Tata Consultancy Services has been held liable for misappropriation of trade secrets under the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 by the United States District Court, Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division. It has been ordered to pay a penalty of USD 194 million (Rs. 1600 crores) to Computer Sciences Corporation (now DXC Technology Company) for the same. The Indian giant plans on filing a review petition in the court against the unfavourable order.
The report is accessible here.
The IP Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) has rejected Government of India’s application for the mark BASMATI. The rejection was on the ground that the mark is descriptive and that there are other producers and farmers outside India who should be allowed to use the mark. On the question of acquired distinctiveness, the office noted that the mark BASMATI found on products in New Zealand was from both India and Pakistan and the use of the mark could not be exclusively associated to India.
The report is accessible here.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India issued new directions on June 18, 2024. The directions seek swift removal of unsafe food products from the market to protect consumers. The FSSAI and the State Food and Drug Authorities are to regularly test food samples. If samples are found to be unsafe by the lab results, Food Business Operators are prohibited from selling the food products in question. Further, recalls are required if the appeal to a referral lab affirms the food products unsafe, or when the appeal time elapses.
The report is accessible here.
In a joint statement released on May 26, 2024, BharatPe and PhonePe have announced the amicable settlement of their long-standing legal dispute over the use of the suffix ‘Pe’ in their respective trademarks. This will bring a closure to the on-going judicial proceedings between the two fintech giants. They have also announced to undertake steps to revoke their opposition against each other’s trademark registrations in adherence to the settlement agreement concerning the matters that are still pending before the Bombay and Delhi High Courts.
The report is accessible here.
The Indian ad-watchdog ASCI in its Annual Complaint Report of FY 2023-24 analyzed 8229 advertisements and a whooping number of 3200 advertisements (39%) were marked as misleading in their respective categories. The most violative sector is “Healthcare” (19%) followed by “offshore betting ads” (17%) that are maintained by foreign entities in India and promoted by Indian celebrities. There is a 12.75% increase in the number of complaints over the previous year.
The report is accessible here.