IPR
Madras High Court Rejects Vinbros Plea To Sue Rivals Over 'Blue Grape' Trademark
The Madras High Court on 28 August rejected liquor manufacturer Vinbros & Co.'s plea to sue two rival entities, Chamundi Winery and Distillery and R.R. Wine Mart, before it for alleged infringement of its “Blue Grape” trademark. A Bench of Justice K. Kumaresh Babu observed: “The fact that the situs of the registration of Trade Marks is with the Trade Marks Registry at Chennai by itself would not be sufficient to give rise to cause of action to institute the suit in the Madras High Court,...
Delhi High Court Restrains Kollam Hotel From Using 'HILTON' And 'HOTEL HILTON INDIA' Marks
The Delhi High Court has granted an interim injunction restraining a hotel operating in Kollam, Kerala, from using the marks “HILTON” and “HOTEL HILTON INDIA” in a trademark infringement and passing off suit filed by Hilton Worldwide Manage Limited. Justice A. J. Bhambhani held that the plaintiff had established a prima facie case and would suffer irreparable loss if interim protection was not granted.. The Bench held: “Based on a preliminary appreciation of the matter, this court is of the...
Madras High Court Rejects YouTube's Summary Dismissal Plea In Sri Eshwar College Disparagement Case
The Madras High Court on 28 August declined to summarily dismiss a suit filed by Sri Eshwar College of Engineering against YouTube (Google LLC) over allegedly disparaging videos hosted on the platform, holding that the issue of non-joinder of the video originators could not be decided at the threshold. Justice K. Kumaresh Babu was hearing an application filed by YouTube seeking dismissal of the suit at the threshold, without the matter proceeding to trial. Instead, the Bench directed the...
Supreme Court Stays Swiss Company's Patent Suit Against Techfab Before Himachal Pradesh High Court
The Supreme Court on Tuesday, 1 September stayed further proceedings before the Himachal Pradesh High Court in a patent infringement suit filed by Swiss company Geobrugg AG against Techfab (India) Industries Ltd. over the manufacture and sale of high-tensile wire mesh products sold under the “TECCO” brand. A Bench of Justices K.V. Viswanathan and Arun Palli issued notice returnable on 2 November and directed the parties to complete their pleadings in the meantime. During the hearing, the judges...
Copyright Office Says AI System DABUS Can't Be Copyright 'Author' Under Indian Law
On 31 August, the Indian Copyright Office rejected an application seeking registration of copyright in an artwork on the ground that its stated author, an artificial intelligence system called DABUS, is not a person recognised in law and therefore cannot be named as an author under the Copyright Act, 1957. Registrar of Copyrights Prof. (Dr.) Unnat P. Pandit passed the order while considering an application filed by Dr. Stephen L. Thaler for registration of the artistic work titled “A Recent...
Delhi High Court Temporarily Restrains Alleged Fraudsters In Recruitment Scam From Using HCL Marks
The Delhi High Court on 24 August restrained five newly added defendants from using HCL Corporation's trademarks, holding that the company had made out a prima facie case of trademark infringement and passing off in a suit concerning an alleged fraudulent recruitment racket operated in its name. Justice Jyoti Singh extended the interim injunction earlier granted on 10 February 2026 after HCL alleged that the defendants were colluding with the original defendants to impersonate its...
Delhi High Court Rejects Reddy Pharmaceuticals' Review Plea In 'REDDY' Trademark Dispute With DRL
The Delhi High Court on 14 August dismissed a review petition filed by Reddy Pharmaceuticals Ltd., refusing to revisit its earlier judgment upholding a permanent injunction restraining the company from using the mark “REDDY” and directing removal of its registered trademark from the Register of Trade Marks. A Division Bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla held that none of the errors alleged by Reddy Pharmaceuticals (RPL) constituted an “error apparent on the...
LiveLawBiz IPR Weekly Digest: August 24 - August 30, 2026
SUPREME COURTSupreme Court Issues Notice On Plea Against Bombay HC Ruling Trademark Evidence Deadline Is Directory Case Title: BLACK DIAMOND MOTORS PVT. LTD. VERSUS REGISTRAR OF TRADE MARKS, MUMBAI & ANR.Case Number: Petition for Special Leave to Appeal (C) No.26470/2026The Supreme Court on 24 August issued notice on Black Diamond Motors Pvt. Ltd.'s challenge to a Bombay High Court judgment. The High Court had held that the two-month period prescribed under Rule 45 of the Trade Marks Rules,...
Delhi High Court Rejects Trademark Appeal Over “DIGESTO PLUS”, Says Mark Common To Trade
The Delhi High Court on 20 August dismissed an appeal filed by Hahnemann Scientific Laboratory India Pvt. Ltd. against Meera Rastogi, trading as Hahnemann Memorial Laboratory, in a trademark dispute over the use of the mark “DIGESTO PLUS”. A Division Bench of Justices V. Kameswar Rao and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora held that the word “DIGESTO” is common to the trade and cannot, by itself, establish deceptive similarity between competing marks. It observed: “The commonality of the descriptive...
Calcutta High Court Rejects Injunction Against New Central Book Agency After Years Of Inaction
The Calcutta High Court on 27 August dismissed an interim injunction application filed by Pares Chandra Das, author and original copyright holder of two English grammar textbooks, and his son Amitava Das, against their long-time publisher, New Central Book Agency Private Limited. Justice Krishna Rao held that authors cannot seek an interim injunction against continued publication of their books after allowing the publisher to publish them for years despite claiming that the publication...
Madras High Court Rejects Film Archive's Copyright Claim Over 'Aval Appadithan' Production Stills
The Madras High Court on 27 August dismissed an appeal filed by The Cinema Resource Centre, a Chennai-based film archive, in a copyright dispute over production photographs from the 1978 Tamil film Aval Appadithan. A Division Bench of Justices P. Velmurugan and K. Govindarajan Thilakavadi upheld the 2021 order of a Single Judge directing the archive to return the original photographs, delete their digital and physical copies, and stop displaying them on its website. The judges observed: “The...
Delhi High Court Restrains Sale Of Counterfeit SKF Bearings, Calls Them A “Safety Hazard” For Drivers
The Delhi High Court on 21 August temporarily restrained two Delhi-based bearing traders from selling counterfeit ball bearings under the “SKF” mark, observing that the sale of inferior quality bearings could endanger vehicle drivers and was detrimental to public interest. Justice Jyoti Singh passed an ad interim injunction in a suit filed by Swedish bearings manufacturer AB SKF against B.M. Bearing Sales and Oriental Enterprises, and directed Bank of Baroda to freeze proceeds traced to the...