Articles

In-depth analytical articles on Indian IP law including prosecution,enforcement, statutory interpretation and case developments

Relative Grounds for Refusal under Section 11 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999

Leave a Comment / Trademark Article

The examination of a trademark application in India operates at two distinct levels. The first level, governed by Section 9 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, concerns the inherent qualities of the mark itself – whether it is distinctive, whether it is descriptive, whether it offends public policy. These are the absolute grounds and they […]

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Fair Dealing under Section 52 of the Copyright Act, 1957 – A Comprehensive Analysis

Leave a Comment / Copyright Article

Copyright law is, at its core, a bargain. Society grants creators a bundle of exclusive rights over their works for a limited period, in exchange for the enrichment that creative expression brings to public life. But the bargain was never intended to be unconditional. An absolute monopoly over the use of a work would impede

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Absolute Grounds for Refusal under Section 9 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999

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A trademark application in India does not receive registration as a matter of course. Before a mark enters the Register of Trade Marks and the statutory rights of an exclusive proprietor crystallize, the application must pass through a rigorous examination process administered by the Trade Marks Registry. That examination is governed by two distinct categories

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Digital Copyright in the Internet Age: Online Infringement, Intermediary Liability and Safe Harbours

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The internet has fundamentally altered the economics and architecture of creative expression. Content that once required physical manufacture, distribution and retail can now be reproduced, transmitted and accessed globally within seconds, at virtually no cost. This transformation has been a gift to creators and audiences alike – but it has also made large scale copyright

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Trademark Registration – The Complete Procedure under the Trade Marks Act, 1999

Leave a Comment / Trademark Article

A trademark is among the most commercially significant assets a business can possess. It is the sign by which consumers identify the source of goods or services, the vessel that carries a brand’s reputation and the legal instrument through which that reputation is defended. In India, the law governing the registration and protection of trademarks

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Patent Licensing and Technology Transfer in India

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Patent licensing and technology transfer are among the most commercially significant yet legally complex dimensions of intellectual property practice in India. As the country accelerates its transformation into a global innovation hub – with rising domestic patent filings, expanding pharmaceutical and technology sectors and deepening integration into international R&D supply chains – the ability to

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The Role of the Trade Marks Registry – Structure, Functions and Jurisdiction

Leave a Comment / Trademark Article

Every trademark right in India passes through a single institutional gateway: the Trade Marks Registry. It is the administrative body that receives applications, conducts examination, publishes marks for opposition, grants registration, maintains the official register, and adjudicates a wide range of inter partes proceedings. Without the Registry, the statutory scheme of trademark protection under the

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Deceptive Similarity and the Consumer Confusion Test in Indian Trademark Law

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Few questions in Indian trademark law arise more frequently, or are decided with greater consequence, than whether two competing marks are deceptively similar to each other. The resolution of this question governs whether a trademark application will be accepted or rejected by the Registrar, whether an opposition proceeding will succeed or fail, and whether an

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Patentability of AI and Software Inventions in India

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Artificial intelligence and software are transforming every sector of the economy – from drug discovery and autonomous vehicles to financial modeling and legal research. As these technologies generate increasingly sophisticated outputs, the question of whether they can be protected by patents has become one of the most contested and consequential debates in intellectual property law.

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