From SRK to SRK (Regd.) - Don's new move?

It doesn't matter whether Amitabh Bachhan has not applied for the trademark protection of his nickname Big B. But Shahrukh Khan has recently, sent an application to the Trade Mark Registry that his often-used initials not be used without his permission. 

According to the reports by The TOI, the actor has recently applied for a trademark on his name SRK at the Delhi office of the Trade Mark Registry. He awaits the final confirmation on it. According to the rules, once his trademark SRK is published in the Indian Trademark Journal, anybody who has an objection can file a notice within three months.

This is not the first time of such applucation in India. Earlier this year, Sachin Tendulkar had applied for the same, to trademark his name SRT. In fact, when Vidhu Vinod Chopra needed to use the cricketer's name in his film Ferrarri Ki Sawaari, he had to seek Sachin's permission.

This trend is being followed from the West, where getting a trademark on one's name isn't uncommon. In fact, Roger Federer, Michael Jordon and Jennifer Lopez are among some of the names that have been trademarked in the past.
 
Such a move by the actor will bar several industries from using his name. For example, tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, water and even other non-alcoholic drinks can't use the actor's name. The same goes for fresh fruits, vegetables, salt, mustard so on and so forth.

India follows International Exhaustion - Delhi HC

In a most recent and landmark judgment on the issue of "exhaustion principle" in Indian trademark law, a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court has held that Indian trademark law follows an “international exhaustion” regime. 

The Bench comprising of Justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Siddharth Mridul partially allowed the appeal filed by Kapil Wadhwa and others (Appellants) against the judgment of Single Judge Justice Manmohan Singh in Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. & Anr. v. Kapil Wadhwa & Ors., wherein the Single Judge had held the Appellants guilty of trademark infringement and had ruled that trademark law prohibits the sale of imported genuine products without the authorization of the registered proprietor in India.

 

The appeal was partially allowed by the Division Bench, thereby setting aside the judgment dated February 17, 2012 insofar as the Appellants had been restrained from importing printers, ink cartridges/toners bearing the trade mark Samsung/SAMSUNG and selling the same in India. However, the Appellants have still been injuncted from meta-tagging their website to that of Samsung. 

 

Way back in the single bench judgment of this case, Samsung Electronics Co. and its Indian subsidiary Samsung India had initially filed a suit claiming that the Appellants were selling genuine and unaltered Samsung printers imported directly from foreign markets into India without due authorization.  The Single Judge had held that the Appellants were guilty of trademark violation. It was against this judgment, the Appellants had filed an appeal.

 

Samsung was reprsented by Pravin Anand of Anand & Anand while the Kapil Wadhwa and others were represented Saikrishna Rajagopal on instructions from Shwetasree Majumdar of Fidus Law Chambers.

 

The Court observed that the single judge adopted an “erroneous approach” to conclude that unless goods are imported into India by the consent of the registered proprietor of a trade mark “the act of importation is not permitted” as per sub Section 3 of Section 30 (of the Trademarks Act), which provision provides for “acquisition by consent for the purposes of import”. In the appeal, the Court recognized the the principle of international exhaustion under the Trademarks Act, 1999 and observed that the same was clear from the fact that the term ‘in any geographical area’, in the Statement of Objects and Reasons to the Trade Mark Bill 1999 “clearly envisaged that the legislative intent was to recognize the principle of international exhaustion of rights to control further sale of goods once they were put on the market by the registered proprietor of the trade mark”. 

News Link 

Copy of the Judgment

Time for Trademark Oppositions

After a number of patent battles now its time to watch how Samsung and Apple fights over trademark.

Apple on May 2010 filed a TM application vide application no with USPTO for International registration  of a logo titled "Made for iphone" vide application no: 85025627 which contains a small image of an iphone along with the word mark "Made for iphone".

Now after two years of registration with the USPTO, Samsung along with Acer has challenged the registration of the mark in the Canadian Trademark Office

According a document provided by the Canadian Trademark office Samsung and Acer has filed their opposition on October 2011 and has been granted an extension for formally making their case which is due for 20th of November.

Source: Patently apple