“Indian Trade Mark Statistics for December (First Week) 2017, Bourbon Whiskey Trade Mark Settlement, Rubik’s Apparel license, Fruit of the Loom Launched in India, Magahi Paan GI and more Weekly Trade Mark News” brought to you by the Trade Mark Attorneys at BananaIP (BIP) Counsels.
TRADE MARK QUOTE OF THE WEEK
‘A great brand evolves from building a good reputation’ – Abiodun A. Abioudin
INDIAN TRADE MARK STATISTICS
The Indian Trade Mark Office had a slow week in comparison to the previous week. The total number of applications published in the trade mark journal has decreased by fifty-six percent (56%). There has also been a decrease in the total number of renewal notices issued with a decrease of forty-four percent (44%).
Weekly Indian Trade Mark Statistics
| Particulars | Last Week | This Week | Change in % |
| Total Trade Mark Applications Examined by Trade Mark Office | 5715 | 4654 | A decrease of 18% |
| Total Applications Disposed through Show Cause Hearings | 4233 | 3084 | A decrease of 27% |
| Total Applications Published in the Trade Mark Journal | 17166 | 7514 | A decrease of 56% |
| Total Registrations Granted | 4389 | 3221 | A decrease of 26% |
| Total Hearing Notices Issued | 2380 | 2241 | A decrease of 5% |
| Total Renewals Notices Issued | 3944 | 2173 | A decrease of 44% |
Trade Mark Statistics by Office
Total Number of New Applications Received from November 29th, 2017 to December 05th, 2017
| Sr. No | Jurisdiction | New Applications | Examined | Published | Registered |
| 1 | AHMEDABAD | 541 | 220 | 782 | 299 |
| 2 | CHENNAI | 966 | 391 | 1117 | 442 |
| 3 | DELHI | 1754 | 722 | 2271 | 1128 |
| 4 | KOLKATA | 298 | 120 | 369 | 115 |
| 5 | MUMBAI | 1153 | 438 | 1828 | 386 |
| Total | 4712 | 1891 | 6367 | 2370 |
Yearly Trade Mark Statistics
Trade Mark Statistics from January 01st, 2017 to December 05th, 2017
- Total Number of Trade Mark Applications Filed – 233118
- Total Number of Trade Mark Applications Examined – 151054
- Total Number of Trade Mark Applications Published – 140570
- Total Number of Trade Mark Applications Registered – 281557
INTERESTING TRADE MARKS
Bubble Wrap a Trade Mark ?
Bubble Wrap is a registered trade mark brand of Sealed Air Corporation that includes numerous cushioning products made from bubble wrap. Both the product and the brand were introduced in 1960. However, the company filed for a trade mark in 2005 with the USPTO for classes 16 and 17 and were granted registration thereafter. It is interesting to note that bubble wrap today is a commonly used phrase and very few people know that it is a registered trade mark.
INDIAN TRADE MARK CASE
Siemens Stops Siemens
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (Plaintiff) Vs. Siemens Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd (Defendants)
Subject – Trade Mark Infringement, Domain Name Infringement
Brief Facts – Plaintiff, a German conglomerate, and the largest industrial manufacturing company is the registered proprietor of the trade mark SIEMENS in India and various other countries. Plaintiff has also registered the domain names www.siemens.com and www.siemens.co.in and have been holding them since 1986 and 2009 respectively. The mark SIEMENS since its adoption in 1847, has been widely used worldwide and also constitutes an important feature of the trading name of the Plaintiff. In 2015, Plaintiff learned that the Defendant was using the domain name www.siemensconsultancy.com and the trade name SIEMENS in relation to identical services. A suit was filed by the Plaintiff before the Delhi High Court seeking relief for trade mark infringement against the Defendant’s use of the identical mark and domain name.
Judgment – The Court held that without any explicit permission or authorization, the Defendants’ malafide use of the Plaintiff’s trade mark SIEMENS and the domain name www.siemensconsultancy.com amounts to infringement and is bound to cause harm and injury to the Plaintiff and immense public harm. The Court, therefore, issued a decree of permanent injunction restraining the Defendants from using the mark SIEMENS or any other mark similar to that of the Plaintiffs’ registered mark and also from using the domain name www.siemensconsultancy.com and/or any other website and domain name having name SIEMENS so as to infringe the Plaintiff’s registered trademark.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE MARK UPDATES
The Battle of Bourbon Whiskey Settled
After three years of lengthy trade mark battle, the distillery Sazerac Company and Tennessee-based Prichard’s distillery have reached a settlement. Prichard’s had begun selling distilled spirits under the trade marks Double barreled and Benjamin Prichard’s double barreled bourbon in 2002.
In August 2014, Prichard’s filed a trade mark infringement suit before the US district court against Sazerac’s ‘A Smith Bowman Limited Edition Double Barrel Bourbon Whiskey’ and ‘Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection Double Barreled’ bourbons claiming that the use of the mark ‘Double Barreled’ was chosen by the Latter to create an association with the Prichard’s brand.
TRADE MARK LICENSING UPDATES
Fruit of the Loom Launched in India
Fruit of the Loom, an American company that manufactures clothing especially innerwear has launched their innerwear and leisure wear products for men and women in India by entering into an exclusive license agreement with Oban Fashions Pvt. Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rupa & Company Limited. By end of December, 2017, more than 87 styles across the men’s & women’s range will be available at across 2500 stores. The range will be available on e-commerce websites from the first week of January 2018.
Smiley Inks Rubik’s Apparel Line with Uniqlo
The Smiley Company on behalf of Rubik’s Brand Ltd has brokered a deal with Uniqlo, a Japanese Fashion Brand to launch a new apparel range featuring Rubik prints t-shirts. The range will launch across Uniqlo’s global distribution network of over 1500 stores in early 2018.
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION UPDATES
Magahi Paan Takes a GI Step
The application made by Magahi Paan Utpadak Kalyan Samiti for Magahi Paan bearing application number 554 in Class 31 is advertised as accepted by the GI registry. Magahi Paan is a local and traditional cultivar betelvine that is grown commercially in magadh region of Bihar. Its leaf is very popular among pan chewers worldwide due to aroma (pungent) and less fibrous soft leaf. The application was filed in June, 2016. For persons interested, the paan is abundantly available in Bangalore at most paan stalls.
BANANAIP TIP OF THE WEEK
Trade Marks and Character Names in Songs
Using trade marks and/or character name in songs is permitted if the use amounts to fair use, and falls within the scope of permitted uses. However, using trade marks and character names in a manner that gives rise to blurring, tarnishment, unfair advantage, wrongful association or false representation will give rise to liability under the trade mark law and other laws. Content creators may consider getting a legal opinion from a qualified attorney before embarking on trade mark use in their content.
Author: BIP Trade Mark Attorneys
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]
