basmati’

“A Geographical Indication (GI) is a sign identifying a good as originating in a specific geographical area and possessing a given quality, reputation or another characteristic that is essentially attributable to that geographical origin”. Accordingly, the main purpose of a GI is to establish an association between the quality, characteristics, or reputation of a good and its territory of origin. Although foodstuffs or agro products are usually where GIs tend to find most usage, it also extends to other items for