Search Indian IP Case Law
Judgments of the Supreme Court and the High Courts on patents, trade marks, copyright, designs and geographical indications — organised by Act and section, each with a link to the judgment on the court’s website.
4 results
for “Secondary Meaning”
Godfrey Phillips India Ltd. v. Girnar Food & Beverages (P) Ltd.
A trade mark that is otherwise descriptive or laudatory of the goods is not, for that reason alone, incapable of protection in a passing off action; if the mark has, through long and extensive use, acquired a secondary meaning ide…
Descriptive MarksDistinctivenessGeneric MarksPassing OffTrade MarksITC Limited v. Nestle India Limited
Common, laudatory or descriptive expressions used across an industry to denote the flavour or quality of a product cannot be monopolised by a single trader as a trade mark, even where that trader was the first to use the expressio…
Descriptive MarksGeneric MarksGoodwillPassing OffTrade MarksMarico Limited v. Agro Tech Foods Limited
A trade mark consisting of ordinary descriptive words remains vulnerable to a competitor's bona fide descriptive use under Sections 30(2)(a) and 35 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, notwithstanding registration; such a mark attains pr…
Descriptive MarksDistinctivenessGeneric MarksPassing OffTrade MarksNew Balance Athletics Inc. v. Astormueller AG and Ors.
Registration of a mark is no defence to a passing off action, since rights under Section 27(2) are independent of and override the bar in Section 28(3) on one registered proprietor suing another for infringement. Registration mere…
Anti-Dissection RuleDeceptive SimilarityInitial Interest ConfusionPassing Off