TRADEMARK
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 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 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...
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...
Supreme Court Stays HC Order Directing ITC To Undergo Pre-Litigation Mediation In Counterfeit Cigarette Suit
The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the Calcutta High Court order requiring ITC Ltd. to undergo pre-litigation mediation before pursuing its trademark and copyright infringement suit against a cigarette manufacturer accused of counterfeiting its products. ITC had sued SMM Tobacco Private Limited, a Bihar-based cigarette and tobacco manufacturer, along with three others and an unknown individual suspected of collusion. The suit, filed on August 27, 2026, alleged trademark infringement,...
Delhi High Court Sets Aside Registry Order Reviving Abandoned Trademark Opposition
The Delhi High Court has set aside a Trade Marks Registry order that revived a trademark opposition after the opponent failed to file evidence within the prescribed two-month periodJustice Tejas Karia held that the Registry could not use its review powers to extend the deadline for filing evidence after the opposition had already stood abandoned.KEI Industries had opposed Kumar Equipments' application for the mark “KEI-KUMAR EQUIPMENT INDIA”, claiming it was similar to its registered “KEI”...
Delhi High Court Restrains Veepro From Using Trademark Deceptively Similar To Wipro
The Delhi High Court has decreed a trademark infringement suit filed by Wipro Enterprises Private Limited against Veepro Lights and Decor, restraining the latter from using the mark 'VEEPRO', which Wipro alleged was deceptively similar to its 'WIPRO' trademark.The court also ordered Veepro to pay Rs 4 lakh towards damages and costs.Justice Vikas Mahajan passed the decree in a suit filed by Wipro Enterprises Private Limited against Veepro Lights and Decor, which was allegedly using the mark...
Delhi High Court Allows Renewal Of 'APEXSEALS' Trademark For Being Removed Without Mandatory Notice
The Delhi High Court on 28 October permitted businessman Parveen Kumar Gulati to seek renewal of his registered trademark 'APEXSEALS', which had been removed from the Trade Marks Register for non-renewal. A Bench of Justice Vikas Mahajan held that the Registrar could not remove the mark without issuing a mandatory notice of its impending expiry. Gulati had applied to register 'APEXSEALS' in Class 17 in December 1996, claiming use since March 1993. Although the mark was advertised in 2006, the...
Madras High Court Quashes 'ELITE' Trademark Rejection, Directs Advertisement In Trade Marks Journal
On 30 October, the Madras High Court allowed an appeal filed by Chennai-based businessman Ramesh Bishnoi against the Registrar of Trade Marks' order dated 2 March 2026, refusing registration of his 'ELITE' device mark in Class 11, covering electrical and lighting-related goods. Justice P.B. Balaji held that the Trade Marks Registry must consider the possibility of registration based on honest and concurrent use under Section 12 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, before rejecting a mark on the...
New Indian Express Moves Supreme Court Against Bombay HC Injunction Restricting Use Of Its Name Outside Southern India
The New Indian Express has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court's order upholding an interim injunction restraining Express Publications (Madurai) Pvt. Ltd, publisher of the newspaper from using the “New Indian Express” name for events, programmes or business activities outside specified southern states and Union Territories.The High Court On June 15, 2026 restrained it from using the "New Indian Express" name for events, programs, or business activities outside the...
Madras High Court Restrains Thanjavur Restaurant From Using 'Sangethas' Name, Quotes Avvaiyar
Invoking Tamil poet Avvaiyar's saying that hunger can make even the ten virtues disappear, the Madras High Court has restrained a Thanjavur restaurant, Hotel Sangethas Pure Veg, from operating under the name “Hotel Sangethas Pure Veg Restaurant”. The court found that customers could mistake it for the Sangeetha Veg Restaurant chain because of the similarity in their names. Justice P.B. Balaji passed the interim injunction on October 30 in a trademark infringement suit filed by Sangeetha...