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Tag: india

Trademark Rectification in India: When and How to Challenge a Registered Mark

October 7, 2026
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| Categories: Trademark

A trademark registration is not necessarily permanent. Even after a mark has cleared examination, survived (or avoided) opposition, and been entered on the Register of Trade Marks, it can still be challenged years later and removed. The legal route for this is called "rectification" – a remedy that is less talked about than opposition, but one that brand owners, competitors and their advocates should understand well, because it can be used both offensively, to clear a conflicting mark off the register, and defensively, when a registration is used against you in an infringement dispute. What Is Trademark Rectification? Rectification is the process by which an entry on the trademark register is corrected, varied or cancelled after registration. Under the Trade...

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Delhi High Court Puts Instagram’s ‘Remix’ Feature Under the Copyright Lens

October 3, 2026
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| Categories: Copyright
Delhi High Court

On 29 September 2026, the Delhi High Court turned its attention to a feature that millions of Indian Instagram users reach for every day: "Remix." In a suit filed by Dr. Vikas Divyakirti, the well-known founder of Drishti IAS, against Meta Platforms, Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani did not mince words about how the feature can be misused, reportedly remarking that it amounted to "a tool for copyright violation" and a "mischievous feature." For IP practitioners and content creators alike, the case is worth watching closely, because it sits squarely at the intersection of copyright infringement, platform design, and intermediary liability under Indian law. The Dispute: Divyakirti v. Meta Platforms Dr. Divyakirti's lectures and video content, widely circulated on social media,...

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Passing Off in Indian Trademark Law: What It Is and How It Differs from Infringement

October 1, 2026
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| Categories: Intellectual Property, Trademark
Delhi High Court

Business owners often assume that owning a registered trademark is the only way to stop someone else from copying their brand. In reality, Indian law recognises a second, older remedy that operates independently of registration altogether: the common law action of passing off. Understanding how passing off works, and how it differs from a statutory infringement claim, is essential for any brand owner deciding how to protect a name, logo, or get-up in the Indian market. What Is Passing Off? Passing off is a common law tort, not a right created by statute. It protects the goodwill a trader has built up in connection with their goods or services, and prevents a rival from misrepresenting their own goods or services...

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Delhi High Court Says No to Blanket Injunctions in Personality Rights Cases

September 27, 2026
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| Categories: Intellectual Property
Delhi High Court

On 18 September 2026, the Delhi High Court handed down an order that IP and media law practitioners across India have been discussing all week. In a suit filed by actor Meenakshi Chaudhary against unidentified defendants over non-consensual, sexually explicit AI-generated content bearing her likeness, Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction directing takedown of the obscene material — but pointedly declined to grant the sweeping, "blanket" injunction her counsel had sought over all unauthorised uses of her image and persona. The order was reportedly passed alongside similar personality rights suits filed by other film actors, with the Court signalling an intent to lay down a more structured framework for how such claims should be evaluated going forward....

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Copyright Registration in India: Procedure, Timelines and Common Pitfalls

September 23, 2026
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| Categories: Copyright

Copyright protection in India arises automatically the moment an original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, or a cinematograph film or sound recording, is created and fixed in a tangible form. Unlike a trademark or a patent, no registration is required to bring a copyright into existence. Yet every year, thousands of authors, publishers, software companies, and businesses apply to register their works with the Copyright Office in India. Why bother with a formality the law does not strictly require? This article explains what copyright registration actually does, how the process works, and where applicants commonly go wrong. Copyright Exists Without Registration – So Why Register? Under the Copyright Act, 1957, copyright subsists in a qualifying work from the moment...

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Can descriptive trademarks be registered in India?

January 14, 2023
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| Categories: Trademark

Descriptive trademarks are those that describe the characteristics, qualities, or features of a product or service. In India, descriptive trademarks can be registered under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, but are subject to certain restrictions and conditions. One of the main restrictions for registering a descriptive trademark in India is that it must have acquired distinctiveness through use. This means that the trademark must have been used for a significant period of time and has become associated with a particular product or service, such that it can be distinguished from other similar trademarks. Another restriction is that descriptive trademarks cannot be registered if they are generic or commonly used terms. For example, words like "fresh" or "natural" that are commonly...

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