This week’s trademark updates are as follows –
Protecting GI Goods
The GI Tags can and are being utilized to prevent counterfeits from chipping away the revenue of the original products protected as a GI. The Gulbarga Tur Dal (pigeon pea) is a good example of the same. During a training program held in October 2022, 16 users were awarded the “Authorized User Certificate” (AUC) for the Gulbarga Tur Dal, which is a product provided with a GI Tag. The AUC was granted by the Geographical Indications Registry, Government of India. The underlying intention was to instruct the farmers, millers, and the people who were granted the AUC to detect counterfeit Tur Dal being sold as the GI-Tagged Gulbarga Tur Dal and avoid bleeding the income for the original products.
NATURALS v NIC Natural
An interim order issued by the Delhi High Court recently prohibited “NIC Natural Ice Creams” from using the “NATURAL” and “NATURALS” ice cream trademarks in a trademark infringement suit. On October 19, a single judge bench of Justice Jyoti Singh ruled in favour of the plaintiffs Siddhant Ice Creams LLP & others. The judge decided the case on the basis of a prima facie case, the balance of convenience, and irreparable injury and loss, in the favour of the Plaintiff. The HC additionally prohibited the defendants from using any other domain name, email address, or social media handles incorporating the word “NATURAL” in it, such as the web address “nicnaturalicecreams.com.” Furthermore, the HC barred the defendants from using the plaintiffs’ trademarks “NATURAL” or “NATURALS” as “metatags” or as keywords in Google’s AdWords program to promote their goods.
Qualcomm Inc. and Arm Ltd. In Licensing Dispute
In response to claims from Arm Ltd. (Softbank Group Corp.), the famous chipmaker Qualcomm Inc. filed a countersuit, asking a Delaware Federal Judge to declare that Arm’s claims of infringement of licensing agreements and trademarks by Qualcomm were unfounded. Qualcomm wanted the declaration that their acquisition of Nuvia Inc. did not, in any manner, hinder the Arm’s Licensing Contracts. Qualcomm, in its submissions, alleged claims against Arm that the company tried to leverage this lawsuit against Qualcomm, to make Qualcomm renegotiate the terms of the long-standing licensing agreements between the two companies.
Authored by Lavanya Anand (Associate, BananaIP Counsels) and Rohan Koshy Cherian (Intern, BananaIP Counsels).
This post is brought to you by BananaIP Counsels’ Trademarks and Copyright Attorneys
About BananaIP Counsels’ Trademarks and Copyright Attorneys
This Weekly Trademark Updates Bulletin is brought to you by the Trademarks and Copyright Division of BananaIP Counsels, a Top IP Firm in India. Led by Sanjeeth Hegde, BananaIP Counsels’ trademark and copyright attorneys are among the leading experts in the field. If you have any questions, or need any clarifications, please write to contact@bananaip.com with the subject: Weekly Trademark Update.
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