KFC Isn\u2019t Finger Licking Good During the Pandemic, Instagram Faces Trademark Suit Over New \u2018Reels\u2019 Feature, Skechers to Come Out with Dr. Seuss Inspired Collection and more brought to you by the Trademark Attorneys at BananaIP (BIP) Counsel.<\/p>\n
Madras High Court has restrained Patanjali Ayurveda Limited (\u2018Patanjali\u2019) from using the term \u2018Coronil\u2019 in connection with an ayurvedic medication claimed to be a cure to the novel Coronavirus. The suit was filed by Arudra Engineering Pvt. Ltd. (\u2018Arudra\u2019), who are the registered proprietors of the trademarks \u2018CORONIL-92 B\u2019 and \u2018Coronil-213 SPL\u2019 since 1993, used in connection with chemical sanitization agents. The Madras HC had granted an ex-parte interim injunction order in favour of Arudra which had been opposed by Patanjali. The Madras HC refused to vacate the interim injunction order and imposed a fine of INR 10 lakh on Patanjali for infringing on the existing trademarks, as well as for chasing profit by exploiting the fear and panic among the general public by falsely claiming \u2018Coronil\u2019 to be a cure for the virus when, in fact, the tablet is not a cure but rather an immunity booster for cough, cold and fever. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), one of the world\u2019s largest fast food chains, has decided to suspend usage of its age-old slogan \u2018It\u2019s Finger Lickin\u2019 Good\u2019, in light of the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. For the past several months, healthcare officials have continuously cautioned people against touching their eyes, nose, and mouth, in order to halt the spread of the deadly Coronavirus, and in such an environment, KFC stated that its iconic slogan \u201cdoesn\u2019t feel quite right\u201d. KFC announced the move through a YouTube advertisement campaign, showing KFC billboards and food packaging with the \u2018It\u2019s Finger Lickin\u2019 Good\u2019 slogan blurred out, amplifying the message of healthcare officials. The slogan is set to return to all packaging and advertising once the pandemic subsides, and when KFC deems that the \u201ctime is right\u201d.<\/p>\n The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York recently overturned a $21 million award against Costco Wholesale Corporation, for infringing the trademark of renowned jewellery maker Tiffany & Co. The suit was first instituted in 2013 by Tiffany against Costco, who was selling unbranded diamond engagement rings, bearing the \u201cTiffany\u201d name. The U.S. District Court had decided the case in favour of Tiffany back 2015, holding Costco liable for trademark infringement and counterfeiting. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals, however, overturned this decision, stating that the \u201cTiffany\u201d signs were placed by Costco to refer to the design of the diamond ring, which was also called the \u201cTiffany\u201d design in a number of magazines and publications. Further the Court stated that Costco acted in good faith and had no intention to infringe on Tiffany\u2019s trademark, or to counterfeit their goods.<\/p>\n ReelzChannel, a US based independent cable and satellite television network, has filed a trademark infringement suit against popular social networking site Instagram and its owner Facebook, over the site\u2019s newly launched feature \u2018Reels\u2019. Reels is a short-form video sharing platform, which was introduced by Instagram to compete with platforms like TikTok. Reelz has stated in the suit that the use of the name \u2018Reels\u2019 by Instagram will confuse consumers, as well as usurp the goodwill and brand identity of ReelzChannel. The suit has been filed before the Minnesota Federal Court, \u00a0with ReelzChannel claiming damages for trademark infringement, trademark dilution, as well as injunctive relief against the use of the mark \u2018Reels\u2019.<\/p>\n Sketchers USA, a North American lifestyle and performance footwear brand, has partnered with the popular children’s entertainment company Dr. Seuss Enterprises, to create a new footwear collection for children as well as adults. The collection will bring to life the well-known characters from Dr. Seuss books such as \u201cThe Cat in the Hat\u201d, \u201cThing 1\u201d and \u201cThing 2\u201d, \u201cOne Fish\u201d, \u201cTwo Fish\u201d, \u201cRed Fish\u201d, \u201cBlue Fish\u201d and many others. The collection will be available online from September 2020 at Skechers\u2019 website as well as through its retail stores.<\/p>\n Wrogn, the youth fashion brand co-owned by Virat Kohli, has partnered with Illumination for their Despicable Me and Minions characters, to develop a new fashion collection named \u2018MINIONS x WROGN\u2019. Wrogn will have licensing rights to use the iconic animated characters Gru and the Minions on this new apparel line. The collection will offer 10 unique designs in various colors and styles and will be available throughout India by way of retail as well as online stores. The deal is brokered by the brand licensing agent Black White Orange (BWO).<\/p>\n Mighty Men Pty Ltd (\u201cComplainant\u201d), an Australian company operating under the trade name \u2018Opalshop\u2019, recently filed a complaint under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) before the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), against the operator of the domain www.opalshop.com<\/a>. The Complainant owns and operates the domain names www.opalshop.com.au<\/a>, www.opalshopaustralia.com<\/a> and www.opalshopaustralia.ch<\/a>. The impugned domain name belonged to a deregistered Australian company by the name of RD Opal Pty Ltd (\u201cRespondent\u201d). It was the contention of the Complainant, that as the domain name belonged to a deregistered entity, it must be transferred to the Complainant itself. A former director of the Respondent countered the present complaint, rebutting the claim, and stating that the domain www.opalshop.com<\/a> was initially created as a landing page for their commercial storefront. The impugned domain name now redirects visitors to the Respondent\u2019s new opal jewellery business, at www.blackstaropal.com<\/a>, and is therefore still in use. The WIPO Panel rejected the complaint, stating that the Complainant was acting in bad faith, and had made several misrepresentations during the UDRP process. Further, the Panel held that the Complainant has abused the administrative process, in order to engage in reverse domain name hijacking, to unjustly appropriate the domain name www.opalshop.com<\/a> and therefore the complaint is denied.<\/p>\n Goa is all set to include two more Geographical Indication (GI) tags to its already existing portfolio. The GI Registry has recently advertised in its journal two GIs, Myndoli Bananas and Harmal Chilies, filed by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of Goa and The Harmal – Pernem Chilli (Mirchi) Growers Association (HPCGA) along with The Department of Science & Technology DST, Government of Goa respectively. Myndoli Bananas, popularly known as Moira bananas, was introduced by Franciscan priests in the village of Moira, Goa and is characterized by their large size, longer shelf-life as well as less seeds. Harmal chilies, originating from the coastal village of Arambol, in Pernem, Goa are known for their reddish-brown color, smooth texture, and high pungency. Both the GIs will proceed towards registration if no opposition is filed against them.<\/p>\n Authored and compiled by Uma T.S, Shreya Chaddha & Varun Gopalakrishnan<\/strong> Disclaimer:<\/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":" This post analyses key trademark and intellectual property news, including the Madras High Court\u2019s fine on Patanjali for the ‘Coronil’ trademark and KFC\u2019s slogan suspension. It also covers international disputes, licensing deals, and GI updates, reflecting current trends in IP law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":8,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,11],"tags":[3298,10629,11075,11074,1957,11073,41,1468],"class_list":["post-69441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-intellectual-property","category-trademarks","tag-brand-licensing","tag-domain-dispute","tag-gi-tags-india","tag-kfc-slogan","tag-madras-high-court","tag-patanjali-coronil","tag-trademark-infringement-2","tag-trademark-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69441","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=69441"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":141171,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69441\/revisions\/141171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nCitation<\/u><\/strong>: Arudra Engineers Private Limited vs Patanjali Ayurved Limited [O.A. No. 258\/2020 in C.S. No.163 of 2020]<\/p>\nINTERNATIONAL TRADEMARK UPDATES<\/strong><\/h2>\n
KFC Isn\u2019t Finger Licking Good During the Pandemic<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Costco not Infringing Tiffany, Succeeds in Appealing $21 Million Verdict\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Instagram Faces Trademark Suit Over New \u2018Reels\u2019 Feature<\/strong><\/h3>\n
BRAND LICENSING UPDATES<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Skechers to Come Out with Dr. Seuss Inspired Collection<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Minions go Wrogn<\/strong><\/h3>\n
DOMAIN NAME DISPUTE UPDATES<\/strong><\/h2>\n
OpalShop.com Involved in Reverse Domain Name Hijacking Attempt<\/strong><\/h3>\n
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION UPDATES<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Goa\u2019s Myndoli Bananas and Harmal Chilies Soon to get GI Tags<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\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>
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