Three Tamil Nadu-based Products Apply for Geographical Indication (GI) Tag

Three Tamil Nadu-based Products Apply for Geographical Indication (GI) Tag

A Geographical Indication (GI) is a label or tag given or applied to products having a specific geographical origin, along with certain characteristics related to that specific origin. The GI tag’s owner holds exclusive rights over such a product.

Three Tamil Nadu-based products, including Thooyamalli rice, Virudhunagar sambha vathal (Chilly), and Puliyankudi acid lime, have recently filed applications for GI tags in Chennai. On behalf of the applicants, details on all the three previously mentioned products were gathered and prepared by Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) attorney P. Sanjai Gandhi.

The GI Application for Puliyankudi acid lime has been made by the Tamil Nadu State Agricultural Marketing Board and Melapuliyankudi Farmers’ Association. The facilitator, in this case, is the NABARD Madurai Agri-Business Incubation Forum.

Puliyankudi is the name of a village in Tenkasi. It is widely recognized for its acid lime cultivation. The local people here refer to this place as the lemon city of Tamil Nadu. Kadayam lemon found in this place is famous for two aspects, taste and juiciness. Acid lime trees are small in size and bushy with pointed and sharp spines. The leaves are also small, along with narrowly winged petioles. Both the flowers and fruits are small. The lemons grown in this region weigh about 50 g each, and every tree bears around 950 fruits in totality. They are grown in Puliyankudi, Kadayam, Sankarankovil, Kuruvikulam, Kadayanallur, and other adjoining areas.

The GI application for Virudhunagar sambha vathal has been made by the Virudhunagar Chillies’ Merchants Association and the Tamil Nadu State Agricultural Marketing Board. Chillies are primarily grown in the districts of Virudhunagar, Sivagangai, Thoothukudi, and Ramanathapuram of Tamil Nadu, and the chief markets for them are also located here.  The long, lean shape of chillies grown in Vilathikulam, Virudhunagar, and Sattur regions is known as Virudhunagar sambha chilli. These chillies are vibrant red in color, 6-6.5 cm in length, with bulged shoulders and sharp tips. As these chillies have good capsaicin content, they are preferred in the value addition industry, specifically for oleoresin extraction.

The GI application for Thooyamalli rice has been made by the Tamil Nadu State Agricultural Marketing Board and facilitated by NABARD Madurai Agri-Business Incubation Forum. Thooyamalli rice, which means pure jasmine, is cultivated for 135-140 days during the sambha season. The seeds are sown directly, and for growing this variety, a transplanting system is used. It grows between 115 and 125 cm in height and yields around 1,125 kg per acre, with a straw yield of 35 bundles, i.e., 1,050 kg per acre. Thooyamalli rice is protein-rich and has high-fat content. In terms of mineral content, it is high in zinc, magnesium, and iron.

The head office of GI in Chennai has also received applications in the past week from several products across the nation, such as West Bengal’s Begampur cotton handloom saree and Kolkatti jewelry. Furthermore, GI applications for Goa Hilario Mango (Manghilar or Mangilar/Mangilal) and Taleigao Vayingim (brinjal) from Goa have also been filed recently. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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Delhi HC Declines Snapdeal’s Plea in Trademark Infringement Matter

Delhi HC Declines Snapdeal’s Plea in Trademark Infringement Matter

The Delhi High Court (HC) has recently declined the plea filed by Snapdeal (an Indian e-commerce company based out of New Delhi) seeking temporary relief against Domain Name Registrars (DNRs) in a Trademark Infringement issue.

Snapdeal was looking forward to getting the suspension done of all registrations granted by the registrars alleging that they infringed upon its ‘Snapdeal’ trademark.

It argued by saying that third parties having no connection with it have been registering domain names comprising the word or thread ‘Snapdeal,’ engaging in unauthorized activities like offering lucky draws through websites operating under the domain names in question and acting as customer service centers for Snapdeal’s offerings without obtaining its permission.

The Delhi HC, in this matter, said that it couldn’t stop or restrict such DNRs from issuing Trademark Registration for the ‘Snapdeal’ mark since it is, in general, not legitimate for the Court to hold in well advance that every alternative domain name comprising the term ‘Snapdeal’ would necessarily be infringing in nature.

A DNR manages the reservations of domain names while also assigning the IP addresses to the domain names in question. However, the Delhi HC stated that DNRs are also responsible for ensuring that the alternative domain names do not infringe upon any already existing Registered Trademarks. Furthermore, it mentioned that in the scenario where DNRs offer brokerage services for deceptively identical names, they would be held liable for trademark infringement. The Court even asked the DNRs to suspend any algorithm that works in the manner to create a possibility of making infringing alternative domain names available. It concluded by mentioning that DNRs cannot claim safe harbor protection in such matters.

In a recent statement delivered, a Snapdeal spokesperson said the company is pleased to see how the Delhi HC held that it is the responsibility of the DNRs to ensure that the alternative domain names offered by them do not infringe upon any already existing registered trademarks.

In its petition filed before the Delhi HC, Snapdeal had sought an injunction against the DNRs from offering any domain name containing its ‘Snapdeal’ trademark. While declining an interim relief, a single judge bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar said the Court couldn’t pass an order operating in the future, i.e., restricting the DNRs from offering the registration of any domain name, including the thread or word ‘Snapdeal,’ as the same would be attributing the Court clairvoyance that it does not possess. The Court further mentioned that Snapdeal would, therefore, be required to file a petition every time there is a domain name that it finds to be infringing. In its judgment, the Court agreed that it would undoubtedly be a long and cumbersome exercise, which can’t be helped as there is no shortcut to justice. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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Mastercard Files 15 Trademark Applications Related to Metaverse and NFTs

Mastercard Files 15 Trademark Applications Related to Metaverse and NFTs

The American multinational financial services corporation based out of New York, Mastercard Inc., is now discovering new ways of processing payments in the Metaverse. The leading global payments and technology company has recently filed 15 Trademark Applications related to the Metaverse and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

The company, as per various reports, has plans to open a marketplace for NFT trading, using which the users would be able to sell or purchase digital assets.

The trademark applications filed by Mastercard with the USPTO describe the proposed trademarks as providing educational and entertainment info in the spheres of concerts, cultural events, award shows, festivals, and sporting events in the Metaverse and other digital worlds. Additionally, the trademark applications filed highlight the use of NFTs and cryptocurrency in the Metaverse.

According to the trademark applications filed, Mastercard’s logo for the Metaverse shows two circles, one in red color and the other in yellow, overlapping one another to create an orange shade at the center. The payments’ giant slogan on the logo says, “There are some things money can’t buy; for everything else, there’s Mastercard.”

Mastercard has not yet officially disclosed its plans of stepping into the Metaverse world. This year in February, the corporation hired 500 new employees for consulting with banks and merchants about taking on NFTs and crypto-enabled technologies.

Last year in December, Mastercard officially came up with the cryptocurrency-linked payment cards in the Asia-Pacific region, enabling users to convert their digital assets into fiat currency. The cards look forward to removing any obstacle between merchants who are not willing to accept cryptocurrency as payment and customers who are not willing to pay in digital assets.

The Executive Vice President for Digital and Emerging Partnerships and New Payment Flows at Mastercard for the Asia Pacific region, Rama Sridhar, said in a public statement delivered that cryptocurrencies are many things to people, including a unique financial tool, a disruptive technology, or an investment. She further mentioned that as attention and interest levels surge from all quarters, their applications in the real world are now emerging beyond the speculative.

It is interesting to note in this scenario that other widely recognized companies like American Express (Amex) and Visa have also filed multiple trademark applications related to payment cards and services in the Metaverse and NFT marketplaces. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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Does the Use of TM on Google Ads Program as Keyword Constitute Infringement – Delhi HC to Consider!

Does the Use of TM on Google Ads Program as Keyword Constitute Infringement – Delhi HC to Consider!

The question of whether or not a trademark’s use on the Google Ads Program as a keyword would constitute Trademark Infringement is all set to be duly considered by the Delhi High Court.

Justice Prathiba M. Singh will be making a formal judgment on the said question while dealing with a lawsuit filed by Upcurve Business Services Pvt. Ltd., which is a company specializing in the travel business. Upcurve operates a one-stop travel website by the name of ‘udchalo.com’ and has also won several awards.

The lawsuit involved the plaintiff’s (Upcurve) mark ‘udChalo,’ which is registered in Class 39, relating to both online and offline travel arrangements, booking of seats, including air ticketing, flight booking, tours and travels, and so on.

According to the plaintiff, the defendants in the lawsuit include Easy Trip Planners Pvt. Ltd. (EaseMyTrip.com) and HappyFares.in, both of which were accused of using the term ‘udChalo’ as a keyword on the Google Ads Program to attract online users to their respective websites.

After recording Easy Trip Planners’ recording, the Court had earlier passed an order restricting it from using the plaintiff’s trademark as a keyword. Since HappyFares.in wasn’t represented in the Delhi HC, the Court was forced to grant an ad-interim injunction to restrain it from using the plaintiff’s ‘udChalo’ mark as a keyword for promoting its own travel business. Consequently, the Court opined that the use of the mark ‘udChalo’ by HappyFares.in would constitute trademark infringement. The Court noted that since HappyFares.in was involved in the business of travel services, its use of the mark ‘udChalo’ as a keyword to promote its business would be a violation of the plaintiff’s exclusive Trademark Rights.

Concerning whether or not the matter in question would constitute trademark infringement in law and whether or not the use of a trademark as a keyword would constitute a violation of the Trademark Law, the Court has ordered that the same shall be treated as a part-heard.

Last year in November, the Delhi HC had noted that the search engine giant Google couldn’t exonerate itself from taking the liability of making sure that a keyword doesn’t constitute an infringement of a trademark.

Justice V. Kameswar Rao had also observed that permitting individuals who are not the rightful trademark owners to choose or use a keyword that is a Registered Trademark or use some parts of the trademark interspersed with generic words in the Ad-text or Ad-title may constitute trademark infringement or passing off.

Furthermore, the Court had noted that the use of registered trademarks as keywords amounts to ‘use’ in the course of trade in terms of the Indian Trade Marks Act of 1999. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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Twitter Restrains Singapore-Based Tech Firm from Using Bird Logo as Trademark

Twitter Restrains Singapore-Based Tech Firm from Using Bird Logo as Trademark

A local Singapore-based tech firm, V V Technology, has recently been restrained by the American social networking and microblogging platform, Twitter, from using a bird logo as its trademark following a dispute with the social media giant over the trademark’s registration. The start-up had plans of displaying the bird logo in a mobile app on which it has been working since December 2018. The objective of the mobile app is to serve as a platform hosting an extensive range of services and products catering well to the users’ personal and lifestyle requirements, such as food delivery and online shopping. The app is yet to be launched.

On its official website, V V Technology has mentioned that it uses the latest technology, including blockchain and AI, to reinvent the workspace and is dedicated to creating a smart and comprehensive enterprise and work management suite. An online check conducted by a Singaporean newspaper showed that the firm worked with the students of the Singapore Management University on projects focusing on online business solutions in 2019. Furthermore, the firm obtained a travel agent license from the Singapore Tourism Board two years ago for being able to provide travel-related services and products on its mobile app.

On 10th September 2018, V V Technology filed a Trademark Application to register a logo of a bird in flight. Twitter opposed the Trademark Registration by arguing that the logo was way too similar to its bird mark, which is an already existing Registered Trademark, among other things.

The American social media giant eventually defeated V V Technology in the case, with Mr. Mark Lim, the principal assistant registrar of trademarks, giving a judgment in its favor.

In his ruling dated 11th March 2022, Mr. Lim found that the two marks in question, although to a low extent, are visually similar. Among several other aspects, both logos portray a bird in the side profile and don’t show any features, such as the eyes. He also stated that the two logos are conceptually identical as they represent the notion of ‘bird in flight.’

In evaluating whether the consumers would get confused by the two logos in question, Mr. Lim said that the reputation and brand image of Twitter’s logo would reduce the possibility of confusion. However, he also found that the consumers may still get confused as they may perceive an economic link between the two logos. They may either believe that V V Technology’s logo is a new version of Twitter’s icon or that it is a modified logo that Twitter is using for its new set of digital services concerning its current business. He didn’t agree with V V Technology’s argument, which said that people who use mobile apps are digital natives. The tech firm had claimed that mobile app users were unlikely to get easily confused or deceived by the two logos. In his grounds of decision, Mr. Lim said that while some people may be more tech-savvy than others, a substantial proportion isn’t. He agreed with Twitter when it said that some services offered by both companies, including the ones related to the provision of info, are likely to be offered at low costs or for free. He added that an average customer is likely to pay a low or below-average degree of attention while procuring such services and is, therefore, more likely to get confused between the two logos.

When it comes to V V Technology’s mobile app, Mr. Lim said that there is no compelling reason concerning why an individual would pay due attention before installing a mobile app that is free of cost. He further stated that even if the wrong mobile app is installed, it is pretty simple to delete it and install the correct one. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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