“Indian Trade Mark Statistics for January (First Week) 2018, Rajinikanth’s Hand Symbol in Trade Mark Trouble?, Levis Trade Mark Infringement, Personalized Music Experiences in Facebook, Tulaipanju Rice Gets GI Registration, and more Weekly Trade Mark News” brought to you by the Trade Mark Attorneys at BananaIP (BIP) Counsels.
TRADE MARK QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Trade licensing almost inevitably becomes a tool in the hands of a special producer group to maintain a monopoly position at the expense of the rest of the public. There is no way to avoid this result”- Milton Friedman
INDIAN TRADE MARK STATISTICS
The Indian Trade Mark Office had a good start for the new year. The total number of applications examined by Trade Mark Office has increased by seventy-three percent (73%). There has also been an increase in the total number of registration granted by twenty-nine percent (29%).
Weekly Indian Trade Mark Statistics
| Particulars | Last Week | This Week | Change in % |
| Total Trade Mark Applications Examined by Trade Mark Office | 5394 | 9321 | An increase of 73% |
| Total Applications Disposed through Show Cause Hearings | 3572 | 6184 | An increase of 73% |
| Total Applications Published in the Trade Mark Journal | 0 | 15264 | An increase of 15264 |
| Total Registrations Granted | 9299 | 11966 | An increase of 29% |
| Total Hearing Notices Issued | 7830 | 11463 | An increase of 46% |
| Total Renewals Notices Issued | 810 | 4805 | An increase of 493% |
Trade Mark Statistics by Office
Total Number of New Applications Received from January 01st, to January 10th, 2018
| Sr. No | Jurisdiction | New Applications | Examined | Published | Registered |
| 1 | AHMEDABAD | 892 | 578 | 1169 | 1536 |
| 2 | CHENNAI | 1275 | 915 | 2790 | 2070 |
| 3 | DELHI | 2525 | 1751 | 4851 | 4019 |
| 4 | KOLKATA | 430 | 270 | 567 | 504 |
| 5 | MUMBAI | 1443 | 1005 | 4102 | 3137 |
| Total | 6565 | 4519 | 13479 | 11266 |
INTERESTING TRADE MARK
Urinal Trade Mark for Bakery Goods?
‘Urinal’ is a trade mark registered under class 30 for products including but not limited to bakery goods, coffee, tea, breath freshener, candy and gum. The Application was filed by an individual named Volin Dee in 2014.
INDIAN TRADE MARK UPDATES
Levi Strauss & Co. vs. Rajesh Agarwal
Subject- Trade Mark Infringement, Passing Off
Brief Facts: The Plaintiff, a well-known brand claims to be using the trade mark ‘LEVI’S’, ‘LEVI STRAUSS’ and its derivatives since 1850. The Plaintiff is the registered proprietor of the trade marks in various classes in India and other countries. The Plaintiff became aware that the Defendants were engaged in selling apparels bearing identical logos and devices as of theirs. The Plaintiff instituted a suit before the Delhi High Court for a permanent injunction against the Defendants.
Judgement: The Delhi High Court held that the use of the identical labels and marks clearly constitutes infringement of the registered trade marks of the Plaintiff. The Court further held that the labels and other brand identifiers used by the Defendants constitute passing off of their products as those originating from the Plaintiff. The Court, therefore, passed a decree of permanent injunction restraining the Defendants from using the trade marks ‘LEVI’S’, ‘LEVI STRAUSS’ or any other mark similar to that of the Plaintiff.
Rajanikanth’s Hand Symbol in Trouble?
A Mumbai-based start-up, Voxweb has written a letter to Rajinikanth, the veteran Indian film actor and a would-be politician, claiming that the yogic hand symbol to be used by actor as a symbol of his political party is strikingly similar to the startup’s logo. The hand symbol comprises of two middle fingers down with the thumb and the little and index fingers raised in a broad V. Voxweb, a social networking app has a similar brand logo, but with the thumb left free. It is claimed that confusion would arise in the minds of the public as to whether the startup is a supporter of Rajinikanth’s political party. The actor is yet to respond to the letter.
AMUL Sues Trade Mark Registry Offices in India
Amul, the popular Indian dairy cooperative, managed by the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. has filed a case before the High Court of Gujarat against India’s Trade Mark Registry offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad for allowing the registration of the mark ‘AMUL’ and similar sounding names filed by other companies. Amul alleges that several companies ranging from tractor manufacturers to undergarment makers use the brand name ‘AMUL’ for their products.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE MARK UPDATES
Samsung Files for ‘DeX Pad’ Trade Mark
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd has filed a trade mark application for the mark ‘DeX Pad’ with the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). While no further details have been revealed, the ‘DeX Pad’ is expected to be a charging pad that will wirelessly charge a smartphone while in use. The application filed on 29th December, 2017 has been allotted application number 017650938 and is filed under class 09.
TRADE MARK LICENSING UPDATES
Harry Potter and Fantastic Beast Franchise to be Launched
Wow! Stuff, a UK based toy company has entered into a partnership deal with Warner Bros. Consumer Products Inc. to launch a new Wizarding World inspired toys and gift lines featuring the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beast products. The range will launch across the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region in 2018.
Universal Music Group Partners with Facebook to Provide Personalized Music Experiences
Universal Music Group (UMG), an American global music corporation signs a multi-year partnership deal with Facebook for facilitating new music based experiences online through social platforms. Under this deal, users will be able to upload videos that contain licensed music, and can personalize their music experience on Facebook, Instagram and Oculus while sharing the videos with friends and family. UMG is the foremost major music company to license its recorded music and publishing catalogues for videos and societal experiences across social platforms.
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION UPDATES
Tulaipanji Rice gets Geographical Indication (GI) Tag
Dinajpur district in West Bengal traditionally famous for its indigenous rice biodiversity has obtained GI registration for its Tulaipanji rice. The word Tulaipanji is derived from the word ‘Tulan’ or ‘Tulashali’ which means scented and very soft like cotton. The cooked rice is said to be tasty, good in texture, bright in appearance, non-sticky and friable due to high amylase content. One of the distinct features is that the aroma has been found stable and strong in the parboiled rice even up to one year. The GI application was filed by the State Agricultural Management & Extension Training Institute (SAMETI), and Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya in 2015.
BANANAIP TIP OF THE WEEK
A trade mark is granted for 10 years and unless renewed will be lost. A notification will be received from the Trademark Registry approximately a month before expiration but the burden is on the trade mark owner to ensure proper and timely renewals.
Author: BIP Trade Mark Attorneys
Led by Sanjeeth Hegde, BIP’s Trade Mark Attorneys are among the leading experts in the field. They work with clients such as PEPS, Dharma Productions, Essilor, Samsung and the IITs with respect to trade mark filing, prosecution, registration, management, licensing, franchising, merchandizing and strategy.
The weekly trade mark news initiative is a part of their pro bono work, and is aimed at spreading trade mark 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 Trade Mark Attorneys –[email protected]
