Trademark Stats, Interesting Trademarks, Trademark case, Nuziveedu v. Monsanto, Trademark Licensing and Merchandizing, Domain name dispute, Trade Mark Tips and more, presented by the Trademark attorneys and experts of BananaIP Counsels, India’s Premier New Age IP Firm.
Trademark quote of the week
“A great trademark is appropriate, dynamic, distinctive, memorable and unique” – Primo Angeli
Trademark Stats from the Indian Trademark office (22nd March 2017 to 29th March 2017)
Whether you would like to call it as the after effect of the new trademark rules or just a regular fluctuation in stats from the trademark office, the previous week has been a jolly good week for TM applicants. This week saw a overwhelming 453% increase in total trademark registrations. Examination of applications also saw an increase of about 53% and disposal of applications through show cause hearings increased by nearly 79%. The only reduction this week has been with respect to total publications in the journal. Although not very significant, the total publications in the trademark journal decreased by approximately 24%.
|
Particulars |
Last week | This week | Change in % |
|
Total Trademark applications examined by Trademark Office |
3193 | 4899 | Increase by approximately 53% |
|
Total applications disposed through show cause hearings |
799 | 1431 | Increase by approximately 79% |
| Total applications published in the trademark journal | 6087 | 5202 |
Decrease by approximately 24% |
| Total registrations granted | 3151 | 17435 |
Increase by approximately 453% |
| Total hearing notices issued | 799 | 1078 |
Increase by approximately 34% |
Total number of marks published in trademark journal as on 27/03/2017
|
Sr.no |
Name of office | Publication |
|
1. |
MUMBAI | 934 |
|
2. |
AHMEDABAD | 608 |
|
3. |
KOLKATA | 249 |
| 4. | DELHI |
1269 |
| 5. | CHENNAI |
1245 |
| 6. | INTERNATIONAL REGISTRATION DEVISION |
303 |
| 7. | Total Trademarks published in Journal |
4608 |
Interesting Trademarks
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Subway-Footlong
The famous sandwich chain has applied to trademark the term ‘footlong’ which it uses to describe the length of its sandwiches. Although the status of the mark is pending, reports indicate that several cease and desist letters have been sent out by the chain to entities in order to stop them from using the term – Footlong.
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Walmart-The happy Face
Imagine not being able to use the yellow smiley face in your whatsapp the next time you message someone. Walmart tried to trademark the smiley face but was fortunately denied the same as it was held that the smiley was in public domain.
Trade Mark Litigation in India
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Nuziveedu Seeds wins the Monsanto Case
In a case filed by Monsanto against Nuziveedu seeds, the Delhi High Court held the GM seed technology sub-license to be valid, and therefore, held that Nuziveedu’s use of the trade marks Bollguard and Bollguard II is not infringing. The Court reduced the trade fee as per the 2016 GM price controls of the Government, and directed Nuziveedu Seeds to abide by the 2016 Guidelines with respect to GM seeds licensing. The Court vacated the interim injunction granted to Monsanto earlier.
International Trade Mark News
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Chocolate Trade Mark Infringement Case Begins
Mars has sued CocoVAA for infringement of its registered trade mark, COCOVIA in a Virginia District Court. Mars sells cocoa based chocolates and supplements and uses the website www.cocovia.com for its cocoa supplements. It has now sued CocoVAA and is alleging in the complaint that the adoption of the mark for cocoa based products infringes its trade mark rights. CocoVaa mark is also registered at the USPTO.
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6.5 percent of IC Products are Counterfeit – OECD Report
A report released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) states that about 6.5 percent of information and communication technology products are counterfeit. The percentages are much higher for mobile phones and video game consoles at 20 and 25 percent. The loss from counterfeiting as per OECD is around 143 billion US dollars. The extensive counterfeiting gives rise to issues of safety, privacy and security as per the report.
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Social Security Annuity is Descriptive
The US Trade Mark Appellate Board denied registration for the trade mark Social Security Annuity stating that it is descriptive. The Appellate Board pointed out that the phrase describes financial planning and retirement related services, and rejected the argument of the applicant that it is suggestive.
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Donald Trump gets a casino trademark in gambling forbidden Jordan
It has recently come into the public domain that the President of United States, Donald Trump has got a casino trademark registered in Jordan before he ran for the office of President of U.S. It is interesting to know this, as gambling is illegal in Jordan. The Jordan government, however, clarified that even though the Trump organization has got the casino trademark registered, it cannot perform any gambling activities there unless they have got the company registered in Jordan and has a license to perform such activities. People have also criticized this trademark registration alleging that Trump is violating the U.S. Constitution by allowing his organization to accept payments from foreign entities.
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BrewDog lambasted over pub trademark dispute
BrewDog, the multinational brewery and pub chain, based out of Ellon, Scotland, has been highly criticized for their trademark dispute with a Birmingham based pub. The issue came up when BrewDog came to know about the establishment of the Lone Wolf, which prompted them to issue a legal warning to the Lone Wolf to change their name as they had launched a spirit bearing the same name. This forced the Birmingham based pub to change their name to the Wolf pub. BrewDog has been facing ire on social media as they later had a change of heart and are now ready to allow the Birmingham based pub to use the name in case they want to after a long legal tussle due to which the Lone Wolf pub had to incur a huge monetary loss.
Trade Mark Licensing and Merchandizing
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Metrostar to manage Krispy Kreme brand extension in UK
The renowned Krispy Kreme Doughnuts has recently appointed Metrostar for managing its licensing activities across the United Kingdom. With around 90 outlets and over 900 cabinets with retail partners only in UK, this move by Krispy Kreme is welcoming and is expected to offer the customers to experience the brand in other forms too apart from the popular doughnuts. Krispy Kreme being a highly well-managed brand in UK, Metrostar came up with a statement that they have already got a plethora of proposals to work with them considering this development.
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London based Fyodor Golan is new apparel partner for The Powerpuff Girls
The Cartoon Network recently appointed the London based fashion label Fyodor Golan as the apparel and accessories partner for the famous cartoon characters The Powerpuff Girls. It is to be noted that the fashion label recently launched its winter/autumn 2017 collection which was inspired by the popular animated series. Further, Cartoon Network has also cracked a deal with Bioworld Europe for launching The Powerpuff Girls range of ladies’ wear including tees, sweatshirts and leggings.
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University Licensing and Merchandizing
University of California has joined hands with LEARFIELD LICENSING partners to license its trade marks and brands. LEARFIELD LICENSING will manage the trade mark licensing program, and will work with partners to create products for the top US University. Indian Universities and Institutes are yet to join the licensing and merchandizing wagon, and it is time for IIMs, IITs and other leading institutes to take advantage of merchandizing for education and revenue generation.
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National Day Calendar to be represented by C3 Entertainment
National Day Calendar is a unique initiative that celebrates different days such as beer day, chocolate day, pizza day, etc. More than twenty thousand stores follow the calendar for their production and promotion programs. The National Day Calendar will now be represented by C3 Entertainment for licensing and merchandizing the brand in a range of products from apparel to toys.
Domain names
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Tussle between aviation companies over web address resolved
A five year old domain name issue between Hampshire aviation company and Cirencester aviation company was finally resolved by the web watchdog Nominet when it ruled its decision in the favor of Hampshire based company as the company has been in business for more than a decade and has consequently acquired distinctiveness. The web watchdog allowed the Hampshire aviation company to use the domain address horizonaviation.co.uk as the company had been incorporated in 2004 earlier than Cirencester aviation.
According to Nominet, both the companies have same area of business and the Cirencester based company’s attempt to register the domain name is likely to create confusion in the minds of the customers.
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Batley based businessman ceased from using “toysrus” for web address
The prominent multinational toy seller, Toys R Us was successful in its legal battle against a Batley based businessman, Mohammed Siddique Shaikh over the use of word “toysrus” in its web domain name by the latter. The internet address regulator, Nominet, ordered Mr. Shaikh to stop using the domain name immediately as it is likely to cause people to confuse it with the toy-seller giant, Toys R Us, as the web address contained the name in its entirety, even though Shaikh’s was a soft play equipment firm.
BananaIP’s Trade Mark Tip of the Week
Marks manifest themselves in several forms. Name, Logo, Domain Name, colour, Pattern, Sound, Smell and so on. It is important to think about all forms of representation that identify your product/service, and protect them appropriately. Think about everything that represent your business and take steps to protect and gain value.
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