INSIGHTS

Introduction Sport rivalries thrive on humor, satire and banter, but what happens when that very satire is coupled with an advertisement by a global corporation, and wherein commercial gain is involved? And at what point therefore, does humor cross into trademark disparagement. This very question came before the Delhi High Court in May 2025, when the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) sought an injunction against an advertisement by Uber India, which as alleged, played on the

Introduction Consider two firms simultaneously developing a revolutionary process for industry. The first hurries to the patent office, files a patent application in full detail, and receives the exclusive right to the process for twenty years. The other firm does nothing. It simply creates a wall of secrecy and moves forward. Twenty years down the line, the patent granted to the first firm expires, and all the information is available to its competitors, courtesy of the law.

Introduction: The Identity Economy and Its Legal Discontents In days gone by, a celebrities name, or catchphrase, or a vocal identity can be a proven source of considerable amount of brand income; therefore, in these days the legal issue of control of a public figure's identity has gained acute commercial and constitutional importance. From giving the brand of clothes or face of a film star a connection with a movie, or providing AI-generated voice of a singer, without permis

Introduction The advent of digital advertising has brought trademark law into direct conflict with online market practices, particularly keyword bidding. The use of competitors’ trademarks by businesses to promote their own goods and services, albeit as invisible keywords, has often been debated as “infringement”, thereby causing unfair advantages and consumer confusion. Courts reveal a relatively permissive stance, as per established precedents, but the enactment of the Dark

Introduction The classical function of trademark law was to identify the source of each good or service in the market. Trademarks were meant to help consumers distinguish between similar ones. As per its definition, a trademark is a “ distinctive mark capable of graphical representation, which is used in commerce and is distinguishable from other marks in the market ” [1] . However, of late, trademarks have come to symbolise status, social affiliation, and personality [2] . T

Abstract Sidhu Moosewala’s 2026 Sign to God Hologram tour is creating excitement among his fan base, but raises questions related to Intellectual Property laws. This blog dives into India’s IP laws and examines questions like the ownership of Artificially Generated performances, posthumous rights to protect Moosewala’s legacy and the implications of the use of his brand on trademark matters. It also explores rights under the Copyright Act and Posthumous Rights. Introduction I

1. Introduction: The Historic 21 November 2025 Order The Indian intellectual property rights legal framework has undergone a fundamental shift in its structure with the formal acceptance of the country's first-ever trademark for an olfactory mark on November 21, 2025. [1] The order was issued by the Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks (CGPDTM) for a rose-scented tyre designed by Japanese tyre producer Sumitomo Rubber Industries. [2] For several decades, t

Introduction In the competitive landscape of global intellectual property, there is a dangerous misconception among brand owners i.e. “well-known” status is a merit badge or an automatic reward for achieving a certain threshold of commercial popularity. The prevailing sentiment suggests that if a mark get the public consciousness via advertising spend and sheer scale, the law is duty bound to recognize its status as “well-known”. However, this point of view fundamentally misi

Introduction Indian markets are facing a meaning plethora of options in every product category and service. Trust building is a major problem faced by all businesses as trust is an unevenly forged commodity. Besides, the classical trademark serves the primary function of identifying the source; there are two supplementary devices in the Indian trademark regime in the shape of certification marks and collective marks, which carry further connotative dimensions regarding qualit

Introduction The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act), [1] is a significant development in the Indian privacy regime. The DPDP Act cautions the rights of data principals (individuals) and obligations on data fiduciaries concerning consent, purpose restriction, data minimisation, and the right to correct/erase. Conversely, the Indian IP regime regarding copyrights, patents, trade secrets, database protection, and contract licenses treats information and creat

Introduction: A Turning Point in Indian Trademark Jurisprudence The recognition of the first scents-based trademark for India in the year 2025 is a turning point for the intellectual property regime of this nation. The concept of trademarking, as it stands in India, has always been based on visual and graphical elements such as words, logos, symbols, labels, and shapes that can be easily distinguished and depicted graphically. The recognition of a scent as a trademark upsets

Introduction In recent years, trademark owners especially large corporations and online companies have increasingly shown reliance on defensive trademark registration as a means to secure their possible future commercial interests. These trademark registrations are usually done not with the intention to utilize them commercially in the near future, but to reserve the right to prevent other individuals or companies from using similar trademarks defensively, it becomes a seriou

Introduction: Branding is More than the Tangible The age of digitalisation means that branding no longer remains in the implementation of a logo, slogan, or product design. Individual identity and brand identity are merging more and more. Celebrities, sportsmen, and influencers also exploit their personae to earn money, performing and selling themselves at the same time. Can a human body part, a gesture, a posture or even a facial feature be trademarked? If you thought of the

Imagine walking through the streets of any city in India, and coming across a store named “ZARAAA”- the same branding colours, a similar...

India's Bollywood is the booming and shining face of the movie-instituted economy wherein, by producing thousands of films within one year, it marks itself as one of the world's largest industries for filming motion pictures. While more scale productions pour in day by day, the most vital function that rebusts falls into place is the intellectual property right (IPR) so as to keep exclusive rights for the filmmakers and production houses on their contents. Among all kinds of

Parody, nowadays, can be seen as an astute commentary of society, a witting satire, or even just a humorous event. From film to memes to...

In the pharmaceutical industry, brand trust is critical as patients and healthcare professionals rely on established reputations to...

Trademark Registration Online : A Complete Guide Your brand's identity is crucial in the fast-paced digital world of today. Securing your...

Among trademarks and emerging tech revolutions, the blockchain marks a new era of IP protection in India. With digitalization taking up a...

A trademark functions as an important business resource in intellectual property areas because it helps protect unique branding assets such as logos names and slogans. The act of trademark licensing enables trademark owners known as licensors to approve trademark usage by licensees thus both amplifying brand visibility and boosting monetary gains and market sharing capabilities. Trademark licensing establishes important legal requirements that specifically affect India becaus