This post gives trade mark statistics for the last decade.
Trademark applications are filed to register a trademark with a national or regional Intellectual Property (IP) office.A 2011 report showed that the five countries filing the most trademarks were China, USA, India, Brazil and South Korea. The statistics revealed a major shift in the preference of multinational brand owners towards emerging markets, evidenced by the change in the composition of the top 10 countries with the most number of published trademarks, from 2012 to 2013…
All of us at some point have watched and loved the film “Dirty Dancing”. The film is legendary for different reasons- the impeccable dance routines, the star-crossed lovers theme, Patrick Swayze and the dialogues, which are quoted, spoofed and now being used for ad campaigns. TD Ameritrade (‘Ameritrade’ for brevity) through its ad company Havas ran an advertisement of a man lifting a piggy bank over the tagline "Nobody puts your old 401(k) in the corner”, clearly spoofing the most…
Deadmau5 the Canadian progressive-house music producer who made his first tour of India last year had found himself in a trademark battle with the most loved mouse of all time, Mickey Mouse the well known cartoon character and the proud mascot of Disney. The root of Deadmau5 - real name Joel Zimmerman's troubles was literally sitting on his head, his iconic Mau5head which he regularly wears during all his performances around the world.
The Walt Disney Company Disney is fiercely protective of…
The Chennai-based saree retail Brand Nalli has issued a cease and desist notice to the leading e-commerce website Snapdeal for illegal use of its brand name, trademark and images on its website.
Nalli, a brand that has become synonymous with the traditional silk or Kanchipuram sarees has become a trusted household name when it comes to sarees. It was alleged by Nalli that Snapdeal sought to unjustly cash in on the goodwill of the brand by making people believe that…
The Delhi High Court has passed an ex-parte interim injunction against Shakti Mattresses & Gears Pvt. Ltd. on 29th May 2015, to restrain from dealing in the goods and services, under the mark ‘SPINE GUARD’, which is a registered trademark of the plaintiff, Peps Industries Pvt. Ltd.
To briefly state the facts, the Plaintiff, Peps Industries Pvt. Ltd., is engaged in the business of manufacturing, marketing and sale of sleep comfort products such as mattresses, pillows, cushions, sofas, beds and…
This conflict is between a world-renowned luxury-clothing brand and a renowned restaurant and bar in a city. The Delhi High Court decided the trademark infringement tussle in favor the luxury brand ZARA, not because it is celebrated around the world but simply to protect the brand’s trademark rights.
ZARA, an internationally reputed brand, the plaintiff sued Zara Tapas Bar for trademark infringement and sought injunction restraining the defendant from infringement, passing off and dilution of its trademark. The plaintiff contended…
“What's in a name? that which we call a rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet.” William Shakespeare famously quoted these lines in his creation of the romantic tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. Enter 21st century and these famous lines could be debated to the ends of time. In today’s world, where there are fakes of fakes and more fakes than actual products, Shakespeare might have thought differently.
Trademark Infringement and Passing off is something that we are all too familiar…
This article is a contribution by Savitran - Intern at BananaIP Counsels
The Delhi High Court has ordered an interim injunction against Coirfoam India Pvt. Ltd. to desist it from using a mark identical or similar to ‘Spring Guard’, which is the trademark owned and registered by Peps Industries Pvt. Ltd.
To briefly state the facts, the Plaintiff, Peps Industries Pvt. Ltd., is engaged in the business of manufacturing, marketing and selling sleep comfort products such as mattresses, pillows, cushions,…
In this reigning retail world, even minor details of products that may bring major changes in the market, matter. In this current scenario every company wants to protect its identity through trade mark registrations. The whole story started in the year 2010 when Nestle applied to register trademark for its four-fingered chocolate - KitKat. Cadbury clashed with nestle in filing the trade mark for the KitKat shape. UK Registry of trade mark turned down the application by Nestle after hearing opposition…
This article was contributed by Swastika Chakravarti.
How important are phonetics in trademarks, you ask? The General Court of the European Union has an answer for you. In deciding a matter between Pay TV giant, Sky and Microsoft (owners of Skype), the Court relied on the similarity of signs in terms of concept and phonetics to deny Microsoft a trademark for Skype in Europe. Holding that the pronunciation of ‘y’ in Skype is no shorter than in Sky, the Court…