“Indian Trade Mark Statistics for March (First Week) 2018, Color of Beer, a Trade Mark?, Adidas Wins ‘Three Stripes’ Trade Mark Battle, Nestle Launches Emoji Chocolates, Odisha Rasagola 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 brand is nothing but an expression of the consumer’s loyalty and trust.’ – Phil Dusenberry
INDIAN TRADE MARK STATISTICS
The Indian Trade Mark Office had a mixed week. The total number of applications examined has decreased by twenty-seven percent (27%). There has been a decrease of twenty-nine percent (29%)in the total number applications disposed through show cause hearings. However, the total number of hearings issued increased by eighty five percent (85%).
Weekly Indian Trade Mark Statistics
| Particulars | Last Week | This Week | Change in % |
| Total Trade Mark Applications Examined by Trade Mark Office | 9661 | 6972 | A decrease of 27% |
| Total Applications Disposed through Show Cause Hearings | 8858 | 6223 | A decrease of 29% |
| Total Applications Published in the Trade Mark Journal | 10799 | 12238 | An increase of 13% |
| Total Registrations Granted | 8593 | 7524 | A decrease of 12% |
| Total Hearing Notices Issued | 7659 | 14179 | An increase of 85% |
| Total Renewals Notices Issued | 1959 | 1523 | A decrease of 22% |
Trade Mark Statistics by Office
Total Number of New Applications Received from February 28th to March 7th, 2018
| Sr. No | Jurisdiction | New Applications | Examined | Published | Registered |
| 1 | AHMEDABAD | 656 | 405 | 967 | 944 |
| 2 | CHENNAI | 1089 | 685 | 2272 | 1145 |
| 3 | DELHI | 1817 | 1217 | 3466 | 2934 |
| 4 | KOLKATA | 307 | 232 | 637 | 372 |
| 5 | MUMBAI | 1131 | 724 | 3213 | 1735 |
| Total | 5000 | 3263 | 10555 | 7130 |
Yearly Trade Mark Statistics
Trade Mark Statistics from January 01st, 2018 to March 7th, 2018
- Total Number of Trade Mark Applications Filed – 52391
- Total Number of Trade Mark Applications Examined – 33496
- Total Number of Trade Mark Applications Published – 78783
- Total Number of Trade Mark Applications Registered – 60622
INTERESTING TRADE MARK
Colour of Beer, a Trade Mark?
After Cadbury’s claim of the purple shade ‘Pantone 2685C’ and Tiffany’s claim of ‘robin’s egg blue’, an independent Australian brewery has filed the first trade mark application for the colour of their beer. The mark bearing the application no. 1909881 has been filed in class 32. The Trade Mark is a colour mark which comprises the colour PANTONE 142 applied in respect of products such as Beer; Non-alcoholic beverages (except non-alcoholic beer); Ale. Though many think this might be a publicity gimmick, the grant of this mark will force brands such as Heineken, VB or XXX Gold to tweak its product colour in order to avoid trademark infringement.
INDIAN TRADE MARK UPDATES
M/S. The Coca-Cola Company & Anr (Plaintiff) v. M/S. Glacier Water Industries Ltd & Ors (Defendant)
Suit was filed for permanent and mandatory injunction, passing off, unfair competition and damages for infringement of the plaintiff’s registered mark ‘KINLEY’. The Plaintiff is one of the largest soft drinks companies in the world, who adopted and launched the bottled water brand ‘KINLEY’ in India in 2001. Defendants were said to be using the mark ‘KINLEY’ in relation to water purification systems falsely claiming to have launched their water system in collaboration with the Plaintiff’s Indian subsidiary, whereas, in fact, no such collaboration exists. The Court in this order noted, based on the evidence adduced, that the Plaintiff’s mark has acquired reputation and goodwill globally due to extensive use over a substantial period of time. The Court also found that the Defendants have dishonestly and with a mala fide intent used the mark KINLEY which amounts to infringement and passing off of the Plaintiff’s registered trade mark.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE MARK UPDATES
Apple Files New Trade mark
Apple Inc, the technology giant has filed a new trade mark application for a multi colored apple logo, commonly referred as the ‘rainbow’ logo, in the US. The application has been filed under class 25 which covers ‘clothing; headgear, namely, hats and caps’. The mark is described as ‘an apple with a bite removed, with a detached leaf in green, and the apple divided into horizontal colored segments of the following colors (from top to bottom): green, yellow, orange, red, violet and blue.’ It is interesting to note that the particular logo was used by Apple up until 1998, when it was replaced by the present iconic monochrome logo of a bitten apple
Adidas Wins Battle for ‘Three Stripes’
In an ongoing battle to protect its iconic three stripes, Adidas finally came out victorious. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled in favor of Adidas, upholding the decision of the EUIPO. The court stated that the trade mark of the Belgian footwear company, Shoe Branding, infringes Adidas’ three stripes mark. Shoe Branding had applied for registration of two marks under the EUIPO, one for footwear and the other for safety footwear consisting of two stripes. Later the applications were opposed by Adidas and were refused registration. The EUIPO stated that ‘given the degree of similarity, there is a likelihood that members of the public might confuse the marks’. The same reasoning was later on adopted by the ECJ.
TRADE MARK LICENSING UPDATES
Nestlé Freskas and Emoji® to Team Up for a New Promotion
Nestlé has teamed up with the iconic brand The Emoji® Company again and is launching emoji themed food items. The new promotion is all set to launch in Mexico on April 1, 2018 with a new range of chocolates. The chocolate line named ‘Freskas x emoji’ will take the teenagers of Mexico by surprise with a bag of 35 gems which will include a woven bracelet in eight different designs along with five different collectible stickers.
BuzzFeed’s Tasty to Collaborate with Walmart
BuzzFeed has teamed up with Epoca International for a new line of kitchenware which is based on the media company’s ‘Tasty’ brand. The Tasty-branded cookware line will be featuring more than 90 products and will be sold at Walmart exclusively.
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION UPDATES
Odisha Files for Geographical Indication (GI) for New Rasagola Variant
Odishara Rasagola has been filed for GI on 23rd February, 2018 bearing application number 612 under classes 29 and 30. The application has been filed by Odisha Small Industries Corporation Limited. This move was taken by the Odisha government, after West Bengal was awarded the GI tag for its own rasagola variant recently.
BANANAIP TIP OF THE WEEK
Merchandizing presents a great opportunity to expand the commercial potential of your TM or brand. However careful nurturing and protection of the goodwill and reputation associated with the mark is necessary so it does not lose valuation. Create a style guide which defines usage rules and guidelines prior to licensing the mark for merchandizing.
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]
