A Legal Issues Seminarwas conducted by Megha Hurkat, Trainee Associate, on “Whether use of a mark as a meta-tag can constitute infringement of a trade mark?”. The seminar discussed key provisions of the Trade Marks Act of 1999, to determine infringement of trademark by use of meta tags. The seminar highlighted how meta-tags can redirect internet traffic away from the rightful owner’s website to competitors or counterfeit sellers, resulting in harm of the reputation of established brands and creation of confusion among consumers. The seminar also examined whether dishonest intention is a criterion considered by the Courts in their findings regarding unauthorized use of meta tags. The seminar concluded with a discussion on guidelines to address challenges posed by digital practices and the importance of ensuring that trademarks are fairly protected in the evolving online space.

During the last PWS session, Manish Kumar, Trainee Associate, hosted a discussion on “Does criticizing a product negatively impact the reputation of the product’s market leader’s brand?” The session commenced with the discussion on a recent interim order in Marico Limited vs. Alpino Health Foods and the law in place in relation to generic disparagement, including relevant case studies. The session progressed with the members discussing whether product disparagement extends to a market leader when the brand name has not been used, including how implied associations and indirect criticisms might influence consumer perception and brand equity. The session concluded with a consensus that criticizing a product could indeed harm the reputation of the market leader’s brand. However, the extent of the impact would depend on specific circumstances, such as the nature of the criticism, the context in which it is made, and the strength of the association between the criticized product and the market leader’s brand in the minds of consumers.

Interns – Chhavi Jain, Mudit Mani, Sreelekha.N and Komalpreet Kaur have commenced their General IP Internship with the firm’s law practice.

We hope their stay in the firm during the 4 week period of their internship will be mutually enriching and that the firm and they will learn exciting things from each other!

A ‘Legal Issues Seminar- General IP’ (LIS-GIP) was conducted by Vanshika Gupta, Trainee Associate on “Is there a threshold to determine ‘Bad Faith’ under trademark law?”. The seminar explored the relevant provision of Section 11(10) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999. The discussion highlighted divergent views taken by the Court to interpret bad faith in cases involving trademark squatting, misuse of established brand reputation, and deliberate market confusion. The members discussed the various indicators of bad faith such as the lack of honest intention, unethical commercial behavior, and failure to conduct due diligence. The session concluded with a discussion on dishonest trademark practices.

The presentation can be accessed here.

During the last PWS session, Megha Hurkat, Trainee Associate, led a discussion on whether AI systems should be held accountable for breaches of confidentiality and security. The session explored if AI could be treated as legal entities and debated its autonomy in processing sensitive data. They examined the accountability challenges posed by AI operating as “black boxes” and the gaps in responsibility for confidentiality breaches. The session concluded that AI, lacking moral agency or legal personhood, cannot be held accountable like humans or organizations and that instead, accountability lies with developers, operators, and regulators overseeing these systems.