This week’s trademark updates are as follows:
House of Zana wins trademark dispute against Zara
International fashion giant, Zara, recently objected to the registration of the trademark ‘House of Zana’ by a Darlington-based fashion boutique House of Zana in the UK, claiming that the mark is identical and is likely to cause confusion amongst the average consumers. The Hearing Officer, Matthew William, opined that, although Zara is a common word, the word “House of” has a distinctive nature and that “Zana” does not dominate the mark. The speaking order held that the word ‘Zana’ is not a common English word and that the House of Zana mark is not likely to cause confusion nor exploit Zara’s reputation.
Interim Injunction granted against Ramdev Industries in trademark dispute against Pepsico
Pepsico Inc., manufacturer of ‘Lays’ chips has recently filed a suit against Ramdev Industries for using a deceptively similar logo for their product- ‘Madhav Namkeen’. Pepsico claimed that the said logo was likely to cause confusion amongst the public as it was misleadingly similar to the “LAY’s ‘Sun Banner’ device mark. Justice Navin Chawla, granted an interim injunction against Ramdev Industries and stated that- “These are goods that are bought off the shelf in normal grocery shop and therefore, there is a likelihood of confusion, especially keeping in view the unwary consumer. The balance of convenience is also in favour of the plaintiffs and against the defendants inasmuch as the plaintiffs have spent a huge amount in popularising its device mark.” The Court also appointed a Local Commissioner and directed the confiscation of all the goods bearing the infringing logo.
Mithila Makhana awarded Geographical Indication (GI) tag by Government of India
Bihar’s famous Mithila Makhana has been awarded the GI (Geographical Indication) tag under Class 29 by the Union Government. This was announced by India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal via Twitter on 20th August, 2022. This recognition is expected to help farmers earn higher profits on the sale of makhana grown in Bihar. The GI has been registered to Mithilanchal Makhana Utpadak Sangh.
Oficina Reserva to sell Peaky Blinders merchandise in Brazil
Apparel brand Oficina Reserva has signed a licensing agreement with Peaky Blinders brand owner Caryn Mandabach Productions Ltd. to sell exclusive Peaky Blinders merchandise in Brazil. Licensed by Endemol Shine Brazil, a part of Banijay, this deal allows merchandise such as berets, shirts and overcoats inspired by the series to be sold exclusively by Oficina.
ENS Domain registrations reach record high
According to data from Dune Analytics, there are about 2 million ENS domain registrations to date. ENS is an open domain system on the Ethereum ecosystem that allows users to purchase domains with the extension ‘.eth’ for a fixed amount of Ethereum. The domain names are NFTs and can be sold on platforms such as OpenSea and Rarible.
Authored by Lavanya Anand (Associate, BananaIP Counsels) and Dinesh G (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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