E-Commerce Giant Amazon Launches IP Accelerator in the United Arab Emirates

E-Commerce Giant Amazon Launches IP Accelerator in the United Arab Emirates

E-commerce giant Amazon has recently launched an Intellectual Property (IP) Accelerator program in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), thereby making it convenient and more cost-effective for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to obtain Trademark Registration, safeguard their brands, and tackle infringing products on Amazon.ae.

Available to any and every other brand selling on Amazon.ae, IP Accelerator directly connects SMB owners in the nation with a curated network of local law firms charging pre-negotiated, reduced rates on the prime services, thereby giving SMBs access to expert and professional legal and general advice on IP that may otherwise be cost-prohibitive or arduous to determine.

The Vice President at Amazon for the Middle East and North Africa, Ronaldo Mouchawar, said that Amazon is committed to supporting sellers, irrespective of their size, and introducing and innovating new resources to help them grow their businesses online confidently and keep connecting with millions of customers. He further said that Amazon is excited enough to launch the IP Accelerator program in the UAE, which is another tool that shall help businesses save effort and time as they safeguard their brands and gain customer trust.

In the UAE, the growth of the IP Accelerator program shall enable brands and businesses to connect with law firms and file Trademark Applications with the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Economy, thereby making it simpler and cost-effective for SMBs to obtain exclusive Trademark Rights along with safeguarding their brand names and tackling counterfeit products. The said program facilitates the process by working with law firms and attorneys holding expertise in drafting trademark applications and removing or dealing with common obstacles that could otherwise delay the trademark registration of a mark.

In addition to Amazon’s IP Accelerator program, its brand protection tools help businesses of all sizes to safeguard their brand and IP assets even when their trademark applications are pending. Amazon’s Brand Registry is a free-of-cost service providing SMBs with powerful tools to help them protect and manage their brand name and exclusive trademark rights in Amazon stores. Brands and businesses benefit from Amazon’s automated and data-driven protections specializing in proactively removing inaccurate or suspected infringing content as well as from tools that enable them to detect and report a suspected infringement. Enrollment in Brand Registry also offers brands and businesses extensive influence over product information displayed on Amazon’s product detail pages to help customers make informed and confident buying decisions.

Amazon does not ask selling partners to pay some amount to use the IP Accelerator program; SMBs pay their law firms directly for the work done at pre-negotiated, reduced rates.

Businesses interested in using the IP Accelerator program can visit the link given below:

https://brandservices.amazon.ae/ipaccelerator

Law firms and attorneys interested in participating in the program can use the link given below:

https://brandservices.amazon.ae/ipaccelerator/contact

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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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OCM Globe Sues Grocery Brands Alleging Trademark Infringement

OCM Globe Sues Grocery Brands Alleging Trademark Infringement

OCM Globe Inc. has recently filed a lawsuit against grocery brands Apollo Food International, Inc and A&C Best Food Trading in the Central District of California, alleging Trademark Infringement and unfair competition.

The lawsuit filed mentions that OCM is a California-based corporation doing the business of merchandising grocery products as a part of which it purchases products from suppliers and sells them to grocery stores, supermarkets, and retailers in the United States. It further specifies that OCM is the exclusive licensee and distributor of six grocery brand products such as Genki Forest and many others represented by Japanese and Chinese characters.

The lawsuit filed by OCM claims that Apollo Food International and A&C Best Food Trading are both New York-based corporations specializing in making, using, importing, and selling specific food products. According to OCM, among the defendants’ products, some products bear marks similar to its products, which are likely to deceive or confuse the customers.

According to the lawsuit, OCM had sent a cease-and-desist letter to Apollo Food International last year on 2nd February, demanding the corporation to cease its infringing activities. Similarly, it had sent a cease-and-desist letter to A&C Best Food Trading on 9th July 2021, demanding the corporation to cease its infringing activities as well immediately. The lawsuit further alleges that neither Apollo Food International nor A&C Best Food Trading has responded to their respective cease-and-desist letters.

OCM has stated that although the defendants have been put on notice, they are continuing to infringe upon its trademarks blatantly and intentionally, thereby causing OCM to suffer major harm, including significant loss of goodwill and revenue.

Besides OCM’s Trademark Rights being infringed upon, the lawsuit also claims that some beverage products provided by the defendants don’t comply well with the United States Department of Agriculture’s certification requirements, in particular concerning the ingredients used and product sourcing. OCM strongly believes that the defendants either failed to comply well with the mandatory certification requirements or put forward fake certification for some beverage products.

OCM brings five causes of action in its lawsuit filed, including:

  • Trademark Infringement Under the Lanham Act
  • False Designation of Origin & Unfair Competition
  • Trademark Infringement Under Common Law
  • Violation of the Business & Professions Code of California
  • Unfair Competition Under Common Law

The corporation is now looking forward to seeking damages, not a penny less than $500,000, injunctive relief, an accounting of profits realized by defendants in question, exemplary and punitive damages, disgorgement of all unjust enrichment, and attorneys’ costs and fees. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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Emami Raises Objections to HUL Rebranding Men’s Skincare Range as ‘Glow & Handsome’

Emami Raises Objections to HUL Rebranding Men’s Skincare Range as ‘Glow & Handsome’

Emami Limited, an Indian conglomerate company headquartered in Kolkata, has quite recently raised objections to industry peer Hindustan Unilever Limited – rebranding its skin products in the men’s range as ‘Glow & Handsome’ – by claiming Trademark Rights over the name. The home-grown FMCG has also hinted at initiating legal proceedings as it has already changed the name of its men’s fairness cream to ‘Emami Glow & Handsome.’

In a recent statement delivered, Emami, the maker of ‘Fair and Handsome’  brand of men’s grooming range,  mentioned that the company is indeed shocked to know about HUL’s decision of renaming its men’s skincare range from ‘Fair & Lovely’ to ‘Glow & Handsome.’ According to Emami, it is, at present, the market leader in the field of men’s fairness cream by having legal ownership of all the trademarks in place.

The Kolkata-based FMCG Company also said that it is only shocked and not surprised to observe HUL’s unfair business practice as HUL has been prevalent time and again to damage Emami’s brand image and reputation in the market. The company further added that it would soon be getting in touch with its legal experts to address this issue and related concerns.

The Indian subsidiary of Unilever PLC (a British-Dutch multinational company), HUL, recently stated that it is now rebranding its widely known skincare brand ‘Fair & Lovely’ as ‘Glow & Lovely’ after giving up on the word ‘Fair’ in the name. It also mentioned that its men’s skincare range would be called ‘Glow & Handsome.’

As per various reports, HUL had approached the Controller General of Patents, Trademarks, and Designs, a while ago, to get the name ‘Glow & Lovely’ registered.

Multiple cosmetic brands have been under the scanner for quite a while now over their products that promote skin fairness for stereotyping racial types. Moreover, the same has been intensified further in the wake of the ongoing ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests in the West.

Quite recently, Johnson & Johnson (J&J), the US FMCG and healthcare giant, has also stopped the sales of its skin whitening creams worldwide, including India.

The French personal care company, L’Oréal Group, has mentioned in a recent statement delivered that it shall remove words, like fair, fairness, white, whitening, and so on, from all its range of skincare products.

As of now, HUL has not delivered any comments on the entire matter. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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Understanding the Importance of Trademarks for Small Businesses

Understanding the Importance of Trademarks for Small Businesses

Unless you own a Registered Trademark, your idea, concept, and unique branding can freely be stolen by your competitors in the present fast-paced society, which is indeed something you would never want to happen. After you spend all the time, effort, and money on your unique and creative branding, it becomes convenient for other businesses to copy what initially belongs to you. Therefore, without any second thoughts, small businesses do need to have a registered trademark like any other type and size of business out there.

Small businesses and startups with tight profit margins quite often overlook the utmost importance of protecting their most valuable asset, i.e., trademarks. Small business owners must know and understand well the following aspects:

  1. What is a trademark?
  2. Why is trademark a valuable form of Intellectual Property (IP)?
  3. What is the difference between a registered and unregistered trademark?
  4. Why is there a need to go ahead with Trademark Registration?

What exactly is a Trademark?

A trademark refers to any word, phrase, symbol, logo, or their combination that enables the customers in the market to know about the source of a product or service. A trademark is a company, product, or brand name. For instance, Coca Cola is a widely known trademark for cola products.

Trademarks are different from a patent and copyright, which are the other exclusive forms of IP.  When it comes to copyright, it prevents the artistic and creative works, like music recordings, novels, etc. from being used, copied, stolen, or distributed without the permission of the owner.  A patent protects the novel, useful, and non-obvious inventions, like a hybrid engine, a new microprocessor, etc. from being used by the competitors.

There are undoubtedly many good reasons explaining why every small business needs to have a registered trademark; let’s have a look at them:

  1. Official Trademark Registration

Keeping aside the size and type of your business, you need to make sure that you have a registered trademark in place for your small business, which shall help you significantly in preventing and facing critical issues in the future. It is a matter of fact that yes – trademark litigation lawsuits are both complicated and expensive, which can further deplete resources, effort, and time. Hence, if you are not willing to go through the hassle and stress down the road, you need to start considering the scope of getting a registered trademark for your small business.

  1. Brand Identity Protection

If you wish to protect your brand identity, you must own a trademark for your small business as you can then use the same on any concept or packaging solely or exclusively that you create for your brand. Following are a few points explaining the benefits of having a registered trademark for brand identity protection:

  • A trademark helps a business in gaining instant brand recognition.
  • A trademark becomes the core foundation and image of a business.
  • A trademark offers a massive degree of protection against reputation-damaging copycats.
  • A trademark stops the arch-competitors from making unauthorized use of a brand’s identity.
  1. Trademark Designation

The registered trademark designation helps in notifying the other businesses out there about the Trademark Rights associated with a small business’ brand name, logo, or symbol. If you own a small business and have a registered trademark for the same, it implies that your competitors can’t steal your brand identity, which is a result of your sheer hard work and brand building. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

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