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.
17 results
for “Goodwill”
Acqua Minerals Limited v. Pramod Borse & Anr.
Registration of a domain name identical or deceptively similar to another's well-known trade mark, by a person having no legitimate connection with that mark and who seeks to profit from its transfer, amounts to bad faith cybersqu…
Bad Faith AdoptionCybersquattingDomain NamesPassing OffTrade MarksAshiana Ispat Limited v. Kamdhenu Limited & Ors.
A mere contractual promise to let someone adopt and use a mark is not the same as transferring ownership, where the contract makes ownership conditional on registration. Non-use of a mark for decades defeats a claim to common-law …
AssignmentDiscretionary OrderInterlocutory InjunctionLicenceOtherD.M. Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. v. Baby Gift House & Ors.
Every individual, and particularly a celebrity, possesses an enforceable right of publicity in the commercial value of his persona, including name, likeness, voice, style and mannerisms, which can be licensed to a corporate entity…
Character MerchandisingFalse EndorsementPassing OffPersonality RightsTrade MarksGodfrey 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 MarksHavells India Limited & Anr. v. Havai Home Products Pvt. Ltd. & Ors.
Even a registered proprietor may be restrained from using a trade mark where the ingredients of passing off are established. Section 27(2) preserves the common-law remedy of passing off notwithstanding the statutory rights arising…
Anti-Dissection RuleDeceptive SimilarityDishonest AdoptionPassing OffOtherICC Development (International) Ltd. v. Arvee Enterprises & Anr.
The right of publicity is derived from the right of privacy and vests exclusively in a living individual and the indicia of that individual's personality, such as name, likeness, voice and signature. Publicity or personality right…
Ambush MarketingFalse EndorsementPassing OffPersonality RightsTrade 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 MarksLaxmikant V. Patel v. Chetanbhai Shah & Anr.
A trading or business name, though not a registered trade mark, is protectable in a passing off action once it has acquired goodwill through use; the tort protects established business reputation rather than the name itself, and n…
GoodwillInterim InjunctionPassing OffPersonal Name MarksTrade MarksN.R. Dongre & Ors. v. Whirlpool Corporation & Anr.
A passing off action does not depend on registration of the mark in the country where protection is sought, and the goodwill necessary to sustain such an action may be established through transborder reputation built up by adverti…
GoodwillInterim InjunctionPassing OffTransborder ReputationTrade MarksNeon Laboratories Ltd. v. Medical Technologies Ltd. & Ors.
Under Section 34 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, actual continuous prior use of a mark in the market prevails over a rival's earlier-dated application for registration where the registrant remained inactive for a prolonged period; t…
Deceptive SimilarityNon-usePassing OffPrior User