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
A. SOUND MARKS
When India granted registration for sound trademarks, India simply borrowed the Shield Mark doctrine which was given in the case of Shield Mark BV v Joost Kist, by the ECJ. The ECJ regarded the description of sound by its written description and held that since the written description of a sound lacked clarity and precision, it cannot be considered a graphical representation. But the Court also opined that if the sound was distinctive and people were able to recognize it,
INTRODUCTION:
If a global market is taken into account, the scope of use and protection of trademarks extends beyond the basic standards for trademark infringement; that means, the usual ‘likelihood of confusion’ parameter is not apt to judge the case. When we speak of well-known marks, both the perspectives – one, from that of the owner of a well-known mark and two, from that of a new entrant into the market – this becomes even more apparent. There exists no ‘global