“Indian Trade Mark Statistics for January (Fourth Week) 2018, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle New Merchandise to be Launched, Samar Lifestyle to Bring Florsheim Shoes in India, Grumpy Cat Wins Lawsuit, Kandhamal Haladi Applied for GI and more Weekly Trade Mark News” brought to you by the Trade Mark Attorneys at BananaIP (BIP) Counsels.
TRADE MARK QUOTE OF THE WEEK
‘A brand is nothing but an expression of consumer’s loyalty and trust.’
– Phil Dusenberry
INDIAN TRADE MARK STATISTICS
The Indian Trade Mark Office had an average week in comparison to the previous. The total number of applications examined have decreased by thirteen percent (13%). There has been an increase in the total number of registrations granted by seventy-one percent (71%). However, the total number of hearing notices issued have decreased by fifty-nine percent (59%).
Weekly Indian Trade Mark Statistics
| Particulars | Last Week | This Week | Change in % |
| Total Trade Mark Applications Examined by Trade Mark Office | 7945 | 6493 | A decrease of 13% |
| Total Applications Disposed through Show Cause Hearings | 6066 | 6075 | An increase of 1% |
| Total Applications Published in the Trade Mark Journal | 9621 | 8551 | A decrease of 11% |
| Total Registrations Granted | 4318 | 7394 | An increase of 71% |
| Total Hearing Notices Issued | 13960 | 5665 | A decrease of 59% |
| Total Renewals Notices Issued | 1443 | 1138 | A decrease of 21% |
Trade Mark Statistics by Office
Total Number of New Applications Received from January 24th to January 30th 2018
| Sr. No | Jurisdiction | New Applications | Examined | Published | Registered |
| 1 | AHMEDABAD | 698 | 397 | 790 | 810 |
| 2 | CHENNAI | 901 | 568 | 1253 | 1315 |
| 3 | DELHI | 1836 | 1131 | 2786 | 2652 |
| 4 | KOLKATA | 299 | 173 | 442 | 277 |
| 5 | MUMBAI | 1079 | 710 | 2317 | 1771 |
| Total | 4813 | 2979 | 7588 | 6825 |
Yearly Trade Mark Statistics
Trade Mark Statistics from January 01st, 2018 to January 30th, 2018
- Total Number of Trade Mark Applications Filed – 23029
- Total Number of Trade Mark Applications Examined – 14287
- Total Number of Trade Mark Applications Published – 35130
- Total Number of Trade Mark Applications Registered – 28138
INTERESTING TRADE MARK
Meryl Streep Files New Trade Mark
Meryl Streep, the renowned Oscar winning actress, has applied for a new trade mark for her name ‘Meryl Streep’ with the USPTO. The mark has been applied under class 41, mainly for providing entertainment services with the date of first use being 1975. Meryl Steep has joined the likes of stars such as Jay Leno and Conor McGregor by filing her name as a trade mark. Meryl has pursued an application to keep others from exploiting her name.
INDIAN TRADE MARK UPDATES
Castrol Limited & Anr. vs Iqbal Singh Chawla & Anr.
Subject- Trade Mark infringement
Brief Facts:
The Plaintiff is engaged in the business of industrial oils, greases and lubricants under the name CASTROL, and has also adopted the trade mark “ACTIV” with respect to lubricant oils in the year 1999. The Plaintiff further claims ownership over the trade dress and copyright in the packaging, which includes the container as well. Further, the Plaintiff also claims being a prior user of the shape and overall getup of the container, the imitation of which coupled with other features may cause passing off. The Defendant, Mahendra Oil Company, is engaged in the business of selling 4T oil under the trade mark ‘LUMAX ACTIVE’. The Plaintiff herein claims that the Defendant is imitating the get up, layout and features of the packaging of the Plaintiffs by adopting red, white and green colours on the label in an identical manner as well as the shape and configuration of the bottle leading to infringement of Plaintiffs’ trade dress rights including infringement of copyright and passing off of the registered trademark ‘ACTIV’ of the Plaintiffs.
The Plaintiff has filed the present suit restraining the Defendant from selling, marketing, offering for sale any packaging/label/empty container used/re-cycled and re- conditioned with respect to the industrial oil, engine oil, lubricants, grease under the trade mark ‘LUMAX ACTIVE’ or any other trade mark, which is deceptively similar to the Plaintiffs’ trade mark ‘ACTIV’.
Judgment:
The Delhi High Court held in favor of the Plaintiff. It held that that the Defendant has infringed the Plaintiffs’ mark ACTIV by using identical trade dress, colour scheme, packaging, design, layout, shape and configuration and are passing off their goods as those of the Plaintiff. The court issued a permanent injunction thereby restraining the defendant from using the trademark ACTIV in the identical trade dress, colour scheme, packaging, design, layout, shape and configuration as well as to pay monetary damages of Rs. 2,00,000/- with delivery of such infringing material to the Plaintiff.
However, the court held that such injunction shall not affect the right of the Defendant to use the word ACTIVE in a completely different trade dress, colour scheme, packaging, design, layout, shape and configuration.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE MARK UPDATES
Elvis Loses Trade Mark Battle
Brewdog, a Scottish brewery has won the battle against the Elvis Presley Estate, for the name ‘Elvis Juice’. The Scottish brewery had filed for an appeal against the IPO (UK Intellectual Property Office) judgment last year, which restricted it from using the name of the legendry singer Elvis, for its grapefruit and blood orange India Pale Ale (IPA). The appeal was upheld by IPO and has allowed the use of the name Elvis by adding to it the name of the company Brewdog. The IPO held that ‘the average consumer will not mistake “Brewdog Elvis Juice” to refer to Elvis Presley’.
Grumpy Cat Wins Lawsuit
Grumpy Cat Ltd., the company representing the feline internet sensation has won a lawsuit against Grenade Beverages LLC, a USA based beverages company. Grumpy Cat Ltd. had filed a suit against Grenade Beverages, claiming a breach of contract as well as unauthorized use of their logo. Grumpy Cat Ltd. had licensed for a line of coffee by the name ‘Grumpy Cat Grumppuchino’, however the beverages company had been using the same on a number of products without any due authorization. Grumpy Cat Ltd. has been awarded $700,000 as compensation for the same.
TRADE MARK LICENSING UPDATES
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle New Merchandise
Sony Pictures Entertainment has inked new agreements with several licensees across the world to develop merchandises for its latest blockbuster film Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. The licensees include Issac Morris for apparel, NHN Entertainment for ‘Jumanji: The Mobile Game’, and Cardinal Industries for board games.
Florsheim Shoes in India
Weyco Group, an American footwear company has signed a licensing deal with Samar Lifestyle, part of Bengaluru based Sara Group, to exclusively manufacture and sell its Florsheim brand shoes in India, and neighboring markets such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan and Nepal. The Florsheim collection will be available in the Spring/Summer 2018 season.
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION UPDATES
Kandhamal Haladi (Turmeric) Filed as Geographical Indication (GI)
Kandhamal Apex Spices Association for Marketing (KASAM) facilitated by the Central Tool Room & Training Centre (CTTC), under the MSME Ministry has filed for a GI application on 11th January, 2018, for Kandhamal Haladi in class 30 bearing application number 610. The turmeric is grown in Kandhamal, the tribal dominated district of Odisha. The turmeric is cultivated by the tribal communities following traditional methods without any application of fertilizer or pesticide. The turmeric grown here is unique and different from other local verities.
BANANAIP TIP OF THE WEEK
If your personal name is recognized in commerce and its misuse by others can harm you financially then pursing a trade mark is a practical solution. Many celebrities are registering their names today particularly in class 41 for media and entertainment services or certain product classes where they are developing products to be sold under their own names.
Author: BIP Trade Mark Attorneys
Led by Sanjeeth Hegde, BIP’s Trade Mark 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 trade mark filing, prosecution, registration, management, licensing, franchising, merchandizing and strategy.
The weekly trade mark news initiative is a part of their pro bono work, and is aimed at spreading trade mark 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 Trade Mark Attorneys –contact@bananaip.com
