Calcutta High Court Refuses ITC Exemption From Pre-Litigation Mediation In Counterfeit Cigarette Case

The Calcutta High Court has dismissed ITC Limited's appeal against a Single Judge's refusal to exempt its trademark and copyright suit from pre-litigation mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015.The court said that the plaint did not show the urgent interim relief needed to bypass mediation.A Division Bench of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Partha Pratim Roy passed the order on October 12, 2026, in an appeal against the September 8, 2026 judgment wherein the...

Uttarakhand High Court Restrains Use Of 'SWARNIKA' Mark Pending Suit Over Similarity With 'SUNAREKA'

The Uttarakhand High Court on 7 October held that a court must assess competing trademarks as a whole while determining deceptive similarity, and restrained jeweller Poonam Bhatt from using “SWARNIKA” pending the disposal of a suit alleging infringement of Deepanshu Bansal's registered mark “SUNAREKA”. Justice Ravindra Maithani allowed Bansal's appeal against the trial court's refusal to grant an interim injunction, holding that the Bench could not disregard similarities between the marks...

Madras High Court Sets Aside Refusal Of 'THE SKIN COMPANY' Trademark, Orders Advertisement

The Madras High Court on 9 October set aside the refusal of Hyderabad-based Tregum Remedies Private Limited's application for “THE SKIN COMPANY” in Class 3 and directed the Registry to advertise the mark in the Trade Marks Journal. A Single Judge Bench of Justice P.B. Balaji held that the Registry had failed to give reasons for refusing the application, consider the company's reply or assess the mark as a whole. He observed: “it is not open to the authorities or the Courts to dissect a...

Delhi High Court Sets Aside Refusal To Register 'COBBLE STONE' Trademark

The Delhi High Court has set aside the Trade Marks Registrar's refusal to register building materials company Cobble Stone Private Limited's “COBBLE STONE” trademark for non-metallic building materials, remanding the application for fresh consideration.Justice Vikas Mahajan allowed the appeal after the Registrar's counsel said it had no objection to a remand. The Registrar must now decide the application within 60 days.Cobble Stone applied to register “COBBLE STONE” in Class 19. On August 6,...

Delhi High Court Restrains Imperia Decor From Using 'ALUMAC' Trademark For Building Materials

The Delhi High Court has restrained Imperia Decor Industries and another company from using the trademark “ALUMAC” for aluminium composite panels and other building materials, finding it deceptively similar to Alucopanel Industries' registered trademark “ALOMAX”.The court also noted that a director of the other company had previously been associated with Alucopanel, indicating that the adoption of the mark was “not bona fide”.Justice Vikas Mahajan passed the ad interim injunction on October 7 in...

Delhi High Court Restrains 'Indian Zeera' Maker From Imitating Archian Foods' 'Lahori Zeera' Packaging

On 8 October, the Delhi High Court temporarily restrained Goldenstuff and Beverages Private Limited and others from selling soft drinks in packaging that imitates Archian Foods Private Limited's “Lahori Zeera” range. Justice Vikas Mahajan passed the ad interim order after finding that the defendants' labels, colour scheme and bottle shape could cause confusion and deception among consumers. The Bench held that “the adoption of identical or deceptively similar logo/trade dress/colour...

Delhi High Court Extends 'THUNDER 15000' Beer Trademark Injunction To Importer Supar SIP Traders

The Delhi High Court has recently extended an interim injunction against Kinjore Brewery Private Limited and another defendant over the “THUNDER 15000” beer mark to Delhi-based importer and distributor Supar SIP Traders LLP. The firm had admitted to importing and distributing the beer under a contractual arrangement with Kinjore Brewery.Justice Tejas Karia added the firm as a defendant on Inbrew Beverages' plea and held that, because it admitted importing and distributing the product under a...

Ahmedabad Entities Agree Before Bombay High Court To Stop Using 7 Drug Names In Sun Pharma Suit

Ahmedabad-based Nectar Life Care and Kashmik Formulations Private Limited have agreed to stop using seven names for pharmaceutical products that Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. alleged were deceptively similar to its registered trademarks “HISTAC” and “OMESEC”.Justice Madhav J. Jamdar of the Bombay High Court recorded the settlement on October 8, 2026, and accepted the parties' commitments as undertakings to the court.Sun Pharma holds registered Class 5 pharmaceutical trademarks for “HISTAC”...

Religious Significance Of 'Annapurna' Does Not Bar Trademark Protection: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has held that the religious significance of the name “Annapurna” does not, by itself, prevent its protection as a trademark. The court refused to vacate an interim injunction against snacks maker Annapurna Swadisht Limited.Justice A.D. Maria Clete observed, “The religious significance of a name does not, by itself, render its use as a trademark incapable of protection.” The court clarified that GEF Foods India Private Limited was seeking protection for its registered mark...

Bombay High Court Allows Colgate To Submit Six Renewed Trademark Certificates In 1996 Suit Against Anchor

The Bombay High Court has allowed Colgate-Palmolive to introduce six renewed trademark registration certificates as evidence in its 1996 infringement suit against Anchor Health and Beauty Care Private Limited, holding that the documents cannot be considered irrelevant to the dispute.Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan observed that “Colgate has paid a disproportionate price for its attorneys' failure to have tabled the six LPCs on July 10, 2019”. The court declined to impose costs on the...

Delhi High Court Temporarily Restrains Sphinx Worldbiz From Using “SHRM PRO” Mark In Trademark Suit By SHRM

The Delhi High Court has restrained Sphinx Worldbiz Ltd and a company it controls from using the “SHRM PRO” trademark for their services, granting an ex parte ad interim injunction in a trademark infringement suit filed by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Justice Vikas Mahajan observed that the use of the mark by the two companies prima facie appeared to be non-bona fide and was causing confusion, deception and a false association among the public. The court noted that...

Commercial Court Must Decide Jurisdiction Before 'Sarkari Result' Trademark Suit Amendment: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has ruled that a Commercial Court must decide a challenge to its subject-matter jurisdiction before considering an application to amend the plaint. Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal dismissed a petition filed by I Think Apps Pvt. Ltd., which owns the “Sarkari Result” trademark, challenging the Varanasi Commercial Court's decision to hear a jurisdiction application filed by Anugya Gupta and another before taking up the company's amendment plea. “An amendment seeking to...