Indian Dignitaries Attend INTA’s 140th Annual Meeting - International Trademark Association

This year’s Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington, had a strong contingent of members and delegates from India. INTA was honored and pleased to host the Honorable Justice Manmohan of the Delhi High Court and Om Prakash Gupta, Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, as representatives of India.

Justice Manmohan participated in the Judges Workshop, in which judges from various international jurisdictions discussed public well-being versus private rights, offering the Indian judiciary’s perspective on the topic of brand restrictions. Mr. Gupta spoke at the IP Office Workshop and presented the Indian IP Office’s perspective on determining the deceptiveness of trademarks, including certification marks.

INTA expects that in the coming years the Association will continue to have the sustained and increased participation of dignitaries from India.

Sun Pharmaceutical Recognized by WIPO and DIPP in New Delhi
India’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland, awarded Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. with the “WIPO User Trophy for top Indian Company creating Global Brand 2018.” The Controller General of Patents, Design and Trademark commended Sun Pharmaceutical’s efforts to promote and protect its trademarks in other countries through the Madrid Protocol.

The honor was bestowed upon Sun Pharmaceutical during an event organized by DIPP and the Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) commemorating the successful completion of two years of India’s National Intellectual Property Rights Policy.

The award was presented by the Honorable Minister of Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu, and received by Rajamallaiah Cirumalla and Azadar Khan of Sun Pharmaceutical. INTA congratulates its member Sun Pharmaceutical on this recognition.

IP Rights Awareness in Schools Using Satellite Communication
On May 15, CIPAM organized its first-ever EduSAT program in collaboration with Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous organization under the Department of Science and Technology, to educate school children across the country on IP rights using satellite communication. During this session, INTA was represented by its member, Meera Chature (Jupiter Law Partners, India), who talked with students about IP rights and their importance. The program reached school students in the Indian cities of Itanagar, Jalgaon, Vijayawada, and Mandi.

Public Notice Regarding Applications in Danger of Abandonment
The Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks has issued a list of trademark applications in which examinations were completed before December 31, 2017, and the examination reports containing office objection(s) were duly communicated to the persons concerned at the address for service on record, but for which the Trade Marks Registry has not received a reply. Applicants and their authorized agents have been provided one last opportunity to send a scanned copy of their reply to the examination report on or before July 25, 2018, at [email protected], failing which these applications will be treated as abandoned.

The notice also informs the public that, in addition to the service of examination report at the designated email of the applicant, the Trade Marks Registry has started providing a link (at https://ipindiaonline.gov.in/progress/noEXRReceived.aspx) of all applications on a monthly basis, in effect from January 2018, in which a reply to the office objection is awaited. The notice advises applicants to refer to the link periodically to comply with legal requirements and avoid abandonment of applications for non-compliance of office action.

The complete notice can be accessed here.

Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of items in the INTA Bulletin, readers are urged to check independently on matters of specific concern or interest. Law & Practice updates are published without comment from INTA except where it has taken an official position.