Madras High Court Temporarily Restrains Universal Spirits From Using 'Marco Polo' For Liquor

The Madras High Court has restrained Universal Spirits Pvt Ltd from manufacturing, marketing or selling liquor under the marks “Classic Marco Polo Deluxe Brandy” and “Marco Polo Deluxe XXX Rum”, pending disposal of a commercial suit filed by Empee Distilleries Limited.Justice K. Kumaresh Babu also directed Universal Spirits to submit accounts relating to the manufacture and sale of the products. It must also hand over the unsold products to Empee Distilleries within four weeks of receiving a...

Madras High Court Allows OTT Rights Holder Of Pawan Kalyan-Starrer Movie To Seek ₹4 Crore Refund From Producer

The Madras High Court has allowed Vijay Kothari, who claims exclusive digital, satellite, and OTT rights over Pawan Kalyan-starrer Hari Hara Veera Mallu, to amend his plaint against Mega Surya Productions. He can now seek the return of ₹4 crore under an Assignment Agreement, along with 18% interest.However, Justice K. Kumaresh Babu rejected Kothari's request to raise his damages claim from ₹5 lakh to ₹25 lakh. The court held that the plaint did not contain the necessary pleadings to support the...

Madras High Court Restrains Matrimony.com From Using 'Jodii' Mark For Matchmaking App

The Madras High Court has restrained Matrimony.com Limited from using the mark 'Jodii' for its matchmaking app. It set aside a 2022 order of a Single Judge that had dismissed FreeElective Network's suit alleging infringement and passing off of its registered 'Jodi365' trademark.A Division Bench comprising Justice P. Velmurugan and Justice K. Govindarajan Thilakavadi ruled that 'Jodii' was deceptively similar to 'Jodi365'. It held that the similarity could confuse customers into believing that...

T-Series Tells Delhi HC It Will Rename Kartik Aaryan Film To 'Tu Meri Zindagi Hai' In Aashiqui Trademark Dispute

T-Series (Super Cassettes Industries) told the Delhi High Court on Friday that it has changed the title of its upcoming Kartik Aaryan and Sai Pallavi-starrer film from “Tu Hi Aashiqui” to “Tu Meri Zindagi Hai” in a bid to bring an end to a trademark dispute with Mukesh Bhatt's Vishesh Films.The proposal, however, could not be recorded as a complete consent settlement after the parties disagreed over how far the proposed terms should extend. Justice Jyoti Singh asked them to discuss the issue...

Delhi High Court Refuses To Stop TV Channel From Airing SGPC's Live Gurbani Broadcast

The Delhi High Court on Friday refused to pass a temporary order stopping Galactic Television and Communications Pvt Ltd from re-broadcasting the live Gurbani feed from Sri Harmandir Sahib, Amritsar. The order came in a copyright suit filed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani found prima facie merit in the channels' submissions that the broadcast, which is not offered to viewers for payment, may not fall within the broadcast reproduction right...

Delhi High Court Upholds Injunction Against Alder Biochem Over 'BIOCHEM' Mark In Zydus' Suit

The Delhi High Court has recently dismissed an appeal by Alder Biochem Private Limited against an injunction restraining it from using 'ALDER BIOCHEM'. The court found the mark deceptively similar to Zydus Healthcare's registered 'BIOCHEM' device mark for pharmaceutical products.A Division Bench of Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Anish Dayal upheld the November 2024 order of the Single Judge. The order restrained Alder Biochem from selling, offering for sale, advertising, promoting or...

Bombay High Court Temporarily Restrains Dabur From Using 'NEEM' As Leading Feature On Toothpaste Label

The Bombay High Court has temporarily restrained Dabur India Ltd from using its toothpaste label featuring 'NEEM' as the leading and essential feature in an interim order favouring Jyothy Labs Ltd. in a trademark infringement and passing-off suit. Justice Arif S. Doctor, while allowing the interim application, clarified that Dabur was not barred from using the word 'NEEM' descriptively, but could not use it as a prominent, source-identifying feature on the label. “It is, however, clarified...

Delhi High Court Upholds Contempt Conviction In Siemens Software Piracy Case, Cuts Jail Term To One Month

The Delhi High Court has upheld the civil contempt finding against Nilesh Dhanukar for obstructing a court-appointed Local Commissioner during an inspection into alleged unauthorised use of Siemens Industry Software's “NX” software. However, the court reduced his detention in civil prison from two months to one month, citing his family circumstances.A Division Bench of Justice V. Kameswar Rao and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora was hearing Dhanukar's appeal against a Saket commercial court...

Delhi High Court Upholds Rejection Of Esteve Pharma's Tramadol-Celecoxib Co-Crystal Patent

The Delhi High Court on 7 August dismissed an appeal filed by Esteve Pharmaceuticals S.A. against the rejection of its patent application for a co-crystal of tramadol and coxibs. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela held that the claimed invention lacked inventive step under Section 2(1)(ja) of the Patents Act, 1970, as the prior art documents, when read together, rendered the invention obvious. He held: “Therefore, reading of the prior art…which discloses the combination of tramadol and celecoxib as a...

Defendant Can Question Trademark Owner On Prior Use Even If Written Statement Not On Record: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has ruled that a party accused of trademark infringement can question the trademark owner about documents showing when the disputed brand name was first used, even if that party's written statement is not on record.A bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran set aside a Kerala High Court order that had expunged such a question from the trial record, holding that it was a factual question beyond the permissible scope of cross-examination because the written...

Why Can Scammers Access Meta's Copyright Strike Tool While Creators Are Denied? Delhi High Court Asks

The Delhi High Court has asked Meta to place on record its policy, guidelines, and eligibility criteria for access to its "Rights Manager" tool, questioning why the anti-plagiarism tool is not available to content creators with large followings while scammers appear to be getting access to it.Rights Manager is a Meta tool that allows content creators and rights holders to identify when their original content is copied or uploaded by another person and take action against the matching...

Delhi High Court Grants Khushi Kapoor Relief Against Unauthorised Merchandise, Obscene Content

The Delhi High Court has indicated it will order the takedown of links carrying obscene and pornographic content and links selling unauthorised merchandise bearing actor Khushi Kapoor's persona. Even as the court left the larger dispute over "fan pages" open for a later hearing, Justice Jyoti Singh confined today's relief to unauthorized merchandise sales and obscene or pornographic content.Kapoor, described in the plea as an actress and fashion icon, moved court against unknown persons,...