How to (not) kill your trademark?

What is this all about? "What is all about killing a trademark?  How can you kill a trademark?  It is an intangible property, right?" I know some of these questions may pop up in your mind while you read this. Killing a trademark is very much possible and by doing so, you may not make it disappear completely from the world, but you will destroy its essential qualities. We are going to discuss here some issues revolving around:   how a trademark can lose its essential qualities; what happens after that; and how to prevent that from happening. A trademark, as we know, is primarily a negative right given to the registered owner by law.  However, the absolute (not always) right...

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Do-it-yourself trademark search in India

This post is aimed at educating general public as to how to conduct a trademark search in India. Why you should do a search? To check if your trademark is already registered; To check if your trademark is already filed and pending to be registered; To identify the potential for objection and/or opposition; To check if your trademark would infringe on any registered or pending marks. How to do a search? Visit Indian Trademark Registry Website at https://ipindiaonline.gov.in/tmrpublicsearch/frmmain.aspx Please download the Guidelines to use Trade Mark Public Search containing detailed instructions on how to perform trademark search  

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Trademark objections at its peak at 98%

It is not unusual for a trademark practitioner who have practiced before other jurisdictions to notice that the percentage of objections issued by the Indian Trademark Office is extremely higher when compared to other trademark offices such as USPTO, IPO, IP Australia, EU. [caption id="attachment_306" align="aligncenter" width="420"] Trademark Objection In India[/caption] We randomly picked a few monthly objection lists involving around 1000 applications from Classes 30 and 35 from 2013 and 2014 for a quick analysis. Around 98% of the application are objected at first instance. To our surprise, we discovered that about 98% of the trademark applications were objected at first.  We also observe that almost same percentage of objections are posted for hearing, albeit a detailed, well-drafted and comprehensive...

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What is a good trademark?

What is a good trademark? 'What is a good trademark' is one of the most frequently asked questions by our clients.  This typically becomes the subject-matter of discussion when our lawyers opine on the trademark-ability or registrability of a proposed mark.  Clients often get upset or put off when we try to make them understand that their trademark are vulnerable to objection and opposition.  Law is a lousy mistress and complex subject - this is no exception for intellectual property laws.  Although the IPR laws seem very plain and simple, interpretation of each clauses is definitely a complex thing. Is it a difficult task? YES! Creating or selecting a trademark is definitely no easy task as in case of naming...

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Beware of fraudsters misrepresenting as trademark office, agents

In the wake of a recent incident encountered by one of my clients who received a payment demand notice from a person claiming to be from a patent and trademark office, I felt it is imperative to discuss a few things right away. Today, my colleague-attorney received a call from one of our clients who stated that they had received a payment demand notice from a patent and trademark office.  We were perplexed and asked our client to forward the communication to us. Upon reviewing the notice, it turned out to be a fake agency misrepresenting as a trademark office, and we counseled our client on this over the phone and through email.  We are not disclosing more information to...

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Perfect time to make post-registration changes in your trademark

Normally, post-registration changes such as assignments, corrections, amendments, etc. happen at snail's pace for several reasons.  To tackle that, our CGPDTM has announced a special drive to dispose post-registration changes. The CGPDTM once again initiates a special drive for disposal of requests for recordal of post registration changes in the registered Trademarks.  This special drive will be conducted during the months of December 2013 and January 2014. Post-registration changes may include change in address, adding or removing proprietors, etc. The notification available on IPIndia Website reads, "All the requests for recordal of post registration changes made on forms TM-17, 19,20,23, 24, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 42, 43 or 50 shall be taken up for disposal by the appropriate offices, in order...

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