Tinder opposes Shinder for Trademark Infringement, Paypal vs. Pandora, Trump trademark in China, Super Nintendo Trademark, Pipariya Tur dal moves for GI Tag and more brought to you by the Trademark Team of BananaIP Trade Mark News:
Trademark quote of the week
“A brand is not a product or a promise or a feeling. It’s the sum of all the experience you have with the company” —Amir Kassaei
TRADEMARK STATS FROM THE INDIAN TRADEMARK OFFICE
There has been a decrease in the overall activity of the Trademark Office as compared to the previous week.
| Particulars | Last week | This week | Change in % |
| Total Trademark applications examined by the Trademark Office | 8501 | 7704 | A decrease of 9.3% |
| Total applications disposed of through show cause hearings | 710 | 769 | An increase of 8.3% |
| Total applications published in the trademark journal | 9488 | 10280 | An increase of 8.3% |
| Total registrations granted | 5292 | 7111 | An increase of 34 % |
| Total hearing notices issued | 1499 | 2690 | A decrease of 79% |
| Total renewal notices issued | 2515 | 2102 | A decrease of 16.4% |
Total number of Applications Examined by the Trademark Office in this year: 180969
Total number of marks published in trademark journal
| S.No. | Name of Office | Publication |
| 1. | MUMBAI | 2060 |
| 2. | AHMEDABAD | 978 |
| 3. | KOLKATA | 352 |
| 4. | DELHI | 3446 |
| 5. | CHENNAI | 1404 |
| 6. | INTERNATIONAL REGISTRATION DIVISION | 794 |
| 7. | Total Trademarks published in Journal | 9034 |
INTERESTING TRADEMARKS
MGM-Lion Sound Trademark
The famous MGM Lion has a trademark of its own. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, an American Media Company had filed an application to trademark the sound of the iconic lion’s roar used at the outset of their films. The registration was granted in 1986 with U.S Serial No. 73553567 under Class 41, namely for Entertainment services.
INDIAN TRADEMARK UPDATES
Tinder opposed Shinder for trademark infringement
Tinder, the most popular dating app has filed a notice of opposition with the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (IPO) against a trademark on the name ‘SHINDER’ which was created and designed by Shed Simove, a British entrepreneur. The web based dating app, Shinder, is designed where women can swipe right on just one man, Mr. Simove. The trademark was applied with the IPO in this February. Mr. Simove didn’t believe he was a threat to Tinder as he stated: “It’s unlikely that the female population will stop using Tinder and start using Shinder.”
Paypal initiates legal suit against Pandora
Paypal has filed a legal suit against Pandora, the music company for infringing their logo. Paypal has initiated a trademark infringement suit, saying that the logo adopted by Pandora is strikingly similar to their logo, which is creating a confusion in the mind of the public. Pandora has to respond to the same in the court by 12th of June.
Infosys renames AI Platform ‘Mana’ over trademark violation allegations
Infosys, the information technology consulting behemoth, has recently renamed its artificial intelligence (AI) platform MANA to NIA upon allegations of trademark violation by the Germany-based software giant SAP. As per the claims of SAP, MANA sounded similar to their in-memory database platform HANA and was creating confusion amongst the key customers in the European region. However, it is to be noted that both the companies have now mutually resolved the issues regarding the use of their respective trademarks in the interest of larger partnership.
INTERNATIONAL TRADEMARK UPDATES
Trump registers trademark in China
US President Donald Trump has been granted a preliminary approval for another trademark in China, this time for apparels. Trump has now a total of 77 registered trademarks in China and 39 trademarks with preliminary approval. The trademark applications were filed in June 2016.
Marvel files trademark for Marvel Rising
Marvel Entertainment has recently filed nine applications in USPTO for registration of the mark ‘Marvel Rising’. The trademark has been filed under Classes 03,09,14,16,18,24,25,28 and 41. Surprisingly, none of these classes include comic books, for which Marvel Comics is known for.
Super Nintendo World filed as Trademark
Nintendo Corporation, the Japanese multinational video game company, has filed for new trademark applications in USPTO under class 25,28,41 and 43 on May 24th, 2017.
Beyonce in legal squabble over Blue Ivy
Victoria Morales, owner of an event management business has filed a case against Beyonce for trademark fraud for the mark Blue Ivy, the name of the pop singer’s daughter. Veronica Morales‘s company, Blue Ivy, has accused the singer of registering the name without the intent to use it, which is a requisite when registering the mark under USPTO. Morales has filed a motion with the court so that Beyonce can produce evidence for intention to use the trademark for commercial purpose and is not registering the name to deter other people from using it.
DOMAIN NAME DISPUTES
HT Media Ltd vs. Navneet Chaturvedi
HT Media, a leading media house in India engaged in the publication of ‘Hindustan Times’ and also the domain owner of www.hindustantimes.com had filed a suit before Delhi HC for a permanent injunction, infringement of trademark, passing off and rendition of accounts and damages against a website for operating the web domain www.hindustantimesonline.com. Plaintiff also alleged that the defendants make use of a mark identical to the Plaintiff’s registered trademarks. The Court has passed a restraining order against the defendants and also passed a decree for punitive damages for a sum of Rs. 5,00,000 to be awarded to the Plaintiffs.
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION UPDATES
Pipariya Tur Dal moves for GI Tag
Madhya Pradesh being the largest producer of tur dal in the country moves for GI tag for its nationwide favorite tur dal produced in the picturesque town Pipariya located in the district of Hoshangabad. The objective is to ensure that the farmers of the state reap its full benefit. The state is promoting its production as much as possible as Tur dal is the main crop of MP. A five-year study by the researchers of International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad has traced the origin of cultivated pigeon pea to MP and migration path from Asia to Sub-Saharan Africa.
BIP TIP OF THE WEEK
Trademarks for Mobile Apps
The title/name of the mobile app available on any of the mobile app stores can be protected as a trademark. Registering mobile app names as trademarks will help developers/companies take down mobile applications bearing similar marks from the App store. While choosing a name/mark for a mobile app, care must be taken to avoid pre-existing mobile app names.
