This post was first published on July 30th, 2011.
In a country like India where the sun is out for the major part of the day, I wonder if we are capitalizing enough on this abundant and sustainable source of energy, especially in a time when we are close to running out of conventional resources such as oil, gas, and coal. Harnessing this energy in order to make the surrounding environment a little more conducive for better living has…
Amazon Seller Services Private Limited ("Amazon") runs the eCommerce marketplace at www.amazon.in, and among other products, Amazon facilitates sale of eBooks and/or eBook subscription licenses on the platform at its Kindle eBook Store at https://www.amazon.in/Kindle-eBooks/b?ie=UTF8&node=1634753031. In my opinion, Amazon's business and approach with respect to eBooks does not comply with the recent FDI eCommerce guidelines by virtue of the following:
By exclusively permitting only its group company Amazon Asia Pacific ("Amazon APAC") to sell eBooks on its marketplace;
By…
This post was first published on July 27th, 2011.
Patentability of process inventions has always been interesting and controversial. We have earlier reported that the methods of performing yoga, massaging, walking on water and so on are patentable. After reading some of these posts, one of my colleagues (seemingly a big Rajinikanth fan) was curious about the patentability of Rajinikanth's methods and hence this post.
Let us begin with the basics. As per the Indian Patents Act, any process or product…
This post was first published on July 4, 2011.
One of the basic and most important requirements for protection of trade secrets is reasonable measures. Despite its value, information would not be considered to be a trade secret unless reasonable measures are taken to protect its secrecy. A measure is considered to be reasonable if it gives notice of the existence of a secret and mandates or imposes its non-disclosure. While the stringency of a measure would provide a strong basis…
This post was first published on June 25, 2011.
Facts:
Autodesk Inc. is a U.S. based design software and digital content company which provides design software to professionals. It is also the owner of various Trademarks in India including AUTODESK and AutoCAD. Microsoft Corporation is the owner of various well known computer software like Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows, having a subsidiary company in India. In May, 2003, Microsoft received information from Mr. Devesh Tiwari, a Service Engineer for computers of…
My colleague, Ashwini Arun, brought an interesting post on Spicy IP on SareGama's take down notice to my attention. The post talks about take down of one of its articles, and may be read at: https://spicyip.com/2019/02/saregama-pa-rdon-me-you-have-the-wrong-address-on-the-perils-and-pitfalls-of-notice-and-takedown.html. It is unfortunate that SareGama decided to include an article from Spicy IP, renowned for its well-researched articles and contributions to IP discourse, in its Take Down list. I am assuming that the inclusion of the link by SareGama was an inadvertent act of…
This post was first published on June 7, 2011.
Pfizer Inc. filed a suit against Watson Laboratories, on June 1, 2011 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking to prevent Watson from commercializing sildenafil citrate tablets prior to the expiration of Pfizer’s Viagra. Watson's sildenafil citrate tablets are a generic version of Pfizer Inc.'s Viagra, which is indicated for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). Sildenafil citrate enhances the effect of nitric oxide,…
This post was first published on June 21, 2011.
FAO. No. 82 of 2009, Kerala High Court, decided by Justice M.N. Krishnan
FACTS
The Petitioner no 1, Matrubhumi Printing and Publishing Ltd who operates a licensed Radio Station “Club FM 94.3” in parts of Kerala has a license from the Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) to broadcast sound recordings. Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS), the defendant, a society of composers, lyricists etc which grants licenses with respect to musical and literary works threatened…
This post was first published on June 12, 2011.
(Delhi High Court, 09.05.2011)
FACTS:
Plaintiff No. 1 i.e. Sholay Media and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. acquired all rights in the film "Sholay" in the year 2000 and was exploiting these rights in various areas such as ringtones, caller tunes etc. Certain rights in the film were assigned to Polydor of India by an assignment deed of 1978. The rights assigned to Polydor of India were acquired by Defendant No. 3 i.e. M/s Universal…
Indian Trademark Statistics for February (Second Week), Kamala Harris Trademark, 3.85 Crores Awarded to Whatman in Damages, Solid 21 Inc in Legal Battle, Harmal Chilli GI and more, brought to you by the Trademark Attorneys at BananaIP (BIP) Counsels.
TRADEMARK QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Every interaction in any form, is branding-Seth Godin
INDIAN TRADEMARK STATISTICS
In the last week, the Indian Trademark Office has had a slow week. The total number of applications published in the trademark journal has decreased by four…