IPR
Long Use Of Trademark Must Be Supported By Evidence To Claim Passing Off: J&K&L High Court
A company claiming long-standing use of a trademark must support its assertions of prior use and market reputation with material on record. Mere claims in a plaint cannot establish a prima facie case for passing off, the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has held.A Division Bench of Justice Sindhu Sharma and Justice Sanjay Dhar observed that a business must establish an appreciable customer base or trade connection associated with its mark, logo or trade dress.“It is a settled law that in...
Delhi High Court Permanently Restrains Unauthorised Commercial Use Of Amitabh Bachchan's Likeness
The Delhi High Court has recently permanently restrained several individuals and businesses, along with unidentified infringers, from using actor Amitabh Bachchan's name, image, voice, likeness or any other aspect of his persona without his permission.Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav passed the decree on November 5, holding that the unauthorised uses of Bachchan's identity were made for commercial gain, without his consent, and falsely suggested his endorsement.“The impugned uses employ the...
Delhi High Court Issues Notice On Agradine's Alleged Imitation Of Betadine Packaging
The Delhi High Court has recently issued notice to Agrawal Drugs Private Limited on a plea by Win Medicare Private Limited, the manufacturer of Betadine, alleging that the rival company's 'Agradine' antiseptic products imitate Betadine's distinctive packaging and trade dress.Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav passed the order on November 2, directing Agrawal Drugs to file its reply to the interim injunction application.Win Medicare has sought to restrain Agrawal Drugs from manufacturing, selling,...
Bombay High Court Grants Actor Ananya Panday Protection Against AI-Generated Content, Fake Endorsements
The Bombay High Court has recently granted ad-interim protection to actor Ananya Panday against the unauthorised commercial exploitation of her identity. The alleged misuse includes AI-generated images, fake product endorsements, merchandise bearing her photographs and AI-enabled chatbots impersonating her.A single-judge bench of Justice Madhav J Jamdar, by an order dated November 5, restrained operators of the identified websites and platforms, along with persons acting through them, from...
Delhi High Court Allows Harper Collins To Circulate Rana Kapoor Book, Restricts Four Passages
The Delhi High Court has allowed HarperCollins to continue circulating Yes Man: The Untold Story of Rana Kapoor, while restraining publication of four specific passages concerning Yes Bank's former managing director, Rana Kapoor. Three passages were found prima facie defamatory, while the fourth was characterised as derogatory.Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, on Friday, modified an earlier order that had restrained HarperCollins and the book's author, Pavan Chand Lall, from selling or...
Bombay High Court Orders Platforms To Take Down Pirated 'Ramayana' Content Within 3 Hours Of Notice
The Bombay High Court has directed internet service providers and online platforms to take down pirated content from Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Ramayana within three hours of receiving a notice, after infringing material began surfacing across multiple platforms following the film's theatrical release on November 5.Justice Ashish S. Chavan passed the directions on November 6 in a follow-up application filed by Godpower Media Private Limited, which had secured anti-piracy protection for the film from...
Sourav Ganguly's Personality Rights Prima Facie Violated By 'Doosra' Makers: Delhi High Court
The court has, however, allowed the film's theatrical screening subject to the makers displaying a prominent disclaimer and furnishing a ₹2 crore bank guarantee.
Bombay High Court Orders Raids Across 8 States Over Counterfeit Bombay Dyeing Bedsheets And Towels
The Bombay High Court on 4 November ordered search and seizure operations across eight states against seven defendants accused of manufacturing and selling counterfeit bedsheets and towels bearing Bombay Dyeing's trademarks. Justice M.M. Sathaye appointed a Court Receiver and eight Additional Special Receivers to search the defendants' premises, seize counterfeit products and confiscate materials used in their manufacture, including labels, packaging material, printing equipment, moulds and...
Bombay High Court Protects Godwoman Radhe Maa's Personality Rights
The Bombay High Court has granted interim protection to self-styled godwoman Sukhwinder Kaur, popularly known as Radhe Maa, against the circulation of morphed images, sexually explicit content and manipulated material misusing her identity. Justice Madhav J Jamdar passed the ad-interim order on November 3, directing Google, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and GIF platform Tenor to remove infringing content identified in the suit. "The right to life as contemplated under Article 21 of the...
Madras High Court Closes Aachi Masala Trademark Suit After Chennai Tea Shop Drops 'Aachi' From Name
The Madras High Court, on 29 October, closed a trademark infringement suit filed by Aachi Masala Foods and its promoter after a Chennai tea shop changed its name to remove the disputed word “Aachi”, and the plaintiffs stated that they had no objection to the revised name. A Bench of Justice P B Balaji disposed of the suit after recording the plaintiffs' submission that they were no longer aggrieved by the name “Sudali Tea Shop”, which replaced the earlier name “Sudali Aachi Tea Shop”. The...
Delhi High Court Disposes Hermès Suit After Seller Undertakes To Stop Selling Birkin, Picotin Replica
The Delhi High Court on 2 November disposed of a trademark infringement suit filed by French luxury fashion house Hermès against Delhi-based Eziere Technologies Private Limited, after the latter undertook to stop selling alleged replicas of the former's products, including its iconic Birkin and Picotin bags. A Bench of Justice Vikas Mahajan accepted the undertakings given by Eziere Technologies and decreed the suit in terms of specified reliefs sought by Hermès. The luxury fashion house agreed...
Bombay High Court Protects Actor Rupali Ganguly's Personality Rights, Orders Removal Of Objectionable Content
The Bombay High Court on Thursday (November 5) directed the removal of objectionable content concerning television actor Rupali Ganguly from the internet, granting her ad-interim protection in her personality rights suit.Justice Madhav Jamdar directed social media platforms and other entities responsible for hosting or circulating the objectionable content concerning Ganguly to take it down. The direction, however, does not extend to Huts and Looms Pvt. Ltd. The company has contended that...