#ip litigation

Supreme Court to Consider First Amendment Protection for Parody Dog Toy

The Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to consider the scope of protection afforded by the First Amendment to commercial parody products that feature the unauthorized use of another party’s trademark(s). Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products LLC, Case No. 22-148 (Supr. Ct. Nov. 21, 2022) (certiorari granted). The questions presented are as follows: Whether humorous use of…

Intellectual Property: Understand It to Protect What You Own, Drive Value to Your Business and Positively Impact Your Bottom Line

Intellectual Property (or “IP”) is commonly defined as a group of legal rights that provide protection over things people and businesses create or invent. It might sound straightforward, but there is a lot of confusion over what can actually be protected and what cannot. Who needs to be concerned with IP Protection? We’ve all heard the phrase, “hindsight is 20/20”. That’s especially true when it…

Recently, Metro Shoes filed a trademark infringement case against Flipkart alleging that the defendant is retailing products under a brand recognized as ‘Metronaut’ which is similar to the eponymous brand name of Metro. The complainant added that by using the same brand name, the e-commerce company is selling several products, including shoes.

Lawyer Piyush Shah, appearing for Metro explained that the practice of selling under Metronaut, a brand similar to that of Metro reveals a case of trademark infringement against Flipkart.

Flipkart spokesperson emailed a response stating that the e-commerce firm was not familiar with any kind of legal proceeding in this regard. If they are informed via a notice by any judicial authority or court, they will definitely take the necessary measures that will prove best in the company’s interests.

There are many products that Flipkart sells under the name ‘Metronaut’, some of them are as follows:

Men fashion wear and accessories that was launched late last year

Denims, shoes, t-shirts, and shirts

Accessories encompassing wallets, sunglasses, and belts.

5 coffee varieties that are being grown in India made their place amongst the Geographical Indication (GI) tag achievers. It is expected that this step will make the producers happy by helping them to earn the maximum cost for their ace produce. The coffee varieties that were awarded GI tag by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, underneath the Ministry of Commerce and Industry include:

Coorg Arabica from Karnataka,

Wayanad, Robusta from Kerala,

Chikmagalur Arabica from Karnataka,

Araku Valley Arabica from Andhra Pradesh,

Bababudangiris Arabica from Karnataka

Around 3.66 lakh farmers (out of whom 98% are small farmers) in India are occupied in the profession of cultivating coffee over near about 4.54-hectare area.

Southern regions of India including states such as Tamil Nadu (8 per cent), Kerala (19 per cent), and Karnataka (54 per cent) are the major producers of the total coffee produced in the nation. Apart from these areas, non-traditional zones of India encapsulating Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, and many other north-east states participate in coffee cultivation.

Out of so many countries in the world, India is the only nation where the growers utilize natural processes to produce and cultivate coffee like growing in shade, plucking manually through hands, and drying in sunlight. The Western and Eastern Ghats are recognized as the significant bio-diversity hotspots worldwide and tribal farmers in these regions are famous for generating the top-quality coffee globally. Indian coffee is not just highly-valued by the whole world but also purchased as the premium product in European countries.

The ministry in its statement explained that the tribal growers of Araku coffee use an organic approach where they emphasize utilizing green or organic manures and organic pest controlling and eradicating practices. It also revealed that Bababudangiris Arabica coffee is obtained using a hand-picked method and managed via natural fermentation.

In addition, the ministry of India said that the GI certification brings recognition and protection that enable the producers to invest in growing the quality coffee in that specific region. It will benefit the growers with the opportunity to acquire the maximum revenue for their premium coffee by increasing the visibility of the coffee amongst the purchasers all over the world.

What is Geographical Indication?

A Geographical Indication (GI) indicates a sign or name deployed on natural, agricultural, manufactured commodities such as handicrafts, industrial goods, or other products that originate from a particular geographical location. GI tag functions as an assurance of quality and uniqueness of the products that develop the producers’ confidence to command genuine price for their premium coffee in both the markets – domestic and international.

Besides coffee, many other products achieved the GI tag in India, for example – Kangra Paintings, Nagpur Orange,Tirupathi Laddu, Kashmir Pashmina, and Darjeeling Tea.

T.C. James, President of NIPO (National Intellectual Property Organisation) announced that GI authorization is just like a protection shield that prevents other unauthorized producers from misusing the identity to market similar valuables. It even serves the customers with comfort and satisfaction regarding the products’ authenticity. Besides this, he added that assets with GI tag always get the premium price in the markets.

Margento, a globally known provider of mobile transaction solutions made this month a concerning phase for a Bengaluru-based Indian Startup – ToneTog by filing a patent opposition against their DOV (data-over-voice) technology application.

Fintech startup ToneTag who filed the patent application was founded in the year 2013 by Kumar Abhishek. However, later, it had been allotted to Naffa Innovations Pvt Ltd which was known as its parent company. Controller of Patents, Kolkata is the authority under which this matter had been kept.

Margento came up with the opposition chiefly on the basis that the inventions are not patentable with a view to earlier published documents, encompassing two already granted patents of Margento.

The granted patents of Margento pertain to wireless mobile transaction solutions through a safe transfer of data-over-sound amid payment terminal and mobile device without using any connectivity sources like Bluetooth, Internet Connection, Wi-Fi, etc.

The previous publications revealing information on two patents of Margento put light on protected data transfer amidst two devices. They gave out the statistics that the confidential data including financial transactions and others travel via sound waves securely, and therefore, made this invention patentable.