“Indian Trade Mark Statistics for December (Fifth Week) 2017, BookMyShow Trade Mark Dispute, Reliance and Myntra Inks Partnership Deal, Jalgaon Banana GI, and more Weekly Trade Mark News” brought to you by the Trade Mark Attorneys at BananaIP (BIP) Counsels.
TRADE MARK QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“A brand is a story that is always being told” -Scott Bedbury
INDIAN TRADE MARK STATISTICS
The Indian Trade Mark Office had a slow week in comparison to the previous week. The total number of applications examined decreased by thirty one (31%). There has also been a decrease in the total number of renewal notices issued with a decrease of sixty percent (60%).
Weekly Indian Trade Mark Statistics
| Particulars | Last Week | This Week | Change in % |
| Total Trade Mark Applications Examined by Trade Mark Office | 7788 | 5394 | A decrease of 31% |
| Total Applications Disposed through Show Cause Hearings | 6524 | 3572 | A decrease of 45% |
| Total Applications Published in the Trade Mark Journal | 18133 | 0 | A decrease of 100% |
| Total Registrations Granted | 10465 | 9299 | A decrease of 11% |
| Total Hearing Notices Issued | 9348 | 7830 | A decrease of 16% |
| Total Renewals Notices Issued | 2015 | 810 | A decrease of 60% |
Trade Mark Statistics by Office
Total Number of New Applications Received from December 27th to December 31st, 2017
| Sr. No | Jurisdiction | New Applications | Examined | Published | Registered |
| 1 | AHMEDABAD | 545 | 246 | 0 | 958 |
| 2 | CHENNAI | 785 | 491 | 0 | 1481 |
| 3 | DELHI | 1510 | 874 | 0 | 2464 |
| 4 | KOLKATA | 211 | 122 | 0 | 361 |
| 5 | MUMBAI | 1000 | 533 | 0 | 2232 |
| Total | 4051 | 2286 | 0 | 7496 |
Yearly Trade Mark Statistics
Trade Mark Statistics from January 01st, 2017 to December 31st, 2017
- Total Number of Trade Mark Applications Filed – 253947
- Total Number of Trade Mark Applications Examined – 156290
- Total Number of Trade Mark Applications Published – 126525
- Total Number of Trade Mark Applications Registered – 307928
INTERESTING TRADE MARK
Reading Rainbow
Western New York Public Broadcasting Association (WNED), a public broadcasting company has applied for several trade marks including the mark ‘READING RAINBOW 2.0’, a popular children’s series. The marks have been applied in classes including but not limited to classes 09, 16, 38 and 41. Reading Rainbow is a popular children’s educational show broadcast by WNED in the USA during the 80’s and 90’s
INDIAN TRADE MARK UPDATES
Bigtree Entertainment Pvt Ltd (Plaintiff) v. Brain Seed Sportainment Pvt Ltd & Anr (Defendant)
Subject- Trade Mark infringement, Passing Off
Brief Facts: The Plaintiff, established in 1999 is engaged in the business of ticketing industry and has established its presence in 26 states in India. The Plaintiff has been the official ticketing partner inter alia for major sports events and cinema houses through its website www.bookmyshow.com and mobile app BOOKMYSHOW. The Plaintiffs are also the registered proprietors of various trade marks under classes 41 and 42 for BOOKMYSHOW word and logo marks. It was brought to Plaintiff’s attention that the Defendant was operating a website using the domain name www.bookmysports.com, an online platform for booking sports facilities. The Plaintiffs filed for a trade mark infringement suit seeking a permanent injunction against the Defendant claiming that the latter’s domain name is descriptively similar to that of the Plaintiff’s registered marks.
Judgement: The Delhi High Court denied the grant of an injunction against the Plaintiff in view of the following observation:
- The word ‘BOOKMY’ is not a coined or invented word and the prefix is a descriptive one;
- The word ‘BOOKMY’ depicts exact description of a business that is involved in the booking of a particular thing/activity;
- The Plaintiff was unable to show any evidence that the prefix ‘BOOKMY’ has acquired a distinctive meaning.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE MARK UPDATES
Harley Davidson Files New Trade Mark Application
Harley Davidson, the American motor cycle manufacturer has filed new trade mark applications with the EUIPO. The motor bike giant has filed for the mark ’48X’ and ‘PAN AMERICA’ bearing trade mark numbers 017617002 and 017617028 respectively. The marks have been filed under class 12 for motorcycles and structural parts.
Apple Loses Legal Battle to Steve Jobs
Apple Inc, the technology giant has lost the trade mark battle for the mark ‘Steve Jobs’. Apple had challenged the clothing company called Steve Jobs claiming that the latter’s logo infringes Apple’s logo. However, EU’s Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market ruled that the letter J is not edible and hence the bite cannot infringe the iconic logo of Apple. The mark ‘Steve Jobs’ as well as the logo comprising of the word Steve Jobs with the letter J being bitten, has been registered by Vincenzo Barbato under the EUIPO.
TRADE MARK LICENSING UPDATES
Reliance Industries Partners with Myntra
Reliance Industries Limited entered into a partnership agreement with Myntra, the fashion e-commerce player to co-brand its exclusive denim collection brand ‘Mast & Harbour’ with the flagship product of the former, ‘RElan FeelFresh’. The new ‘Mast & Harbour’ collection is made from fabric using Relan FeelFresh technology that offers anti-microbial and anti-odour properties.
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION UPDATES
Jalgaon Banana gets Geographical Indication (GI) Tag
Nisargraja Krushi Vidnyan Kendra applied for GI for Jalgaon banana, the second most important fruit crop in India next to mango. Jalgaon, a district in the north of Maharashtra is known as the ‘Banana City’ or ‘Banana Bowl’ as it contributes to about half of the state’s banana production. The proximity to Tapi river makes the banana unique in nature.
BANANAIP TIP OF THE WEEK
Usage of descriptive marks for your business or service though tempting should be avoided. Though you might receive a trade mark registration, unless your mark can establish acquired distinctiveness through usage, it will be difficult to stop others from adopting marks that are confusingly similar to yours. Marks with Info for an IT business or Cafe for restaurants are good examples of descriptive marks.
Author: BIP Trade Mark Attorneys
BIPs Trade Mark Attorneys are among the leading experts in the field. They work with clients such as PEPS, Dharma Productions, Essilor, Samsung and the IITs with respect to trade mark filing, prosecution, registration, management, licensing, franchising, merchandizing and strategy.
The weekly trade mark news initiative is a part of their pro bono work, and is aimed at spreading trade mark awareness. You are free to share the news with appropriate attribution and backlink to the source.
If you have any questions, you may write to BIP’s Trade Mark Attorneys at contact@bananaip.com
