“Parachute” Goes After YouTuber for Disparagement, Cyprus Re-registers its ‘Halloumi’ Cheese Mark in the UK, ‘Co-Lab’ Launched By GQ India and Raymond, Italy’s Art Museum Uffizzi Galleries Claims its Domains, Assamese Gamocha Filed For GI and more brought to you by the Trademark Attorneys at BananaIP (BIP) Counsel.
INDIAN TRADEMARKS UPDATE
“Parachute” Goes After YouTuber for Disparagement
Marico Ltd., one of India’s leading FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) company, had recently filed an application at the Bombay High Court, seeking an interim injunction against Abhijeet Bhansali, a YouTuber/V-Blogger who operates the YouTube channel “Bearded Chokra”. It was alleged by Marico that Abhijeet Bhansali in his video, made comments disparaging or denigrating Marico’s Parachute Coconut Oil, thus infringing its trademark “Parachute”. The Bombay High Court while passing an injunction against Abhijeet held that there was unauthorized use of the trademark “Parachute” and under the garb of educating the public one cannot provide misleading information to disparage any product. The court also ordered to take down the YouTube video uploaded by Abhijeet and emphasised the need for higher responsibility on the part of a social media influencer.
INTERNATIONAL TRADEMARKS UPDATES
OK Boomer Trademark Registration by Fox not Ok
Fox Media’s plan to cash in on the catchphrase OK Boomer seems to have hit a snag. The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in an initial office action, has denied trademark registration for the term. The American television network had filed an application for the registration of the trademark “OK Boomer” and had intended to launch a TV series under the same name. The USPTO while refusing the registration held that the term “OK Boomer” was a widely used message that merely conveyed ordinary concept or sentiment and did not serve any source indicating function. However, this is not a final denial by the USPTO. Fox now has six months to respond to the objections raised.
Cyprus Re-registers its ‘Halloumi’ Cheese Mark in the UK
Halloumi, a semi hard cheese, originating from Cyprus, has found its way back home. The Cypriot Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry, has regained the trademark rights for Halloumi (a certification mark for cheese produces) in the UK. The Cypriot ministry had first secured trademark protection for ‘Halloumi’ at the UK Intellectual Property Office in 1990. However, an application to invalidate the trademark had been filed by John & Pascalis Ltd, the largest importer of Cypriot cheese to Great Britain. Thereafter Cyprus ended up losing its trademark due as its Government failed to respond to the legal requests of the UK Intellectual Property Office in a timely manner. They have however now re-registered the Halloumi trademark in the UK and have also applied for the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status at the European Commission for their cheese products.
BRAND LICENSING UPDATES
‘Co-Lab’ Launched by GQ India and Raymond
GQ India, the leading men’s lifestyle media and fashion brand, has collaborated with Raymond, the forerunners for men’s apparel in India, to launch ‘Co-Lab’, a new men’s apparel brand. Apart from providing cutting edge design for Indian men, the collaboration will also include events at its flagship stores, influencer engagements, interactive masterclasses, as well as fashion shows to promote the brand. The masterclasses will be held in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Hyderabad.
Freightliner Truck Vrooms into Sound Clocks
Mark Feldstein & Associates, Inc. (MFA), an American product development company has entered into a licensing agreement with Freightliner Trucks, a US based truck manufacturer, to bring out a new line of sound clocks. The deal was brokered by the corporate trademark licensing company Equity Management on behalf of Freightliner Trucks. Under the licensing agreement, MFA will design, manufacture and distribute wall as well as desk clocks. The initial products to be introduced in the market would include the clocks, featuring Freightliner Trucks on the dial and authentic truck sounds at the top of every hour. The merchandise will likely be in the market in the second quarter of 2020.
FRANCHISE UPDATE
Mercedes-Benz Unveils New Dealership Concept in India
Mercedes-Benz, the German automobile giant has launched a new dealership, Christened Global Star, in New Delhi’s Green Park. It is the first showroom in the country which is based on the new brand presence in retail. The showroom is spread over an area of 12,000 square feet and intends to deliver top class facilities for which the brand is known for such as hospitality lounge and bar area, as well as digital assets like a digital wall, interactive touch table, touch TV and a digital-spec stand. With the new showroom, the number of outlets for the German brand in India has gone up to 97.
DOMAIN NAME DISPUTE UPDATE
Italy’s Art Museum Uffizzi Galleries Claims its Domains
Uffizzi Galleries (also called The Gallerie degli Uffizi), a prominent art museum located in the historic centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy, has won a legal battle against BoxNic Anstalt (an Arizona US based company) to protect its domain name www.uffizi.it. BoxNic Anstalt had registered numerous domains containing the word Uffizi including uffizi.com and uffizi.net through which they invited users to buy museum tickets online and skip the huge queues. The Arizona Federal Court has banned BoxNic Anstalt from using Uffizi’s name and logo and ordered the transfer of the domains to Uffizi Galleries.
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION UPDATE
Assamese Gamocha Filed For GI
Assamese Gamocha, a traditional textile product commonly known as Gamocha in Assam, has been applied for GI registration. The Gamocha is a rectangular piece of handloom weaved white cloth (known as Khioni in Assamese), having multiple thicker red coloured stripes along its side border (known as sotia in Assamese), multiple thinner red coloured stripes along its cross border (known as Pooli in Assamese) and mostly having red colour motifs along its cross border. It is primarily used as a sacred object at holy places in Assam and also as a felicitation article, clothing and as an absorbent cloth. The Handloom Research and Designing Centre, Ambari, Guwahati, Directorate of Handloom and Textiles, Government of Assam has applied for the GI registration in the ‘Textiles’ category.
Authored and compiled by Shreya Chaddha & Poorvika Chandanam
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