Indian Trademark Statistics for June (Fourth Week), Barco\u2019s-Grey\u2019s Anatomy Licensing Agreement Renewal, PolicyBazaar Pays Hefty Fine of 10 Lakhs, Dream Theatre Associates with Ninja Hattori and more, brought to you by the Trademark Attorneys at BananaIP (BIP) Counsels.<\/p>\n
“What is immoral and scandalous? Certainly not personal feelings of the trademark examiner. There is a lot to learn from the US Supreme Court’s Judgment in the FUCT case on immoral and scandalous marks.” – Dr. Kalyan C. Kankanala, BananaIP Counsels.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
INDIAN TRADEMARK STATISTICS<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Last week, the Indian Trademark Office has picked up its pace. The total number of applications disposed through show cause hearings has increased by forty three percent (43%). Similarly, the total number of hearing notices issued has increased by fifty four percent (54%). However, there has been a decrease of seventeen percent (17%) in the total applications published in the trademark journal.<\/p>\n
Weekly Indian Trademark Statistics<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n\n
\n Particulars<\/strong><\/td>\n Last Week<\/strong><\/td>\n This Week<\/strong><\/td>\n Change in %<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Total Trademark Applications Examined by Trademark Office<\/td>\n 7387<\/td>\n 7943<\/td>\n An increase of 8%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Total Applications Disposed through Show Cause Hearings<\/td>\n 3126<\/td>\n 4465<\/td>\n An increase of 43%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Total Applications Published in the Trademark Journal<\/td>\n 7871<\/td>\n 6498<\/td>\n A decrease of 17%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Total Registrations Granted<\/td>\n 6959<\/td>\n 6226<\/td>\n A decrease of 11%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Total Hearing Notices Issued<\/td>\n 6881<\/td>\n 10574<\/td>\n An increase of 54%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Total Renewals Notices Issued<\/td>\n 1800<\/td>\n 2082<\/td>\n An increase of 16%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Trademark Statistics by Office<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Total Number of New Applications Received from June 19th<\/sup>, 2019 to June 26th<\/sup>, 2019<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n
\n\n
\n Sr. No<\/strong><\/td>\n Jurisdiction<\/strong><\/td>\n New Applications<\/strong><\/td>\n Examined<\/strong><\/td>\n Published<\/strong><\/td>\n Registered<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 1<\/td>\n AHMEDABAD<\/td>\n 925<\/td>\n 493<\/td>\n 454<\/td>\n 747<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2<\/td>\n CHENNAI<\/td>\n 1208<\/td>\n 735<\/td>\n 1358<\/td>\n 1878<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 3<\/td>\n DELHI<\/td>\n 2401<\/td>\n 1644<\/td>\n 2218<\/td>\n 2328<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 4<\/td>\n KOLKATA<\/td>\n 420<\/td>\n 234<\/td>\n 272<\/td>\n 320<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 5<\/td>\n MUMBAI<\/td>\n 1526<\/td>\n 1059<\/td>\n 1452<\/td>\n 1640<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Total<\/strong><\/td>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n 6480<\/strong><\/td>\n 4165<\/strong><\/td>\n 5754<\/strong><\/td>\n 6913<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Yearly Trademark Statistics<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Trademark Statistics from January 1st<\/sup>, 2019 to June 26th<\/sup>, 2019 <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n
\n
- Total Number of Trademark Applications Filed \u2013 166073<\/li>\n
- Total Number of Trademark Applications Examined \u2013 \u00a075878<\/li>\n
- Total Number of Trademark Applications Published \u2013 115364<\/li>\n
- Total Number of Trademark Applications Registered \u2013 144402<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
INDIAN TRADEMARK UPDATES<\/strong><\/h2>\n
PolicyBazaar Pays Hefty Fine of 10 Lakhs<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Delhi High Court imposed a fine of INR 10 Lakhs on PolicyBazaar, an online insurance aggregator, for concealing facts to obtain a favourable decision in a trademark infringement matter filed against Acko General Insurance. On May 16th<\/sup> this year, the Court passed an ex-parte order restraining Acko, which is also an online insurance provider, from using the trademark \u2018PolicyBazaar\u2019 in any manner or form or as an adword\/keyword programme through Google. Acko however submitted to the Court that PolicyBazaar has misrepresented, concealed and distorted the facts and made false statements to obtain the ex-parte interim injunction. PolicyBazaar had filed a trademark infringement suit against Acko alleging that the latter was using its trademark \u2018PolicyBazaar\u2019 as a keyword when PolicyBazaar themselves were using Acko\u2019s name as a meta tag\/keyword and therefore its website was showing up as a sponsored link whenever someone was searching for Acko. PolicyBazaar contended that they stopped using \u2018Acko\u2019 since April 23rd<\/sup> this year. \u00a0However, the Court did not accept the contention and considered it as a deliberate act of concealing of facts and directed PolicyBazaar to deposit INR 5 lakhs with the Prime Minister\u2019s Relief Fund and 5 lakhs with the Delhi Legal Aid Services Authority. The Court has also ordered PolicyBazaar to submit an undertaking and unconditional apology.<\/p>\n
INTERNATIONAL TRADEMARK UPDATES<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Roaring Win for FUCT: US Supreme Court Strikes Down USPTO\u2019s Ban<\/strong><\/h3>\n
In what will go down as a landmark judgment in the history books of trademark law, the US Supreme Court has ruled that the USPTO cannot reject trademarks which are \u2018immoral\u2019 or \u2018scandalous\u2019 in nature, as it is a violation of the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which gives the right to freedom of speech. The USPTO had earlier rejected the trademark application for FUCT, an acronym for Friend\u2019s U Can\u2019t Trust, a clothing line designed by Mr. Erik Brunetti, on the basis that the mark was \u2018offensive, vulgar and suffused with decidedly negative sexual connotations\u2019, and the same was upheld by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. While rejecting the reasoning of the USPTO, Justice Elena Kagan held that \u2018The First Amendment does not allow the government to penalize views just because many people, whether rightly or wrongly, see them as offensive\u2019. The decision while providing a win for Mr. Brunetti to get his mark registered, has paved the way for trademark owners to apply for any marks which were otherwise refused by the USPTO for being obscene.<\/p>\n
Adidas Loses Trademark Protection For Three Striped Trademark In EU<\/strong><\/h3>\n
In a huge blow to Adidas, the Germany based shoe and apparel manufacturing company, the European Union General Court (EUGC) has denied protection to its three striped logo. The EUGC while upholding the decision of the European Union Intellectual Property Office, has held that the \u2018three parallel equidistant stripes of equal width applied to the product in whichever direction\u2019 is not distinctive enough to be granted a trademark protection and is just an \u2018ordinary figurative mark\u2019. Adidas was required to prove that the mark has acquired distinctive character in all 28 European Countries, however, it was unable to do so and was able to provide in only five. Adidas now has the option to appeal the case.<\/p>\n
Taylor Swift Attempts to Trademark Her Cat\u2019s Names<\/strong><\/h3>\n
This might be purrrfect news for our furry feline lovers, singer Taylor Swift has filed new trademark applications, for her cat. Yes, you heard it right. The Grammy winner has filed new applications to register MEREDITH, OLIVIA & BENJAMIN SWIFT, the names of her cats. The marks have been filed under a number of classes which includes musical sound recordings, jewellery, apparels, toys and entertainment, amongst others. \u00a0Earlier Swift had applied for the mark Meredith & Olivia Swift also.<\/p>\n
BRAND LICENSING UPDATES<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Dream Theatre Associates With Ninja Hattori<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Brand management and licensing representation company, Dream Theatre has inked a licensing and merchandising deal for \u2018Ninja Hattori\u2019 in India. Ninja Hattori is a popular 1981 anime series on kids\u2019 television. As part of the association, Dream Theatre intends to diversify the portfolio of Ninja Hattori apparel, home and personal care, food, promotions and technology to cater to Ninja Hattori\u2019s audience in India. The show is now available on Amazon Prime, Voot and Netflix too.<\/p>\n
Barco\u2019s-Grey\u2019s Anatomy Licensing Agreement Renewal<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Barco Uniforms, a premium healthcare apparel manufacturer, has renewed its licensing agreement with the popular ABC network show Grey\u2019s Anatomy, which has been extended through 2027. Barco had launched the highly successful Grey\u2019s Anatomy collection in 2017, and has now launched six new sub brand collections. Barco\u2019s is known for designing high quality clothes for healthcare professional.<\/p>\n
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION UPDATES<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Kolhapuri Chappals Gets GI Tag<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The Geographical Indication Registry of India recently granted GI tag to the widely popular Kolhapuri Chappals, an ethnic handmade footwear native to both Karnataka and Maharashtra.\u00a0 This footwear is essentially known for its aesthetics, durability, decorative woven patterns fixed over the upper bands, and also for its resistance to abrasion and water absorption. The ethnic Kolhapuri Chappal is exclusively made from vegetable tanned leather. The application was filed by Sant Roahidas Leather Industries & Charmakar Development Corporation Limited (LIDCOM) and Dr. Babu Jagjivan Ram Leather Industries Development Corporation Limited (LIDKAR) facilitated by Central Leather Research Institute, Chennai in 2009.<\/p>\n
Authored and compiled by Shreya Chaddha & Uma T.S<\/strong>
\nAbout BIP\u2019s Trademark Attorneys<\/strong>
\nThe Trademark News Bulletin is brought to you by the Trademark\/Copyright, IP Transactional Strategy Divisions of BananaIP Counsels, a Top IP Firm in India. BIP\u2019s Trademark Attorneys are among the leading experts in the field. If you have any questions, or need any clarifications, please write to\u00a0contact@bananaip.com<\/a>\u00a0with the subject: Trademark News.<\/em>
\nThe 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.<\/em><\/p>\nDisclaimer:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Kindly note that the news bulletin has been put together from different sources, primary and secondary, and BananaIP\u2019s reporters may not have verified all the news published in the bulletin. You may write to\u00a0contact@bananaip.com<\/a>\u00a0for corrections and take down<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This post covers significant trademark news, including the FUCT US Supreme Court ruling and the GI tag for Kolhapuri Chappals. It also reviews major licensing agreements and Indian trademark statistics with an objective legal perspective.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":12,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,11],"tags":[3298,10093,639,5,10092,10094,9231,101],"class_list":["post-51446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-intellectual-property","category-trademarks","tag-brand-licensing","tag-dream-theatre","tag-geographical-indications","tag-intellectual-property","tag-kolhapuri-chappals","tag-policybazaar","tag-supreme-court-cases","tag-trademark-law"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51446"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":139099,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51446\/revisions\/139099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}