Chanel fails in its opposition against Huawei’s logo, Facebook initiates a cybersquatting lawsuit and more brought to you by the Trademark Attorneys at BananaIP (BIP) Counsels
INDIAN TRADEMARK UPDATES
Andhra Pradesh High Court Grants Protection Over ‘Surya’ Trademark
The Andhra Pradesh High Court recently ruled in favour of Gaurav Polymers, a company engaged in the manufacturing of white lime wash, in a matter dealing with the usage of the mark ‘Surya’. Gaurav Polymers, who was using the mark ‘Surya’ along with a device of a rising sun, had instituted the suit against another chemical manufacturer, Delight Chemicals, who had adopted a deceptively similar mark ‘Surya Magica White’ in respect of similar goods. The Court observed that although ‘Surya’ was a generic term, the manner in which it was represented in Gaurav Polymers’ logo was distinctive and capable of trademark protection. Since there was a likelihood of confusion amongst the buyers, the Court granted an injunction against Delight Chemicals’ use of the ‘Surya Magica White’ trademark.
Citation: Gaurav Polymers v. Delight Chemicals (P) Ltd. [C.M.A. No. 209 of 2019]
INTERNATIONAL TRADEMARK UPDATES
Chanel Loses Trademark Dispute Against Huawei
Luxury fashion brand Chanel was recently handed an unfavourable decision by the General Court of the European Union, in its attempt to prevent the trademark registration of Chinese tech giant Huawei’s logo. Chanel claimed that Huawei’s logo, which featured two semicircles in the shape of an ‘H’, inside a circular design, was deceptively similar to Chanel’s trademarked ‘Double C’ logo. The General Court of the European Union, while dismissing Chanel’s claims, held that the mere fact that both logos featured a generic circle shape would not automatically render them as deceptively similar. Further, the Court noted that Chanel’s logo featured a horizontal orientation, and also included thicker and more rounded lines in the logo, leading to an overall dissimilarity between the marks.
Swedish Company Fails to Register ‘Grilloumi’ Trademark
Fontana Food AB, a Swedish food products manufacturer, recently failed in its attempt to secure trademark protection over the mark ‘Grilloumi’. The registration of the mark was initially objected by The Foundation for the Protection of the Traditional Cheese of Cyprus, which sought to prevent confusion with respect to its own mark ‘Halloumi’. The opposition was unsuccessful before the European Union Intellectual Property Office (“EUIPO”) and the Fourth Board of Appeal, on the ground that the Grilloumi product had no similar characteristics or taste as Halloumi, and therefore, there was no likelihood of confusion between the marks. However, on furtherappeal, the General Court of the European Union noted the visual and phonetic similarities between the marks and rejected the application for registration of the mark ‘Grilloumi’.
BRAND LICENSING UPDATES
Casetify Pens Licensing Deal with NBA
As part of its 10th anniversary celebrations, accessories brand Casetify has collaborated yet again with the NBA for its new collection of phone cases and accessories. The NBA x Casetify collection integrates the emblems and mascots of all the thirty teams of the NBA onto a wide variety of phone cases and accessories. The new collection will also allow fans to customize their cases with names and numbers of their favourite players.
Adidas Originals Unveils Yoda Shoes
Leading sportswear and streetwear brand, Adidas Originals, has launched its latest sneaker, inspired by legendary tennis player Stan Smith, and infamous Star Wars character Master Yoda. The ‘Yoda Shoe’ is the latest addition to Adidas’ initiative to end all plastic waste, and features a recycled rubber tongue and heel, and also an upper composed of other recycled fabrics. The shoe also incorporates graphics inspired by Stan Smith, and famous dialogues of Master Yoda embossed across the body.
DOMAIN NAME DISPUTE UPDATES
Facebook Files Cybersquatting Lawsuit
Social media giant, Facebook, has recently initiated a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, against a subsidiary of Web.com, New Venture Services Corp (“NVSC”). As per Facebook’s lawsuit, NVSC, which is engaged in holding domain names for traffic revenue and resale purposes, is cybersquatting on several of Facebook’s brands, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The suit further alleges that NVSC regularly traffics in infringing domain names by cherry-picking expiring domain registrations from Web.com registrars, and then earning revenue and resale money from the same. In the current instance, NVSC is alleged to be cybersquatting on several domains that are infringing on Facebook’s trademarks, such as facebooked.net, instagrambypass.com, whatsappin.com, and a number of other similar domains.
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION UPDATES
Vilachery Clay Toys Applied for GI Tag
The famous clay toys found at Vilachery in Thiruparankundram, Madurai, have recently been applied for geographical indication (“GI”) tagging. The toys are hand crafted with mud, and painted by the local artisans of the Vilachery village and surrounding villages, whose handicrafts have been featured in the local temples for hundreds of years. The application for GI tagging was made by the Kulala Handicraft Artisan Welfare Association, and was facilitated by the MSME Intellectual Property Facilitation Centre, and NABARD’s Madurai Agri Business Incubation Forum.
Authored and compiled by Uma T.S, Shreya Chaddha & Varun Gopalakrishnan
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
