Times Group Doesn\u2019t Share Miss India and Mr. India Title, Franchise India Expo 2019, Rock Clashes with Rackets, Little Singham Swings into Merchandizing, Vikipedia No Match for Wikipedia and more brought to you by the Trademark Attorneys at BananaIP (BIP) Counsel.<\/p>\n
“Branding is not just about being seen as better than the competition. It\u2019s about being seen as the only solution to your audience\u2019s problem” – John Morgan<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
INDIAN TRADEMARK UPDATES<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Times Group Doesn\u2019t Share \u2018Miss India\u2019 and \u2018Mr. India\u2019 Titles<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Bennett, Coleman and Company (Times Group) filed a trademark infringement suit against Rising India Entertainment Production for using the titles \u2018Miss India\u2019 and \u2018Mr. India\u2019 for a beauty pageant organized by them. Times Group is said to have been organizing beauty pageants with the said titles since 1964 and the same have gained great reputation and goodwill in India and abroad. Moreover, they are the registered trademark owners of the titles in several trademark classes. \u00a0Rising India stated in their defence that they were not aware of the registration of the trademarks in favour of the Times Group and agreed not to conduct the event. The Delhi High Court, therefore passed an order restraining the organization from using the titles \u2018Miss India\u2019 and\/or \u2018Mr. India\u2019 or any other trademark which is deceptively similar to these.<\/p>\n
INTERNATIONAL TRADEMARK UPDATES<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Rapper Enforces Hot Girl Summer Trademark<\/strong><\/h3>\n
American rapper and singer, Megan Pete, popularly known as Megan Thee Stallion, has filed new trademark applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for the mark \u201cHot Girl Summer\u201d.\u00a0 The mark has been filed by Theory Entertainment LLC, the company owned by Megan, under several classes including apparels, entertainment, network communication, stationary and sound recordings. The singer had filed for the applications when she realized that corporates such as Wendy\u2019s and Forever 21 were using the phrase without giving her due credit for it.<\/p>\n
Rock Clashes with Rackets: Rock Band Sues Racket Manufacturer<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Dorisimo, the company representing the classical English rock band The Clash, has filed a case against Wilson Sporting Goods for trademark infringement. In a suit filed at the US District Court California, Dorisimo has accused the sports equipment manufacturer of selling tennis rackets bearing the band\u2019s name. Dorisimo has claimed that they have been selling tennis shoes under the trademark Clash since 2010 and Wilson\u2019s use of the band\u2019s name to sell tennis racket is likely to cause consumer confusion and deception about the origin of the goods. Dorisimo is seeking $3 million dollar in damages as well as attorney\u2019s fees.<\/p>\n
BRAND LICENSING UPDATES<\/strong><\/h2>\n
OshKosh Enters India <\/strong><\/h3>\n
OshKosh B\u2019Gosh, an American apparel company is all set to enter India through e-commerce major Myntra. Partnering with Tablez, Myntra will introduce OshKosh B\u2019Gosh apparel in India and help it reach a wide Indian consumer base. The partnership will focus on infant garment and footwear portfolio.<\/p>\n
Little Singham Swings into Merchandising<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Licensing and Merchandising firm Dream Theatre has become the official franchise partner of the show Little Singham. The show was launched by Reliance Animation and Rohit Shetty Picturez\u2019s in collaboration with Discovery Kids, and has become very popular in its genre. Dream Theatre will be expanding the merchandize portfolio of the show, which will extend to toys, apparel, back to school, footwear, fashion accessories, bags, sporting accessories, FMCG promotions, retail partnerships, etc.<\/p>\n
FRANCHISING UPDATES<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Franchise India Expo 2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The 17th<\/sup> International Franchise and Retail Show is all set to begin on October 12th<\/sup> and 13th <\/sup>in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. This Expo will be a platform for sharing ideas, practices and business opportunities by bringing together more than 500 brands including Ferns n Petals, Being Human, Prestige, Raymond, and more than 40,000 business buyers. The Expo will also host events such as Franchise Awards 2019, rewarding outstanding achievement of franchising, and Star Retailer Awards 2019, recognizing excellence in retailing. Further details are available at https:\/\/www.franchiseindia.com\/expo\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n
DOMAIN NAME DISPUTE UPDATES<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Vikipedia No Match for Wikipedia<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The Wikimedia Foundation Inc., an American non-profit and charitable organization headquartered in San Francisco, California filed a domain dispute with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center against Milen Radumilo for registering the domain www.vikipedia.com<\/a>. Wikimedia owns national and international trademark registrations for the mark WIKIPEDIA and alleged that Radumilo\u2019s domain name incorporates the WIKIPEDIA mark in its entirety except for substituting a single letter, namely a \u2018W\u2019 for \u2018V\u2019, and this typographical alteration does not make the disputed domain name distinguishable when written or read. Wikimedia also argued that the disputed domain was registered to capitalize on internet users\u2019 misspelling WIKIPEDIA\u2019s domain name. Furthermore, the disputed domain is operated as a pay-per-click website. Radumilo did not submit any responses to the contentions. The WIPO Arbitration and Media Center noted that WIKIPEDIA mark is inherently distinctive and has built up significant consumer recognition as a mark apart from its domain name. The sole Panelist of WIPO Arbitration and Media Center ruled that the disputed domain was registered and being used in bad faith and therefore ordered the disputed domain www.vikipedia.com<\/a> be transferred to Wikimedia.<\/p>\n
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION UPDATES<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Goan Khaje Filed for GI<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Goan Khaje more popularly called Khaje is a traditional sweet of Goa which is normally sold during festival occasions. Khaje are finger sized sticks which are made with chickpea flour that are deep fried, cooled, tossed in melted jaggery infused with ginger juice and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Khaje is prepared by traditional Khajekar families from all over Goa. Apart from being a prasad and sweet, Khaje is also thought to be healthy due to the use of ginger and jaggery in the snack. Khaje is said to have a long shelf life without the addition of any class II preservatives. The application was filed in July, 2019 by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of Goa.<\/p>\n
Authored and compiled by Shreya Chaddha & Uma T.S<\/strong>
\n\u00a0<\/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. Led by\u00a0<\/em>Sanjeeth Hegde<\/em><\/a>, BIP\u2019s Trademark Attorneys are among the leading experts in the field. If you have any questions, or need any clarifications, please write to\u00a0<\/em>contact@bananaip.com<\/em><\/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\u00a0<\/em>contact@bananaip.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0for corrections and take down<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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