TRADEMARK
DELHI HC ALLOWS EX-PARTE AD-INTERIM RELIEF IN FAVOUR OF JOURNALIST RAJAT SHARMA
The Delhi HC has allowed an ex-parte ad-interim relief to the celebrated TV journalist Rajat Sharma and his news channel. The veteran journalist filed a suit to prevent the defendant, Ravindra Kumar Choudhary from using the mark/logo of their news channel and the show ‘Aap ki Adalat’ or any similar trademark/logo.
The defendant identifies as a political satirist and produces and shares diverse audio and video content on social networking sites. He was actively using his social networking sites to promote the logo of his news channel “Jhandiya TV”, which is deceptively similar to the logo of the plaintiff’s new channel “India TV” and the show “Baap ki Adalat”, which is deceptively similar to the show of the plaintiff’s show “Aap ki Adalat.”
(1) Independent News Service Private Limited and another v. Ravindra Kumar Chaudhary and others, CS(COMM) 498/2024 & I.A. 31295/2024.
TRADEMARK
DELHI HC ISSUES PERMANENT INJUNCTION IN FAVOUR OF AMUL
The Delhi HC has granted a permanent injunction in favour of Amul, the well -known dairy company in India, prohibiting businesses in the pharmaceutical industry from using the ‘AMUL’ trademark on their products. A penalty of 500,000 rupees was imposed on them for violating Amul’s widely recognized trademark.
Justice Mini Pushkarna, the sitting judge, noted that a regular customer may mistakenly think the defendants are connected to Amul, which could unfairly benefit them and harm the reputation of Amul’s brand.
(1) Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Ltd & Anr. cs. Bio Logic And Psychotropics India Private Ltd & Anr. (CS(COMM) 858/2022).
TRADEMARK
‘VERY MINDFUL, VERY DEMURE’ CREATOR LOOKS TO TRADEMARK THE VIRAL PHRASE
A viral meme trend took over social media with discussions around the tagline – “very mindful, very demure”. Beauty influencer Jools Lebron was the woman responsible for the creation of the meme. She shared a 40-second TikTok video displaying her professional makeup look, labeling herself as “very demure, very mindful”. Shortly after, the clip started gaining momentum, bringing the tagline into focus. Due to the frequent usage of these words at different events, the creator has chosen to trademark the tagline.
TRADEMARK
DELHI HC PREVENTS USE OF ‘AMMAJI’ TRADEMARK
The Delhi HC has granted a temporary injunction in favour of Amba Shakti Steels Ltd. against Sequence Ferro Private Ltd. who alleged that Sequence Ferro Private Ltd. had violated its trademark “AMBA” by using a closely resembling trademark, “AMMAJI,” for their steel bars and related products. The court emphasized the likeness of the two trademarks, specifically pointing out the similar sound and overall visual resemblance, which could confuse the same class of customers.
COPYRIGHT
MILEY CYRUS FACES LAWSUIT OVER COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT OF SONG “FLOWERS”
Miley Cyrus, the famous global pop singer, is facing a lawsuit for her award-winning song “Flowers.” The lawsuit alleges that the latest hit song dominating the global charts bears a remarkable similarity to Bruno Mars’ 2012 hit “When I Was Your Man”. The complaint alleges that Cyrus has plagiarized part of Mars’ song without permission, leading to infringement of intellectual property.
Tempo Music Investments, a company that claims ownership of a portion of Mars’ song, has brought the case to federal court.
(1)Tempo Music Investments LLC v. Miley Cyrus & Ors., Case 2:24-cv-07910.
COPYRIGHT
AMAZON’S CCU FILES LAWSUIT TARGETING INVALID TRADEMARKS AND FAKE COMPLAINTS
Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit (CCU) has taken legal action against several individuals who falsely obtained trademarks to access the Amazon Brand Registry, and also issued fake infringement notices to get Amazon sellers and their products removed from the platform. Sending incorrect removal notifications negatively affected both Amazon sellers and customers by trying to limit the variety of products available, which ultimately hurt the reputation of Amazon’s marketplace.
The counterfeit takedown requests negatively affected Amazon’s sellers and customers by trying to limit product options, ultimately compromising the credibility of Amazon’s platform.
COPYRIGHT
SQUID GAMES SUED BY INDIAN FILMMAKER OVER COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
The well-known South Korean show Squid Games is facing legal issues as Indian filmmaker Soham Shah has sued the writer of the series and Netflix for copyright infringement. The director alleges that Netflix’s hit show is a duplication of his 2009 movie Luck. According to the lawsuit, the Squid Game series allegedly follows the plot of the film Luck.
The OTT issued a counter-statement refuting all accusations of infringement. “This claim has no merit. Squid Game was created by and written by Hwang Dong Hyuk and we intend to defend this matter vigorously,” a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement.
COPYRIGHT
DELHI HC ISSUES A DYNAMIC+ INJUNCTION IN FAVOUR OF WARNER BROS, NETFLIX AND OTHERS
The Delhi HC has recently issued a proactive order to safeguard the copyrighted materials of Warner Bros, Netflix, Disney, and other multinational entertainment corporations. Justice Saurabh Banerjee was addressing a case brought by international companies against 45 unauthorized websites to prevent them from sharing copyrighted content from different films and TV series. It was claimed that the unauthorized websites were hosting and sharing copyrighted material without permission from the entertainment firms.
PATENT
SC REJECTS PLEA AGAINST LAW PROHIBITING GRANT OF NUCLEAR LICENCE TO PRIVATE PARTY
The SC rejected a plea from a US-based physicist on Tuesday, who had challenged a provision of the Atomic Energy Act prohibiting private parties from obtaining a license to handle nuclear materials due to the risk of misuse, such as for making bombs.
The court stated that it is appropriate for the law to ban private companies from obtaining licenses for atomic energy. Furthermore, it stated that these are policy choices that courts are unable to intervene in.
Sandeep TS, a physicist based in the United States, had filed a lawsuit in the highest court questioning the legality of section 14 of the Act, arguing that a private company ought to be permitted to participate in a nuclear power initiative.
(1) Sandeep TS v. Union of India | Writ Petition(s)(Civil) No(s).564/2024.
PATENT
NINTENDO, POKEMON FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST POCKETPAIR FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
Nintendo Co. has initiated legal action against Pocketpair Inc., the developer of the popular game Palworld, for alleged patent infringement, aiming for both an injunction and financial compensation.
The case, filed with partner Pokémon Co., was brought to the Tokyo District Court on Wednesday. Palworld gained immediate popularity when it was first released in January, bringing attention to its developer Pocketpair and being dubbed as “Pokémon with guns” by fans who noted similarities between the fantastical creatures in the game and those in Nintendo’s well-known series.
