Indian Trademark Statistics for May (Second Week), Guns N’ Roses’ Trademark Battle with a Brewery, Karbonn Mobile to Re-launch Sansui in India, Reliance Acquires Toy Retailer Hamley’s and more, brought to you by the Trademark Attorneys at BananaIP (BIP) Counsels.
TRADEMARK QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Brand is the promise, the big idea, the expectations that reside in each customer’s mind about a product, service or company. Branding is about making an emotional connection – Alina Wheeler
INDIAN TRADEMARK STATISTICS
In the last week, the Indian Trademark Office has decreased its pace in the previous week. The total number of applications published in the trademark journal has decreased by twenty one percent (21%). Similarly, the total number of registrations granted has decreased by twelve percent (12%). However, the total number of applications examined by trademark office has increased by fifty one percent (51%).
Weekly Indian Trademark Statistics
| Particulars | Last Week | This Week | Change in % |
| Total Trademark Applications Examined by Trademark Office | 4525 | 6815 | An increase of 51% |
| Total Applications Disposed through Show Cause Hearings | 4121 | 3945 | A decrease of 4% |
| Total Applications Published in the Trademark Journal | 6530 | 5127 | A decrease of 21% |
| Total Registrations Granted | 8481 | 7452 | A decrease of 12% |
| Total Hearing Notices Issued | 9680 | 7310 | A decrease of 24% |
| Total Renewals Notices Issued | 1562 | 996 | A decrease of 36% |
Trademark Statistics by Office
Total Number of New Applications Received from May 1st, 2019 to May 8th, 2019
| Sr. No | Jurisdiction | New Applications | Examined | Published | Registered |
| 1 | AHMEDABAD | 720 | 390 | 691 | 913 |
| 2 | CHENNAI | 1170 | 579 | 843 | 1597 |
| 3 | DELHI | 2535 | 1009 | 1835 | 2636 |
| 4 | KOLKATA | 321 | 180 | 144 | 341 |
| 5 | MUMBAI | 1590 | 656 | 991 | 1589 |
| Total | 6336 | 2814 | 4504 | 7076 |
Yearly Trademark Statistics
Trademark Statistics from January 1st, 2019 to May 15th, 2019
- Total Number of Trademark Applications Filed – 127377
- Total Number of Trademark Applications Examined – 54528
- Total Number of Trademark Applications Published – 116476
- Total Number of Trademark Applications Registered – 105366
INDIAN TRADEMARK UPDATES
Bata Defeats its Trademark Infringer
The well-known footwear manufacturer and retailer, Bata India Limited, filed a suit seeking an injunction to stop Leayan Global Pvt. Ltd. from using the trademark “POWER FLEX” as it infringes it trademark POWER which was adopted in 1971. The Delhi High Court observed that Leayan Global’s primary mark was RED CHIEF and the mark “POWER FLEX” was used inside its shoes on a standalone basis. The Court further observed that the adoption of mark “POWER FLEX” is fraught with risk owing to the high standing of the POWER mark by Bata for the last five decades. The Court granted an interim injunction to stop Leayan Global’s use of the infringing trademark and also rejected their argument that the mark POWER is descriptive in relation to its use with footwear.
INTERNATIONAL TRADEMARK UPDATES
UGGly Battle For Australian Boot Maker
“These boots are made for walking”, but not for the Australian boot maker Adnan Oygur. In a recent judgment an eight-person jury in Illinois federal court has found Australian Leather Ltd, a Sydney based company, along with the founder Adnan Oygur liable for wilful infringement of the “UGG” trademark. Deckers Outdoor Corporation, a US based footwear company, the owner of the trademark UGG had filed a suit against the Australian footwear manufacturer for selling 12 pairs of boots online in the US from 2014-16. The court has ordered Mr. Oygur to pay $ 450,000 in damages. Oygur’s claim that the term ‘UGG’ is a generic term for the sheepskin boot style of footwear was rejected by the court.
American Rock Band Sues Brewery For Trademark Infringement
The world may be a fan of the American rock band Guns N’ Roses, also known as GNR, but the Colorado US based Oskar Blues Brewery is definitely not one of them. GNR has filed a trademark infringement suit against Canarchy Craft Brewing Collective’s Oskar Blues Brewery for selling a beer under the name of Guns N’ Roses. The rock band has claimed in the suit that apart from the beer, the brewery is also selling merchandise such as hats, t-shirts, pint glasses, stickers, buttons, and bandanas under their logo without their permission. The lawsuit has been filed after the brewery refused to cease selling the beer and said that it would continue to do so up-till March 2020. GNR is seeking damages along with an injunction on the sale of the infringing products.
BRAND LICENSING UPDATES
Karbonn Mobile to Re-launch Sansui in India
The Indian mobile manufacturer, Karbonn Mobiles, has acquired a five year brand license of Japanese consumer electronics brand Sansui in India. Karbonn will re-launch Sansui brand in India for televisions, home audio products, refrigerators, and small kitchen appliances from July, 2019. The sale of the Sansui products will be through offline stores and Flipkart. Sansui was earlier licensed to Videocon for distribution in India for 17 years.
Reliance Acquires Toy store Hamley’s
Reliance Brands Limited (RBL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, owned by Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in India, has acquired Hamleys, a recognized British toy retailer. In an agreement between RBL and C Banner International Holdings, a Hong Kong based company and owner of Hamleys, the iconic toy company’s shares has been transferred for a cash consideration of GBP 67.96 million. The sale has been made as the toy company has failed to be profitable in the last few years. Until now, Reliance Retail had the franchise rights to sell Hamleys’ products in India.
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION UPDATES
King of Mangoes Fights GI Battle
The king of Mangoes, Alphonso that enjoys a GI registration is fighting a GI battle now with the wholesale and retail markets for selling similar looking mangoes sourced from Karnataka mislabeled as Alphonso mangoes. A crate of original Alphonso consisting of about 60 mangoes is sold for INR 1000-1200. However, the duplicate Alphonso’s of Karnataka are sold for INR 300-400. In a letter to the state government, Maharashtra Mango Growers Association stated that low prices and a spike in the cost of production had pushed the local farmers into financial losses. Alphonso variety of mangoes grown in Konkan districts of Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri had received the GI tag last year.
Author: BIP Trademark Attorneys
Led by Sanjeeth Hegde, BIP’s trademark attorneys are among the leading experts in the field. They work on trademark filing, prosecution, management, licensing, franchising, merchandizing, litigation, and strategy for clients such as PEPS, Yash Raj Films, Dharma Productions, Essilor, Samsung and the IITs.
The weekly trademark news initiative is a part of their pro bono work and is aimed at spreading trademark 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 trademark attorneys at contact@bananaip.com
