This week’s trademark updates are as follows:
The tussle between TATA and HakunaMatata finally settles
The Delhi High Court ruled in favor of Tata Sons Private Limited and barred a company in UK from using the ‘TATA’ trademark in its course of trading cryptocurrency or sale of digital tokens. The order of permanent injunction was passed against HakunaMatata $TATA Founders, who were made to change their name to HakunaMatata Token Ltd. The defendant company was also asked to start a new website, while their old domain names (www.hakunamatata.finance.; www.tatabonus.com) were directed to be taken down.
Afrochella Music Festival sued for trademark infringement
The Afrochella, a West African Music Festival had been sued by the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival for the infringement of their trademarks. The suit was filed before the Los Angeles Federal Court on October 5th, 2022. The plaintiff had claimed that Afrochella was promoting their annual music festival under a name which was confusingly similar to that of the plaintiff, while their business remained the same. The plaintiff had also initiated cybersquatting claims against Afrochella for using the domain name afrochella.com. The suit was one of the many filed by Coachella for infringement caused by using the word ‘chella’.
Supreme Court Bench rejects PIL to fast-track procedure for grant of GI
On Friday, the Supreme Court bench rejected a public interest litigation (PIL) which had requested to hasten the process for GI applications. The Supreme Court noted that the applicants of the PIL were mistaken to file under Article 32, given the nature of the relief the applicants sought. The Court also noted that the issue pertained to matters of policy, where the Court would not interfere unless any form of prejudice was involved.
TATA MOTORS and T-Series: A compromise
Tata Motors and Super Cassettes chose to settle their on-going battle. The automobile company agreed to drop the use of the mark ‘T-Series’ that was being used to market their vehicles. Super Cassettes had taken the company to court for using the marks ‘T-Series’ and ‘T.Series’ for their automobile line-up. The suit was filed in February 2022 and was settled recently. Both parties agreed mutually to not challenge the registrations of each other’s marks. Tata Motors also agreed to take down all content bearing any reference to the mark T-Series.
Authored by Lavanya Anand (Associate, BananaIP Counsels) and Rohan Koshy Cherian (Intern).
This post is brought to you by BananaIP Counsels’ Trademarks and Copyright Attorneys
About BananaIP Counsels’ Trademarks and Copyright Attorneys
This Weekly Trademark Updates Bulletin is brought to you by the Trademarks and Copyright Division of BananaIP Counsels, a Top IP Firm in India. Led by Sanjeeth Hegde, BananaIP Counsels’ trademark and copyright attorneys are among the leading experts in the field. If you have any questions, or need any clarifications, please write to [email protected] with the subject: Weekly Trademark Update.
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