This post was first published on October 16, 2014.
In the final part of this series, we shall conclude the discussion on descriptive marks with an examination of the Indian position on the protection of these marks. Section 9 of the Trademark Act, 1999 which lays down absolute grounds for refusal of registration of trademarks, clearly states that trademarks which consist exclusively of marks or indications, which may serve in trade to designate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, values, geographical origin…
This post was published on September 04, 2014.
In this continuation post on legal aspects of trademarking god's name, we shall look into a few cases where Courts have discussed whether or not one can trademark God's name and therefore have monopoly in using God's name as an Intellectual Property.
Usually, for a trademark used for a particular brand of goods or services, to be granted, it has to acquire secondary distinctiveness in its respective consumer market, and thus, one…
This post was published on September 01, 2014.
In India, a Trade Mark means a mark capable of being represented graphically and capable of distinguishing goods or services of one person from those of others. These are the basic requirements for a mark to be eligible for Trade Mark protection laid down under Section 2(1)(zb) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999. Apart from these qualifications, a mark should also not fall under the category of the marks mentioned under Section…
Indian Trademark Statistics for August (Second Week), Selena Gomes Files New Trademark, Tupperware to Open 30 Franchise-Run Stores, Ginsu Carves Licensing Program with JRL, Palani Panchamirtham Gets GI Tag and more, brought to you by the Trademark Attorneys at BananaIP (BIP) Counsel.
TRADEMARK QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Define what your brand stands for, its core values and tone of voice, and then communicate consistently in those terms”- Simon Mainwaring
INDIAN TRADEMARK STATISTICS
Last week, the Indian Trademark Office has had a mixed…
This post was published on September 08, 2014.
In the second post of this blog series, we shall be analyzing the US approach towards descriptive marks.
In the US, a mark is merely descriptive if it “consists merely of words descriptive of the qualities, ingredients or characteristics of the goods or services related to the mark”, being enough if it describes one characteristic of said goods or services. Like in India, a mark which is merely descriptive or deceptively…
This post was first published on 8th July, 2014.
In today’s post, we’ll be talking about Section 9(3), thereby concluding one half of the series, i.e., absolute grounds for refusal of registration of trademarks.
Section 9(3) talks about the registrability of the shape of goods. As per the provision, a mark shall not be registered as a trademark if it consists exclusively of:
Shape of goods which results from the nature of the goods themselves;
Shape of goods necessary…
This post was first published on 7th July, 2014.
In continuation to my previous post, this post is with regard to trademark search and classification of different classes.
A trademark search is required to be conducted prior to filing for registration of the mark. The purpose of conducting a trademark search is twofold:
To understand and analyze the registrability of a trademark: The results yielded by a trademark search are used to understand the probability of registration of a particular…
This post was first published on 7th July, 2014.
Spillover reputation of trademarks is a subject matter of endless legal tussles. Indian Courts and Tribunals frequently deal with cases related to foreign entities challenging honest and bona fide use of a similar mark by Indian entities even in situations where such foreign entities are not using their marks in India. In this post, we will discuss the concept of Transborder reputation.
To claim Transborder reputation for a mark in India, the mark…
This post was first published on 26th November, 2014.
Here is the next post in the series of Student Blog Contest. This post is authored by Amrita Vasudevan.
Every city has its food treasures and eating haunts, and Bangalore, for example, has Shivaji Military Hotel's Donne Biryani or CTR's Benne Masala Dose, both of which have quite the fan following. Eating joints like these often become landmarks, and a ‘must visit’ for tourists. We often associate a particular taste or flavour with an…
This post was first published on 7th July, 2014.
In this post, we will look into whether the mere use of trademark as part of a domain name or as an email id or even as private communication between parties can stand as proof of use of a trademark.
Documentary proof is generally submitted to show that an Applicant has been continuously using an impugned mark. It is an effort for Applicants to show trademark examiners how they use the trademark…