Indian Trademark Statistics for July (First Week), Cardi B’s Trademark Denied Registration, Teletubbies Arrive on ASOS, Hershey’s and Emoji Secure a Sweet Deal, Swarovski’s Shining Trademark Win, brought to you by the Trademark Attorneys at BananaIP (BIP) Counsels.
TRADEMARK QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Unlike other forms of IP, trademarks are there to stay, to stay and provide business/competitive value as long as your business lasts.” – Dr. Kalyan C. Kankanala, BananaIP Counsels.
INDIAN TRADEMARK STATISTICS
Last week, the Indian Trademark Office have had a mixed pace. The total number of applications disposed through show cause hearings has increased by four percent (4%). Similarly, the total applications published in the trademark journal has increased by eleven percent (11%). However, there has been a decrease of seventy three percent (73%) in the total hearing notices issued.
Weekly Indian Trademark Statistics
| Particulars | Last Week | This Week | Change in % |
| Total Trademark Applications Examined by Trademark Office | 7943 | 6057 | A decrease of 24% |
| Total Applications Disposed through Show Cause Hearings | 4465 | 4286 | A decrease of 4% |
| Total Applications Published in the Trademark Journal | 6498 | 7193 | An increase of 11% |
| Total Registrations Granted | 6226 | 6544 | An increase of 5% |
| Total Hearing Notices Issued | 10574 | 2884 | A decrease of 73% |
| Total Renewals Notices Issued | 2082 | 2152 | An increase of 3% |
Trademark Statistics by Office
Total Number of New Applications Received from June 26th, 2019 to July 3rd, 2019
| Sr. No | Jurisdiction | New Applications | Examined | Published | Registered |
| 1 | AHMEDABAD | 991 | 351 | 662 | 730 |
| 2 | CHENNAI | 1367 | 561 | 1510 | 1499 |
| 3 | DELHI | 2646 | 1159 | 2065 | 2107 |
| 4 | KOLKATA | 390 | 174 | 328 | 240 |
| 5 | MUMBAI | 1460 | 742 | 1505 | 1623 |
| Total | 6854 | 2987 | 6070 | 6199 |
Yearly Trademark Statistics
Trademark Statistics from January 1st, 2019 to July 3rd, 2019
- Total Number of Trademark Applications Filed – 172653
- Total Number of Trademark Applications Examined – 78614
- Total Number of Trademark Applications Published – 115682
- Total Number of Trademark Applications Registered – 149601
INDIAN TRADEMARK UPDATES
Swarovski’s Shining Trademark Win
Swarovski Aktiengesellshaft, a well-known crystal jewellery maker filed a suit seeking a permanent injunction against Durgesh Kumar Patwa, proprietor of M/s. Bajrang Beads for infringing their registered trademark “SWAROVSKI” and logo. Durgesh was engaged in selling, manufacturing, soliciting and trading jewellery, gemstones, artificial stones or allied products using the mark/label SWARAWSKI, SWAROVSKI and its logo and its variants having artistic features, getup, layout and lettering style similar to that of Swarovski. On the basis of the documents filed and the evidence, the Delhi High Court noted that Swarovski is the registered owner of the trademark SWAROVSKI and its logo and the trademark have acquired distinct features due to the long and continuous use. The Court further, awarded damages of INR 25,000 to be paid to Swarovski.
INTERNATIONAL TRADEMARK UPDATES
Walmart Accused of Trademark Infringement
JetBlue Airways Corporation, the sixth largest airline in the US, has filed a trademark infringement suit against the multinational retail corporation Walmart. While filing the suit in Manhattan Federal Court, JetBlue has claimed that Walmart is infringing the trademark of Jetblack in its text-based personal shopping service. JetBlue said that Walmart’s use of the trademark was likely to confuse the consumers and dilute their brand. JetBlue is seeking monetary as well as punitive damage.
Cardi B’s Trademark Denied Registration
Cardi B, the American singer and rapper, seems to have hit a snag with her new trademark filing for ‘Okurrr’. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in an initial office action, has denied registration for the term. The singer had applied for the mark in March 2019 for apparels as well as stationary. The USPTO while rejecting the application have stated that the term Okurrr is ‘widely-used commonplace expressions’ and no individual should have monopoly over it. However, this is not a final denial by the USPTO. The singer now has six months of time to respond to the objections raised.
BRAND LICENSING UPDATES
Hershey’s and Emoji Secure a Sweet Deal
The Hershey Company, one of the largest and widely popular chocolate manufacturers in the world, has inked a licensing deal with the iconic brand Emoji Company to launch a limited edition of Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Emoji Bar this year. The limited edition will feature 25 different emojis including the excited heart eyes face, thumbs up, kissing lips, sunglasses smile, wink and more.
Teletubbies Arrive on ASOS
Teletubbies, the much loved British pre-school children’s television series, has arrived on ASOS, the British online fashion retail. In the licensing deal between Teletubbies’ brand owner DHX Media, ASOS and Poetic Brands, a licensing apparel company, a new range of T-shirts inspired by the beloved series will be sold on the online fashion brand website. The new range will use the characters of Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po, along with the logo of Teletubbies.
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION UPDATES
DPIIT Issues GI Logo, Tagline Usage Guidelines
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry recently issued preliminary draft guidelines which allows wholesale or retail outlets or e-commerce platforms to use the GI logo and the tagline for display and sale of GI products with prior approval. However, the registered owners of the GI do not need any prior approval. The guidelines which were issued as a part of the government’s initiative to promote and market Indian GI products states that the logo will act as a certifying mark that can be used to identify all Indian products that are registered as GIs. DPIIT had launched a common GI logo and tagline in August last year.
Authored and compiled by Shreya Chaddha & Uma T.S
About BIP’s Trademark Attorneys
The Trademark News Bulletin is brought to you by the Trademark/Copyright, IP Transactional Strategy Divisions of BananaIP Counsels, a Top IP Firm in India. Led by Sanjeeth Hegde, BIP’s Trademark Attorneys are among the leading experts in the field. If you have any questions, or need any clarifications, please write to contact@bananaip.com with the subject: Trademark News.
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Disclaimer: Kindly note that the news bulletin has been put together from different sources, primary and secondary, and BananaIP’s reporters may not have verified all the news published in the bulletin. You may write to contact@bananaip.com for corrections and take down.
