| |

Midler v. Ford Motor Co. & Others

Midler v Ford Motor Co. & Others (1988) 849 F.2d 460 (9th Cir) The Defendant launched an advertising campaign which was meant to create nostalgic moments through the use of famous songs of past decade. When the original artists of those songs did not agree to those commercials, Defendant hired impersonators to sing the original…

| |

Edison v. Edison Polyform Mfg. Co.

Edison v. Edison Polyform Mfg. Co. 67 A. 392 (N.J. Ch. 1907) In the present case, the Plaintiff was the inventor of electrical instruments and processes and had a huge reputation. He once made a medication for neuralgic pains. Some individuals purchased the rights to the formulation of that medicine for US$ 5000. On November…

| |

Carson v. Here’s Johnny Portable Toilets, Inc.

Carson v. Here’s Johnny Portable Toilets, Inc. 968 F2D 831 6 circuit 1983 An interesting issue arose before the United States Court of Appeal  for Sixth Circuit. The Plaintiff was the host and star of a show called ‘The Tonight Show’ and was also an entertainer. Since 1962, the Plaintiff was introduced on the show…

| | |

REGISTRABILITY OF ‘GENERIC.COM’ MARKS – PART – I: THE MAJORITY OPINION IN USPTO v. BOOKING.COM

Recently, the Supreme Court of United States held that marks which are generic when combined with a top-level domain name may qualify as registrable marks provided the consumers do not consider them to be generic. The decision is in USPTO v. Booking.com B.V.. By an 8: 1 majority the matter has been decided against USPTO….

| |

Phoolan Devi v. Shekhar Kapoor and Ors.

Phoolan Devi v. Shekhar Kapoor and Ors. 57 (1995) DLT 154, 1995 (32) DRJ 142 BRIEF FACTS: Plaintiff entered into a Contract with Defendant No. 5 to grant Defendant No. 5 sole and exclusive right to make a cinematograph film on her writings (based on Indian banditry and on her life). It was also agreed…

| |

Shilpa S. Shetty v. Magna Publications Co. Ltd. & Ors.

Shilpa S. Shetty v. Magna Publications Co. Ltd. & Ors. AIR 2001 Bom 176 Brief Facts: Plaintiff was a film actress. Defendant No.1 was a publishing house. Defendant No. 2, director of the Defendant No.1 and Defendant No. 3 editor of a Film Journal published by Defendant No. 1 titled “Stardust”. Defendant No 4 was…

UNDERSTANDING THE FUNCTIONS  AND RATIONALE OF TRADE MARK, FROM THE MOVIE, ‘PK’
| | | |

UNDERSTANDING THE FUNCTIONS  AND RATIONALE OF TRADE MARK, FROM THE MOVIE, ‘PK’

SEASON 1 EPISODE 1 – 27th June, 2020 Introduction In the 2014 movie ‘PK’, a humanoid alien comes to the planet Earth (aka, ‘Gola‘) for a research. Unfortunately, the alien gets stranded on Earth after losing his communication device to connect to his spaceship and eventually ends up exploring different ways of human behaviour, set…

| |

Haelan Laboratories, Inc. v. Topps Chewing Gum, Inc.

Haelan Laboratories, Inc. v. Topps Chewing Gum, Inc. 202 F.2d 866 (2d Cir. 1953); US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit                                 Date of decision: 16th February, 1953 Brief Facts: The Plaintiff was engaged in selling Chewing Gums. Plaintiff…

| | | |

Ms. Barkha Dutt v. easyticket, Kapavarapu, Vas

Ms. Barkha Dutt v. easyticket, Kapavarapu, Vas Case No. D2009-1247 before Administrative Panel, WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center Date of decision: 30th October, 2009 Brief Facts: The Complainant, Barkha Dutt, a known figure in the media and particularly recognised for her reporting from conflict regions filed the present Complaint before WIPO for transfer of domain…

| | | |

Julia Fiona Roberts v. Russell Boyd

Julia Fiona Roberts v. Russell Boyd Case No. D2000-0210 before WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center Date of decision: 29th May, 2000 The Complainant was Ms. Julia Fiona Roberts, a famous film actress who had appeared in films such as Notting Hill, Pretty Woman, Erin Brockovich etc. The Complainant was widely featured in celebrity publications, movie…

| | | |

A GUIDE TO WELL-KNOWN TRADE MARKS

 “There are marks which are different from other marks. There are names which are different from other names. There are names and marks which have become household words.” – Hon’ble Mr. Justice Mahinder Narain, Hon’ble High Court of Delhi (Daimler Benz Aktiegesellschaft & Anr. v. Hybo Hindustan; 1994 PTC 287) Abstract: Intellectual Property has many…