INSIGHTS

Introduction : The Supreme Court of India, in a recent public advisory notice, cautioned people against one fraudulent website that was allegedly impersonating its official online portal and being used for targeted phishing. Lately, these kinds of scams have become a lot more common. In today’s age of the Internet, almost every business wants to increase its online presence in order to expand its sales and increase their goodwill. These scams, where the scammers create a fake

Introduction : A domain name begins as a technical address, however, with the growth of online commerce, its legal and commercial function has expanded. A domain name may now identify the enterprise operating a website, distinguish its goods or services and communicate the goodwill associated with that business. This change explains why Indian courts have treated domain names as capable of receiving trademark protection. The relevant question is not whether a domain name was

Introduction : A domain name is not merely an internet address. In online commerce, it can identify the business operating a website, distinguish its goods or services and carry the goodwill of an established brand. This commercial significance makes domain names vulnerable to deliberate misuse. Cybersquatting occurs when a person registers a domain name corresponding to a famous or distinctive brand, usually to demand money from the legitimate owner, divert traffic or exploi

Introduction : Search engines allow advertisers to bid on words that trigger the display of sponsored results. This creates a commercially important question: may a company purchase its competitor’s trademark as a keyword so that its advertisement appears when users search for the competitor? For example, a restaurant may bid on “McDonald’s” so that its advertisement appears when a user searches for McDonald’s restaurants. The advertiser may never display the word in the visi

Introduction : Trademark opposition and rectification proceedings depend heavily on documentary evidence. Parties must establish prior use, reputation, ownership, distinctiveness, bad faith and other facts that cannot ordinarily be proved through pleadings alone. Rule 45 of the Trade Marks Rules 2017 prescribes a two-month period for filing evidence in support of opposition or rectification proceedings. The legal controversy has been whether this period is mandatory, so that

Introduction : The dispute concerns the competing use of the marks “MARQ” and “MARC” in relation to electrical and electronic goods. The litigation progressed from the Trial Court to the Delhi High Court and ultimately reached the Supreme Court. The principal proceedings before the Delhi High Court arose from the order dated 27 October 2018 passed by the Additional District Judge, Patiala House Courts, New Delhi. The appeal, FAO-IPD 46/2021, was decided by Justice Tejas Karia

Introduction : If you are able to recognize a pack of Cadbury from the far end of a supermarket aisle, then you would understand my point. For a long time now, this purple color has served as the brand's identifier even before the concept of jingles or endorsement by celebrities emerged. Simply put, colors have always been more than just aesthetically appealing features; they actually speak a language on their own. Unfortunately, the rules regarding registration of color trad

Introduction : Refurbished goods lie between the ordinary resale of genuine goods and counterfeiting. An authentic item might go back into commerce after laboratory testing, reconditioning, software updating, remanufacture, rebranding, and a new warranty. Trademark law safeguards source-identifying signs, but generally does not give owners indefinite monopoly over all subsequent sales. This arose in the context of the end of life hard drives manufactured by Western Digital an

Introduction : The digital economy is rapidly transforming from a marketplace confined to websites and e-commerce platforms into immersive virtual environments where users can purchase, sell, display and interact with digital assets. A shopper today can buy a pair of sneakers, put them on an avatar and walk that avatar through a virtual store that looks remarkably like the flagship outlet on the high street. The metaverse can be defined as interconnected virtual spaces that h

Introduction : “A gesture lasts a second. A brand can last forever. For the most forward - thinking companies in the world, these two facts are no longer in conflict - they are a strategy” Imagine hearing that gentle chime when you unlock an iPhone, or seeing a superhero's fictitious cape swoosh past, or a waiter performing an elegant flourish before serving your dinner. Each of these experiences has been created with precision and engineering, is registered as a trademark, p

Introduction : If you are in this modern world with startups, a brand is the most valuable asset of a startup. Memorable names, logos, tag lines and digital identities have become commonplace in the startup world for establishing consumer recognition and market presence. However, a lot of startups invest in marketing and product launch without giving trademark clearance or legal due diligence. This negligence often becomes the cause of trademark conflicts, the re-branding exp

Introduction : The Trademark Act, 1999, defines the purpose of a trademark in section 2(1)(zb): to establish distinctiveness in a competitive market and to provide a safeguard for the masses against potential deception. The Courts have, over the years, ensured that public interest in trademark rights is prioritised. This article discusses the limitations of trademark protection. The Semaglutide Battle: Novo Nordisk vs Dr Reddy’s Laboratories The Delhi High Court has recently

Introduction : The way people purchase and sell high-end goods has been revolutionized by the global luxury resale market. High-end watches, clothing, accessories, and handbags are no longer limited to upscale boutiques; instead, they are increasingly traded on online resale platforms that guarantee sustainability, affordability, and authenticity. These platforms have made luxury goods more accessible, but they have also created complicated trademark problems, especially when

Introduction : Consider using social media and listening to someone who has the voice, the cadence, the style of Taylor Swift and endorsing a product that she never used or a song that she never wrote. Millions listen, share and believe it. Days later, one finds that the whole audio was created by AI, without any recording, no studio, no contract signed. So, the question is if no original Taylor Swift recording was copied, then what is being infringed? In January 2024, sexual

Introduction : Traditionally, trademarks have included words, logos, symbols, labels, and other visible signs that identify the source of goods and services. However, modern branding increasingly focuses on sensory experiences instead of just visual cues. Today, businesses aim to establish brand recognition through sounds, shapes, colors, scents, movements, textures, and even holograms. This shift has led to the development of non-traditional trademarks. Non-traditional tra

Introduction : A name is arguably the most intimate possession of an individual, yet the law increasingly views it as a mere commodity - a brand, a licensable domain, a source of tortious dispute. Indian courts have grappled with the question of when a celebrity name ceases to be a personal appellation and becomes a commercial asset subject to trademark-style protection. The implications of this distinction touch all manner of speech and commerce, from memes to merchandise an

Introduction : In today’s globalised and competitive market, trademarks are not just mere symbols or words of trade but have emerged as powerful business assets that carry with themselves brand values, market reputation and an extraordinary commercial value. However, due to factors like international trade, a greater evolution in the categories of goods and services, an adequate and a consistent trademark classification system is required to potentially simplify different cla

Introduction : There is a peculiar relationship between trademark law and domain names. Trademark laws were built for a physical world of labels, packaging and shop frontages. On the other hand, a domain name is a human readable numeric IP address within ICANN’s domain name system. However, when a consumer types a bank’s name, for instance, in a browser address bar, they are placing exactly the kind of source identifying trust in that string of characters that trademark law h

Introduction : The current food industry is not defined by culinary expertise alone, but rather by the power of brand. It might be hard for a customer to recollect all ingredients used in making a particular burger or the spices added to the signature curry, but they will remember where they bought it from. This transition from product recognition to source recognition makes trademarks not just a formal procedure in the process of doing business, but one of the most valuable

Introduction : For many years, the Indian trademark register had been characterised by an apparent contradiction. On the one hand, there were those who adopted and used marks in the ordinary course of trade. On the other hand, there were registrations on a “proposed to be used” basis which remained uncommercialised but continued to stand in the way of subsequent registrations. The situation is made worse where such registrations remain alive as mere defensive acquisitions or