A ‘Legal Issues Seminar-General IP’ (LIS-GIP) was conducted by Sanjukta Kaushik, Associate, on “Whether “Invisible Use” of Trademarks as Keywords amounts to Infringement/Passing Off under Trademark Law?”. The seminar delved into the legal complications arising from spamdexing and discussed relevant statutory provisions and judicial pronouncements on passing off and dilution of trademarks that are unauthorizedly used as keyword-meta-tags. The seminar specifically looked into whether the “invisible use” of trademarks as keywords, despite being covert, amounts to “use” under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, and also explored the role played by the Doctrine of Fair Use in this connection. The session concluded with some interesting questions and inputs on the intent of use of such trademarks as keywords and the scope of liability imposed upon intermediaries.

The presentation can be accessed here.

During last week’s Practice Work Shop (PWS) Session, Shreya Kunwar, Trainee Associate, led a discussion on whether the Covid-19 pandemic has acted as a catalyst in increasing counterfeit products in markets worldwide. The session witnessed an engrossing discussion on the various measures that can be taken by IP owners to combat counterfeiting. The session further delved into the alternate mechanisms that could be adopted to safeguard the interests of brand owners during a pandemic. The session concluded with some interesting exchange of views on the urgent need for creation and adoption of stringent measures to prevent counterfeit products, especially pharmaceuticals, in the global markets.

We started the ALG Medley series in celebration of our diversity. For the first activity under the series, ALG members shared a line or word(s) in their native language. We had no rules, it could be anything that they liked.

We received amusing responses in many languages from across India, which we share with you every week.

This week Dishti, Deepak, Sharad and Shilpa share lines in appreciation of their native tongues.

ALG’s Sheja Ehtesham and Ashwani Balayan are attending the International Trademark Association (INTA) virtual Annual Meeting from November 15 – November 19. If you would like to set up a virtual meeting, please reach out to Sheja Ehtesham at sheja.ehtesham@algindia.com or Ashwani Balayan at ashwani.balayan@algindia.com.

A ‘Special Legal Issues Seminar-General IP’ (SLIS-GIP) was conducted by Hardik Choudhary, Associate, on ‘‘CPC Order XXIII Rule 3 – Different Types of Compromises in Different Types of IP Lawsuits’’. The seminar delved into the provisions under Order XXIII and discussed various cases dealing with different aspects of compromise decrees as propounded by courts. The session saw multiple questions from the team, including the possibility of compromise in criminal IP cases and the possibility of contempt of court in case of non-performance.

The presentation can be accessed here.