Indian Trademark Statistics for November (Third Week) 2018, Burberry Stops Infringement, Patanjali to Launch Apparels, Jimmi Choo Defends His Name and more, brought to you by the Trademark Attorneys at BananaIP (BIP) Counsels.
TRADEMARK QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Products are made in the factory, but brands are created in the mind”– Walter Landor
INDIAN TRADEMARK STATISTICS
The Indian Trademark Office has picked up its pace in the last week. The total number of the applications disposed through show cause hearings has increased by sixty eight percent (68%). Similarly, the total number of hearing notices issued has increased by one hundred and fifty eight percent (158%). However, the total applications published in the trademark journal has decreased by thirty seven percent (37%)
Weekly Indian Trademark Statistics
| Particulars | Last Week | This Week | Change in % |
| Total Trademark Applications Examined by Trademark Office | 5895 | 8315 | An increase of 41% |
| Total Applications Disposed through Show Cause Hearings | 3132 | 5251 | An increase of 68% |
| Total Applications Published in the Trademark Journal | 8922 | 5648 | A decrease of 37% |
| Total Registrations Granted | 4741 | 6830 | An increase of 44% |
| Total Hearing Notices Issued | 6221 | 16058 | An increase of 158% |
| Total Renewals Notices Issued | 515 | 3832 | An increase of 644% |
Trademark Statistics by Office
Total Number of New Applications Received from November 14th to November 21st , 2018
| Sr. No | Jurisdiction | New Applications | Examined | Published | Registered |
| 1 | AHMEDABAD | 653 | 551 | 437 | 386 |
| 2 | CHENNAI | 1296 | 675 | 1026 | 1463 |
| 3 | DELHI | 2145 | 1360 | 1558 | 2647 |
| 4 | KOLKATA | 408 | 156 | 427 | 364 |
| 5 | MUMBAI | 1502 | 964 | 1096 | 1622 |
| Total | 6004 | 3706 | 4544 | 6482 |
Yearly Trademark Statistics
Trademark Statistics from January 01st, 2018 to November 21s , 2018
- Total Number of Trademark Applications Filed – 268482
- Total Number of Trademark Applications Examined – 283313
- Total Number of Trademark Applications Published – 126981
- Total Number of Trademark Applications Registered – 289058
INTERESTING BRAND NEWS
Yellow for Non-Metal Hand Restraints
ASP, Inc., aka Armament Systems and Procedures, Inc., a US defensive compliance weapons manufacturer has filed a trademark application for the colour yellow to be applied to “Nonmetal hand restraints used as handcuffs” under class 20 with the USPTO. In order to be granted registration, the company shall have to prove that the color yellow has acquired distinctiveness and it is not functional with respect to the goods applied to.
INDIAN TRADEMARK UPDATES
Burberry Stops Its Counterfeiter
Venerable British fashion brand owner, Burberry Limited, filed a trademark infringement suit before the Delhi High Court for restraining Jayant Kumar trading as Ganik Button & Labels from manufacturing, soliciting and trading of tags, labels, etc. used on readymade garments, apparels, lifestyle goods and other allied goods bearing the trademarks BURBERRY, BURBERRY CHECK and EQUESTRIAN KNIGHT DEVICE and/or any other trademarks confusingly or deceptively similar to it. Burberry is a world renowned designer, manufacturer & distributor of luxury products for past one hundred sixty years. In 2018, Burberry came to know that Ganik Button has adopted a deceptively similar trademark for selling counterfeit and spurious products. The Court opined that such dishonest use results in dilution of the trademark of Burberry. The Court therefore passed an ex-parte order issuing a decree in favor of Burberry and ordered Ganik Button to pay a compensatory damage of Rs.2 Lakhs.
INTERNATIONAL TRADEMARK UPDATES
The Weeknd Being Sued Over “Starboy”
Recording artist Abel Tesfaye also known as The Weeknd is facing an accusation over the use of the name of his alter-ego “Starboy” in a comic book, created in collaboration with Marvel comics. Eymun Talasazan, a comic book writer has filed a trademark infringement suit against the singer, claiming that he had already created a comic book universe which ‘revolved around R&B and rap stars’ and the idea violates the trademark ‘Starboy’ filed by him. It is interesting to note that Talasazan has claimed in the suit that he had pitched the idea of the comic book to ‘The Weekend’s’ representative in 2017, however, nothing was materialised. The writer has prayed for all the copies of the singer’s comics to be “recalled, impounded and destroyed.
Jimmy Choo Defends His Name
In a bid to protect its name, Jimmy Choo, the luxury accessory brand has filed a request to invalidate a similar mark ‘Jerry Chu’ filed in China. The mark has been filed by Xianjie Zhu, a fashion student in China, studying men’s fashion. Choo has claimed that the similarities in the mark will cause confusion in the minds of the consumers as to the source of origin of the products. Jimmy Choo has successfully invalidated other similar marks such as Ray Choo and Jenny Choo.
TRADEMARK BRAND LICENSING UPDATES
Patanjali to Launch Apparels
The Ayurveda company Patanjali, led by Baba Ramdev has expanded itself to the sale of apparel under the brand name “Paridhan”. The brand is to comprise of three segments, namely Sanskar featuring mens wear, Aastha for women and Livfit for sportswear and yoga clothes for all age-groups. It is to also include artificial jewellery and wedding clothes. Like the rest of the products sold by Patanjali, these goods shall be sold at very reasonable rates to cater to ordinary people. The goods are to be made available online from 2019.
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION UPDATES
Sojat Mehndi Filed for GI
Henna or Mehndi, is widely used in worship rituals, and as a hair dye as well as for colouring the palms and soles of feet. Sojat City, know as Henna city, is a district in the state of Rajastan and due to its favorable climatic conditions, is the only region in India where Henna is grown and exported worldwide to about 130 countries. Sojat Mehndi is said to have a high content of lawsone, a dry agent. The GI application was filed this month bearing the application number 628.
BANANAIP TIP OF THE WEEK
A prior non-registered user of a trademark can continue use of the mark, even if a subsequent user get a registration, if it can established that its mark has acquired recognition in the consumers’ minds and also that is has consistently used it over time.
Author: BIP Trademark Attorneys
BIP’s Trademark 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 trademark filing, prosecution, registration, management, licensing, franchising, merchandizing and strategy.
The weekly trademark news initiative is a part of their pro bono work and is aimed at spreading trademark 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 Trademark Attorneys at contact@bananaip.com
