The journey of a trademark application from the moment it is filed to the point at which it is accepted for advertisement is one of the most consequential phases in the entire registration process. It is during this period that the Trade Marks Registry scrutinizes the application against the requirements of the Trade Marks Act, […]
Trademark Examination in India – From Filing to Acceptance Read More »
The journey of a patent application in India does not end with filing. In many respects, it begins in earnest only when the Indian Patent Office issues what is formally known as the First Examination Report – the FER. For applicants who are new to the Indian patent system, the FER can appear daunting: a
Understanding the First Examination Report (FER) and How to Respond Read More »
Delhi High Court | CS(COMM) 1329/2016 | 8 July 2019 | Manmohan J. Background Yash Raj Films Pvt. Ltd., the plaintiff, is one of India’s most prominent film production houses with an established reputation in the domestic and international film industry. On 10th December 2010, the plaintiff released its Hindi film Band Baaja Baaraat across
Yash Raj Films Pvt. Ltd. v. Sri Sai Ganesh Productions & Ors. Read More »
Allahabad High Court | January 23, 1985 | AIR 1985 All 242 A. Banerji, J. Background Bata India Limited is one of India’s most iconic commercial names, having been associated with the manufacture and sale of footwear and related products since before the enactment of the Trade Marks Act, 1940. The name “Bata” derives from
Bata India Limited vs. Pyare Lal & Co., Meerut City & Ors. Read More »
Delhi High Court | Decided: 8 February 2011 W.P. (C) No. 801 of 2011 Bench: Justice S. Muralidhar Background Nippon Steel Corporation, a Japanese corporation with world-class technology in the field of medium-high grade steel, was engaged in intensive research and development in steelmaking and related engineering. On 9 February 2007, Nippon Steel filed an
Copyright law operates on two distinct but interconnected axes. The first is economic – the bundle of exclusive rights that allows a creator to control the reproduction, distribution, performance and communication of their work and to extract financial value from it. The second is personal – the connection between a creator and their work that
Moral Rights and Author’s Special Rights under Section 57 of the Copyright Act, 1957 Read More »
The grant of a patent is not an automatic entitlement that follows from novelty or inventive step alone. Before any invention can be examined on those standard criteria, it must first clear a foundational threshold: it must constitute a patentable subject matter under Indian law. The Patents Act, 1970 draws this threshold with deliberate precision
Non-Patentable Subject Matter in India: A Complete Guide to Section 3 Read More »
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
Relative Grounds for Refusal under Section 11 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 Read More »
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
Fair Dealing under Section 52 of the Copyright Act, 1957 – A Comprehensive Analysis Read More »
Delhi High Court | CS(OS) 1656/2005 | 17 September 2008 | S. Ravindra Bhat, J. Background The plaintiff, the University of Oxford – one of the world’s most recognized academic publishers – had been publishing educational books in India since 1912. In collaboration with the Jammu & Kashmir State Board of School Education and pursuant