India: Trademark

In a recent ruling concerning trademark infringement in pharmaceuticals, a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court set aside a permanent injunction that restrained Intas Pharmaceuticals from selling its anti-cancer drug under the mark BEVATAS. The decision is significant for two reasons. First, it pushes back against the principle of “even the slightest possibility of confusion” which is standard in pharmaceutical cases due to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Cadila Healthcare (2001).

Africa is becoming an increasingly important market for global brands. With a combined GDP of more than USD 3 trillion, a fast-growing urban middle class, and stronger regional trade driven by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the continent offers significant opportunities for business expansion.

In ANI Media Pvt. Ltd. v. Open AI OpCo LLC, CS(COMM) 1028/2024, the Delhi High Court delivered a significant judgment on the intersection of copyright law and Generative Artificial Intelligence. Deciding an application for interim injunction, the Court examined questions concerning the use of copyrighted works for training Large Language Models (LLMs), the scope of copyright infringement arising from AI-generated outputs, the applicability of the fair dealing exception under Section 52 of the Copyright Act, 1957, and the territorial jurisdiction of Indian courts over AI developers operating through servers located overseas.

Trademark applications are increasingly facing rejection for lacking distinctiveness as businesses favor SEO-friendly, descriptive names that fail legal scrutiny. This analysis examines why marks like "QuickDocs" or "SmartPay" struggle to secure registration, explores the legal framework governing distinctiveness under Section 9 of India's Trade Marks Act, and reveals how startups can build legally protectable brands without sacrificing market appeal.

The digital marketplace runs on search visibility, and search visibility runs on keywords. When a consumer types a brand name into Google, the results page is no longer a neutral mirror of the internet, instead, it is a curated auction venue. Search engines allow advertisers, often direct competitors, to ‘bid’ on another company's trademark so that their own sponsored link appears the moment a consumer searches for that brand.

Finecure Pharmaceuticals adopted the mark "PANTOPACID" in 2007 for a competing Pantoprazole formulation and applied to register it in April 2009, claiming a portmanteau origin ("PANTO" + "P" for Proton Pump Inhibitor + "ACID"). Sun Pharma opposed this application in October 2010, and the opposition remains pending.

Every good business has some kind of story behind it, like real innovation. Sometimes it starts with a breakthrough invention, other times it’s more like a recognisable brand identity, proprietary software, or an iconic product layout.

Explore the legislative distinction between well-known and reputed trademarks under Sections 11 and 29(4) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, and its impact on infringement claims.

Can restaurant décor, interiors, lighting and ambience be legally protected? Explore restaurant trade dress under Indian and U.S. trademark law.