TRADEMARK
INJUNCTION OVER “KAVACH” MARK
Ambuja Cements (Plaintiff) filed a trademark infringement suit before the Delhi HC against JSW Cement & Ors. (Defendant) for alleging infringement of its trademark “Ambuja Kawach”. The Plaintiff contends that the Defendants have copied the distinctive element “Kavach” (meaning “shield” in Hindi), which serves as a unique identifier of the Plaintiff’s water-repellent cement, in their product titled “CHD Jal Kavach,” thereby causing a likelihood of confusion and deception in the minds of the public. The Plaintiff further alleges that the Defendants’ product packaging, including the layout, trade dress, and placement of the logo, substantially imitates the Plaintiff’s well-known “Giant Man’s Arm” branding.
The Plaintiff is seeking a permanent injunction, damages, and withdrawal of the Defendant’s trademark application. The HC has referred the matter to mediation, with the next hearing scheduled for October 15, 2025.
TRADEMARK
INTERIM RELIEF IN URSOCOL TM DISPUTE
Sun Pharma Laboratories Limited (Plaintiff) filed a trademark infringement suit before the Bombay HC against Rambo Lifesciences Pvt. Ltd. & Ors. (Defendants) for adopting and using the marks “URSOCAL” and “USOCAL-300,” which are deceptively similar to the Plaintiff’s registered mark “URSOCOL”. The Plaintiff contended that Defendant’s marks are likely to cause confusion and deception among doctors, chemists, and patients in the highly sensitive pharmaceutical sector. Accordingly, the Plaintiff prayed for the grant of an interim injunction.
The Bombay HC held that the issue of confusion in respect of pharmaceutical products is a matter of grave concern and therefore, granted an interim injunction restraining the Defendants from using the trademarks.
1. Sun Pharma Laboratories Limited vs Rambos Lifesciences Pvt Ltd, IL No. 20229 of 2025
PATENT
INDIAN PATENT OFFICE REVOKES VYMADA PATENT
The Indian Patent Office (IPO) has revoked the patent granted to Novartis’ for its blockbuster heart-failure drug “Vymada” (marketed globally as Entresto) in India, on grounds of lack of novelty and absence of inventive step under the Patents Act, 1970. The IPO observed that Novartis had failed to establish any therapeutic superiority or enhanced efficacy of the claimed supramolecular complex in comparison to the existing formulation, further recorded that the patentee had not furnished any experimental data, comparative studies, or technical rationale to substantiate the alleged advantages. The order was pursuant to domestic pharma companies having opposed the patent, contending that the impugned claims amounted to an attempt at evergreening, attracting the bar under Section 3(d) of the Patents Act. Consequently, the IPO concluded that the patent could not be sustained and directed its revocation.
COPYRIGHT
MOVIE “GOOD BAD UGLY” REMOVED FROM NETFLIX
Following an interim order of the Madras High Court, Netflix has removed the film Good Bad Ugly after musician Ilaiyaraaja filed a petition alleging copyright infringement. He claimed that his songs Oththa Roova, Ilamai Idho Idho, and En Jodi Manja Kuruvi were used without authorization and sought damages of ₹5 crore. The film’s producer, however, contends that all necessary permissions had already been secured from the copyright holder.
COPYRIGHT
CHINESE AI FIRM SUED FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
Hollywood studios, Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. Discovery, have filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in California federal court against China-based MiniMax, the company behind Hailuo AI. The studios allege that MiniMax’s image and video generation platform was trained using their copyrighted works without permission and is distributing downloadable videos and images featuring iconic characters under the Hailuo AI brand. The lawsuit seeks to stop MiniMax from further infringement and demands damages of up to $150,000 per copyrighted work, in addition to attorney fees and legal costs.
COPYRIGHT
BRITANNICA, MERRIAM-WEBSTER SUES PERPLEXITY AI
Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster have filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York against Perplexity AI, alleging that its “answer engine” unlawfully copied and repurposed their copyrighted content, sometimes verbatim, and misused their trademarks by attributing AI-generated or inaccurate material to their names. The publishers argue that this practice misleads users, diverts web traffic from their platforms, and results in revenue loss from subscriptions and advertising. As relief, the publishers have sought unspecified monetary damages along with an order restraining Perplexity from further misusing their content.
1.Encyclopedia Britannica Inc v. Perplexity AI Inc, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 1:25-cv-07546.
POSH
SC: POLITICAL PARTIES DON’T COME UNDER POSH ACT
The SC has upheld a Kerala HC ruling that political parties are not required to set up Internal Complaints Committees (ICC) under the POSH Act, 2013 (Act). The court observed that since political parties do not share an employer-employee relationship with their members, and do not qualify as a venture, enterprise, institution, or establishment under Section 2(o)(ii) of the Act, they are not legally obligated to constitute an ICC to deal with sexual harassment complaints.
1.Yogamaya M.G. vs. State of Kerala and Ors. S.L.P (Civil) Diary No. (S)-47381/2025
