A Recipe for Trouble: Patents and Trade Secrets at Calcutta HC
In the case of NOCIL Ltd v. Finorchem Ltd and Anr, the Calcutta High Court considered whether a rival that plans to make the same rubber chemical, and…
Dr. Kalyan Kankanala
306 articles
Dr. Kalyan Kankanala is a practicing intellectual property (IP) attorney and author. He is a senior partner at BananaIP Counsels, a well-known IP firm based in Bangalore, India. His writings cover a range of topics relating to IP law, business, and policy, and he has authored several books and articles in the field. He has been contributing to this blog since 2007.
The views expressed here are his own and do not represent those of BananaIP Counsels or its members.
Not Burnt Out Yet: Madras HC Says an Agent’s Silence Should Not Extinguish a Patent Application
In the case of Deakin University v. The Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, the Madras High Court asked whether a foreign applicant should lose its…
A Promise to Sell Is Not a Sale: Gujarat High Court on Stamp Duty in the Arvind Brands Case
Can a stamp authority charge duty on a sale that has not yet happened? The Gujarat authorities treated an agreement to sell a garment division, with its land…
Stitching Pattern Trademarks: Levi’s Has KILLER and INTEGRITI in Knots, LAWMAN Slips Through
Where two arcs meet on a jeans pocket became central to this trademark dispute. Reading the permitted and prohibited designs in a settlement agreement together, the Delhi High…
Smoking Tobacco, Foiling Obviousness
Philip Morris’s patent concerned a tobacco article meant to be heated electrically, with a wrapper designed to make it harder to ignite with a flame. ITC argued that…
Trademarks and Company Names in the DNA Forensics Dispute
Can a company resist a name-change direction because another company’s complaint set the process in motion? In this dispute between two DNA testing companies, the Delhi High Court…
Cassiopea Hair Loss Formulation Patent Refusal Set Aside for Fresh Examination
Cassiopea’s proposed treatment for androgenetic alopecia uses a high concentration of cortexolone-17-α-propionate dissolved in a topical formulation with specified solvents and additives. The Controller rejected its patent application…
AI & IP Weekly (11–17 September 2026): Copilot Copyright Decision and AI Patent Valuation
What can AI tell us about the value of a patent, and what happens when it produces code without naming its author? This week’s stories follow the EPO’s…
Doctors Without Borders, But Not Without an Acknowledgement: Dharma’s Jigra and Trade Mark Use
Dharma’s Jigra used “Doctors Without Borders” as part of a fictional prison escape. The Delhi High Court declined to restrain the references, but did not accept that the…
A Brush with NEEM: Jyothy Gets Interim Trademark Protection Against Dabur
Dabur’s NEEM toothpaste met a legal brush with Jyothy’s registered marks. The Bombay High Court found a prima facie case of infringement and passing off concerning Dabur’s prominent…