Trademark Dispute Archives - Blog | Trademarkmaldives

It’s a big win for small-time establishments as a Bengaluru-based bakery has recently won a prolonged trademark battle against the e-commerce giant Amazon. The bakery, Happy Belly Bakes, was entangled in a legal Trademark Dispute over the trademark of the name ‘Happy Belly’ with Amazon. A civil court in Bengaluru recently issued an order refraining Amazon from using the name or label ‘Happy Belly’ and removing products having a similar name or label from the e-commerce giant’s online platform in India.

Happy Belly Bakes, founded by Shisham Hinduja and Thripti, started with the duo manufacturing handcrafted chocolates on exclusive orders from a friend’s outhouse. Happy Belly Bakes, previously known as ‘Regalar,’ has held Trademark Registration for the name ‘Happy Belly’ since 2016.

In 2010, Thripti decided to follow her passion for baking. Her partner, Shisham, used her captivating marketing style to ensure that the treats baked by Thripti found their way to the appropriate ‘bellies.’ The combined extensive knowledge, creativity, and work of Thripti and Shisham allowed them to expand pretty well until the inauguration of their very first central kitchen at Richard’s Park, which was way too quickly followed by the opening of their first café.

During the holiday season of 2017, Shisham began receiving calls from customers inquiring if she had started selling her products on Amazon. It was then that Thripti and Shisham found out that Amazon also sold bakery products, snacks, and dairy products under the global private-level brand called Happy Belly. Delaware-based Tootsie LLC filed a Trademark Application for ‘Happy Belly’ in 2016 but turned out unsuccessful in registering it. Due to such activities, Happy Belly Bakes sued Amazon Seller Services, Tootsie LLC, and Cloudtail India.

This year on 30^th August, more than four years later the lawsuit’s filing, the judge ruled out in favor of Happy Belly Bakes. Amazon Seller Services has been directed to remove all products misleadingly similar to Happy Belly Bakes’ trademark from its Indian online marketplace. The e-commerce giant even argued in court by saying that Happy Belly Bakes lacked reputation and goodwill, as per the ruling. However, the court took no account of this argument and stated that the contention only shows the defendants’ arrogance.

In a recent statement delivered, Thripti said it feels empowering to win the lawsuit in question specifically because it’s against Amazon. She stated that Happy Belly Bakes knew it was on the right path and had to stand up for the same. According to Thripti, Happy Belly Bakes has prospered because of its employees, constant efforts, and supportive clients. She mentioned that the crew plays a crucial role in the development and success of Happy Belly Bakes, even if the bakers are not trained; they are uneducated and know very basic English or regional language. Consequently, Thripti and her other team members require writing the recipe, demonstrating it, and guiding them well to ensure they perform all the tasks correctly.

Thripti also said that 90% of the staff at Happy Belly Bakes is now women. Earlier, Happy Belly Bakes used to employ chefs from educated backgrounds, but now it is helping uneducated women to become chefs. She further stated that Happy Belly Bakes keeps itself updated with the ongoing trends and sees what’s trending or fresh. In addition to its celebratory brownies and cakes, Happy Belly Bakes also offers a vegan collection with a variety of cakes, including apple walnut cakes, dark chocolate raspberry cakes, and many more flavors. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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In the present era, semi-autonomous features like crash-avoidance technology and hands-free driving are becoming hotly contested battlegrounds as car manufacturers seek to boost the prices. In the same context, there’s a trademark dispute between two automakers that we are going to discuss here.

Ford Motor Company (a US-based multinational automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford) and General Motors (a US-based automotive multinational corporation founded by William C. Durant) are looking forward to settling a Trademark Dispute (out of court) over the branding of their hands-free driving technology.

The lawyers for both the companies involved have informed a San Francisco federal judge that they are attempting to work well on the settlement terms and would undoubtedly report back to court within two months if in case an accord isn’t reached.

The counterattack legal battle began this year in July when General Motors sued Ford for infringing upon its trademarked driver-assistance technology. According to the company, it took legal action against Ford to safeguard its ‘Super-Cruise’ brand and ‘Cruise,’ (which is the name of its self-driving affiliate called Cruise LLC) after Ford gave a new name to its Co-Pilot360 automated driving system – ‘BlueCruise.’

Ford hit back at GM by asking the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to deprive the company of the two trademarks in question. It argued by saying that the whole automobile industry should be allowed to use the word ‘cruise’ freely for describing the driver-assistance technologies. To make its point stronger, the company also stated that the USPTO doesn’t usually register words or phrases as trademarks that are commonly used.

The first time GM introduced Super Cruise, which enables the drivers to take their hands off the wheel for brief periods, was on the Cadillac CT6 ( a full-size luxury car manufactured by Cadillac) in 2017. Ever since then, General Motors has expanded the technology significantly to enable cars to change lanes on their own. The company also has plans to offer this feature in more models. In 2020, Ford disclosed its plans of offering its BlueCruise hands-free driving technology in its F-150 pickup truck, which is also the top-selling vehicle in the United States. Furthermore, it is also offering the technology in its electric Mustang Mach-E as an over-the-air software update. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com