Trademark statistics, Trademark infringement, Trademark office updates, Domain name disputes and Geographical Indication updates brought to you by the Trademark team of BIP Counsels.
Trademark quote of the week
” The designer’s role in the development, application and protection of the trademark may be described as pre-creative, creative and post-creative” — Lester Beall
TRADEMARK STATISTICS
The Trademark Registry has been little slow this week. There has been a decrease of 16% in the total number of applications examined by the Trademark Office for this week compared to the last week.
| Particulars | Last week | This week | Change in % |
| Total Trademark applications examined by Trademark Office | 10111 | 8427 | A decrease of 16% |
| Total applications disposed of through show cause hearings | 438 | 595 | An increase of 35.8% |
| Total applications published in the trademark journal | 8912 | 9825 | An increase of 10% |
| Total registrations granted | 6938 | 6566 | A decrease of 5.3 % |
| Total hearing notices issued | 2662 | 851 | A decrease of 68% |
| Total renewal notices issued | 1921 | 877 | A decrease of 54 |
Total number of marks published in trademark journal
| S.No. | Name of Office | Publication |
| 1. | MUMBAI | 1687 |
| 2. | AHMEDABAD | 782 |
| 3. | KOLKATA | 356 |
| 4. | DELHI | 2629 |
| 5. | CHENNAI | 1159 |
| 6. | INTERNATIONAL REGISTRATION DIVISION | 1022 |
| 7. | Total Trademarks published in the Journal | 7635 |
Total number of Applications Examined by the Trademark Office in this year: 167274
INTERESTING TRADEMARKS
I CAN’T BREATH-Catherine Crump
In December 2014, Catherine Crump, a resident of Illinois, USA filed an application to register the last words of Mr. Michael Garner ‘I CAN’T BREATHE’ under class 25 for clothing, mainly hoodies and T-shirts. Mr. Garner died in police custody after being placed in an illegal chokehold. CCTV footage showed Mr. Garner repeatedly cry out the words “I can’t breath”. His death triggered widespread protest in the US with protesters wearing t-shirts saying I CAN’T BREATH. Catherine Crump’s trademark application was rejected by the US Trademark and Patent Office in March 2015.
INDIAN TRADEMARK UPDATES
Delhi High Court orders Rupees Fifteen Lacs damages in trademark infringement suit.
A permanent injunction was granted by the Delhi High Court against Mr. Ramjee, Mr. Munna Kumar and Mr. Vikas Jain restraining them from manufacturing, selling, offering for sale, advertising or dealing with any product bearing trademarks of the US-based SanDisk Corporation. The suit was filed in October 2014 against certain unknown persons who were selling counterfeit SanDisk Micro SD memory cards through a large number of stalls set up across at Daryaganj, Delhi. An ex-parte ad interim injunction was granted by the Delhi High Court in favor of SanDisk Corporation and against the unknown defendants on 17th October 2014. Moreover, Commissioners were appointed to seize the counterfeit products and identify the infringers. The infringers identified by the Commissioners were later impleaded into the suit as Defendants. After perusing the evidence including the documents submitted by the Commissioners, the Court found that the Defendants had infringed the trademarks of SanDisk Corporation. In addition to the permanent injunction, the Defendants were directed to pay damages of Rs Fifteen Lacs and costs of the suit.
CGPDTM invites applications for 32 new Trademark Examiners
The Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks invites applications from eligible candidates for the post of Examiner of Trade Marks on a contractual basis. The application must be sent to the email id satyendra.tmr@nic.in with a copy to sm.togrikar@nic.in in the format mentioned in the notification. The last date for submission of the applications is 26th May 2017.
INTERNATIONAL TRADEMARK UPDATES
Arizona Board of Regents and the University of Arizona sues website over trademark infringement
A Sahuarita based Company selling t-shirts online is being sued for trademark infringement and false designation of origin by the Arizona Board of Regents and the University of Arizona. The Defendant is engaged in the sale of t-shirts bearing the taglines “Display Arizona Pride” “Support the Wildcats” “Hate the Sundevils” through the website scumdevils.com. The Plaintiffs claim that they are the registered proprietors of the Wildcat related marks. The Plaintiffs allege that the sale of t-shirts with images that are confusingly similar to its wildcat marks amount to trademark infringement.
DOMAIN DISPUTE UPDATES
Amazon obtained favorable order against Flashamazonsales.in
In a recent arbitration proceeding under the INDRP Rules, the e-commerce giant Amazon has successfully restrained a Mumbai-based entity from using the domain www.flashamazonsales.in. The Arbitrator found that the registration and use of the domain www.flashamazonsales.in would deceive the public and ordered the domain to be transferred to Amazon.
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION UPDATES
Andhra Pradesh’s Banganapalle Mango gets GI Tag
The Geographical Indication Registry has accepted an application made by the commissioner of horticulture, Andhra Pradesh for the famous Banganapalle mangoes. Banaganappalle is a town in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh where the farmers are engaged in the cultivation of mangoes for over a century. The agro-climatic and geographical conditions prevailing in Banganapalle and adjoining areas give the fruit its unique characteristics. Andhra Pradesh in recent times has secured GI tags for Udayagiri wooden cutlery and Bandar laddu as well.
BIP TIP OF THE WEEK
Anti-counterfeiting through John Doe order.
Obtaining a John Doe order against unknown infringers when there is large-scale counterfeiting of trademarks is a strategic option available to trademark owners in India. It must, however, be borne in mind that courts are narrowing the scope of John Doe orders and imposing conditions with respect to specificity of parties with each passing decision.
