IPAB Rules BSA Well-Known, Cartier’s Battle for Love, Tirur Betel Leaf GI and other news

Indian Trademark Statistics for January (First Week), 3D Cutemoji by Huawei, American Airlines & Expedia Settle, Cartoon Network Merch, brought to you by the Trademark Attorneys at BananaIP (BIP) Counsels.

TRADEMARK QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“People do not buy Goods and Services. They buy relations, stories and magic”- Seth Godin

INDIAN TRADEMARK STATISTICS

The Indian Trademark Office has had a mixed week in the past week. The total number of applications examined by trademark office has increased by thirty three percent (33%). The total number of hearing notices issued has increased by eighty five percent (85%). However, the total renewal notices issued has decreased by forty percent (40%).

Weekly Indian Trademark Statistics

Particulars Last Week This Week Change in %
Total Trademark Applications Examined by Trademark Office 7208 9573 An increase of 33%
Total Applications Disposed through Show Cause Hearings 5775 6552 An increase of 14%
Total Applications Published in the Trademark Journal 9281 5861 A decrease of 37%
Total Registrations Granted 8629 7097 A decrease of 18%
Total Hearing Notices Issued 7158 13263 An increase of 85%
Total Renewals Notices Issued 2255 1356 A decrease of 40%

Trademark Statistics by Office

Total Number of New Applications Received from January 2nd to January 9th, 2018

Sr. No Jurisdiction New Applications Examined Published Registered
1 AHMEDABAD 1049 516 730 544
2 CHENNAI 1564 879 1073 1772
3 DELHI 2528 1580 2219 1999
4 KOLKATA 426 239 444 406
5 MUMBAI 1710 959 1021 1916
Total   7277 4173 5487 6637

Yearly Trademark Statistics

Trademark Statistics from January 01st, 2019 to January 9th, 2018

  • Total Number of Trademark Applications Filed – 7831
  • Total Number of Trademark Applications Examined –  4434
  • Total Number of Trademark Applications Published – 5487
  • Total Number of Trademark Applications Registered – 6648

INTERESTING BRAND NEWS

Huawei Files Trademark for ‘3D Cutemoji’

Huawei Technologies the Chinese telecommunication major has filed a new trademark application for the mark ‘3D CuteMoji’. The mark has been filed in Peru under class 09 for computer programs and downloadable software. The present emoji features are likely to feature in Huawei’s new P30 series. The emojis will allow the users to choose an avatar with human like features, record a message and send it to other user.

INDIAN TRADEMARK UPDATES

IPAB Rules BSA Well-known

Tube Investments of India (TI), a group company of Chennai-based Murugappa Group, and the manufacturer of BSA bicycles, had filed a rectification petition against the Malaysian company BSA Group, alleging their BSA trademark is unfairly remaining in the records of the trademark registry. Upon conducting an online search, TI had found the existence of another BSA mark registered for similar services and thus approached the Intellectual Property Appellate Tribunal (IPAB) requesting for the removal of the identical/similar mark from the trademark registry. TI alleged that the Malaysian company obtained the registration of a similar mark by gross misrepresentation. The IPAB asserted that TI who has been manufacturing BSA brand bicycles for five decades and is the registered proprietor of over twenty five BSA trademarks in India and other countries. IPAB ruled that TI’s BSA is a well-known mark and ordered for removal of the Malaysian company’s trademark from the registry.

INTERNATIONAL TRADEMARK UPDATES

American Airlines and Expedia Settle

American Airlines, Inc, (AA) one of the world’s largest airlines, and the Expedia Group, the American travel company have agreed to settle a trademark dispute over the use of the mark ‘Add-On Advantage’. AA had filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas alleging that Expedia’s ‘Add-On Advantage’ logo infringed AA’s advantage loyalty program logos and marks, claiming that the similarity in the logos will confuse the customers. Both the parties have settled the matter amicably out of court, the contents of which are unknown.

Cartier’s Battle for Love

Société Cartier, the French luxury accessory brand has lost the battle over trademarking the word ‘love’ in Singapore. A counterclaim had been filed by the luxury brand against the trademark application for the mark ‘Love Gold’, filed by MoneyMax, a chain of pawnshops in Singapore. Cartier had claimed that the mark was too similar to its brand ‘Love Bracelet Collection’. However, the above contention was rejected by Singapore’s Intellectual Property Office, with the statement that “the word love is commonly used by jewelry traders and should not be monopolized by any trader”. Cartier has a trademark over the logo mark ‘love’ which is a stylized version of the word “LOVE” with thick horizontal lines through the letters O and E.

BRAND LICENSING UPDATES

Cartoon Network Merch in India

Cartoon Network Enterprises, (CNE) the subsidiary of the Cartoon Network, provides branding and merchandising services for animation and action/adventure franchises in the Asia Pacific region. CNE has now announced its first ever collaboration with the Indian fashion designer, Nandita Mahtani, to create a collection of pop-art and creative designs depicting popular characters such as The Powerpuff Girls, Johnny Bravo, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Samurai Jack, and Dexter. The collection will feature denim jackets, bomber jackets, skirts, slip dresses, and sweatshirts in vibrant colors.

GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION UPDATES

Tirur Betel Leaf GI

Tirur Betel Leaf (Tirur Vettila), the betel leaf produced in Tirur and nearby areas of Malappuram District of Kerala, has been applied for GI. It is valued both for its mild stimulant action, digestive and medicinal properties. The high antioxidant capacity and high phenol content in Tirur betel leaf adds to its medicinal properties. According to traditional ayurvedic medicine, chewing betel leaf is a remedy for bad breath and to improve digestion. The application was filed in December, 2018 by Tirur Vettila Ulpadaka Sangam.

BANANAIP TIP OF THE WEEK

Well-know trademark status can be attained for brands that are popular and easily recognizable by substantial portion of the public.  Such well-known marks will have the ability to stop the usage of same or similar marks by others in any line of business.
 
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 [email protected]

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