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.
Recently added judgments
Case notes prepared by the Ragulika IP team, each linked to the judgment on the court’s website.
Satyam Infoway Ltd. v. Sifynet Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
A domain name has all the characteristics of a trade mark and is entitled to protection against passing off; the fact that the Trade Marks Act, 1999 does not specifically legislate on domain names does not exclude a domain name fr…
Deceptive SimilarityDomain NamesGoodwillOnline InfringementGeographical IndicationsScotch Whisky Association & Anr. v. Pravara Sahakari Shakar Karkhana Ltd.
Reputation and goodwill in a geographical class name vest collectively in the genuine producers of that class of goods, entitling any of them to restrain, by a passing off action, a trader who uses get-up, imagery or descriptive w…
Deceptive SimilarityExtended Passing OffGeographical IndicationPassing OffOtherShivaji Rao Gaikwad v. M/s Varsha Productions
A celebrity's name is an attribute of his personality in which he holds an enforceable personality right, even absent statutory recognition of such a right in India; where the celebrity would be readily and exclusively identified …
False EndorsementFilm And OTT ContentPassing OffPersonality RightsTrade MarksSnapdeal Private Limited v. GoDaddy.com LLC & Ors.
A domain name registrar that sources alternative domain names from a common registry through an automated algorithm is an intermediary under Section 2(1)(w) of the Information Technology Act, 2000; merely making such domain names …
CybersquattingDomain NamesIntermediary LiabilityOnline InfringementPatentsSociete Des Produits Nestle SA v. The Controller of Patents and Design & Anr.
An appellate court hearing a challenge to refusal of a patent application has the same power as the Controller under Section 15 to permit amendment of claims, an appeal being a continuation of the original proceedings; a compositi…
Claim AmendmentInventive StepPatent ProsecutionSection 3(i)DesignsSteelbird Hi-Tech India Ltd. v. S.P.S. Gambhir & Ors.
An ex parte interim injunction restraining an alleged infringer of a registered design must be vacated where the defendant demonstrates a credible prima facie case that the design feature relied upon was already common to the trad…
CancellationDesign InfringementDesign RegistrationNoveltyPatentsSulzer Mixpac AG v. Assistant Controller of Patents and Designs
Adjudication under the Patents Act has to be guided by the statute rather than by a mechanical, step-by-step application of judicial formulas. A patent decision cannot be overturned or deemed invalid solely because it did not stri…
Common Bar ElementInstallation BodyInventive StepObviousnessTrade MarksSun Pharma Laboratories Ltd. v. Finecure Pharmaceuticals Ltd. & Ors.
Mere delay in approaching the Court is not, by itself, sufficient to refuse an injunction, particularly in the pharmaceutical field where confusion between similar marks may also affect public interest.
Deceptive SimilarityDelayInterim InjunctionPANTOCIDPatentsSyngenta Limited v. Controller of Patents and Designs
Under Section 16 of the Patents Act, a divisional application is maintainable where the plurality of inventions is disclosed in the provisional or complete specification accompanying the parent application, irrespective of whether…
Claim ConstructionDivisional ApplicationPatent ProsecutionPlurality Of InventionsPatentsSyngenta Participations AG v. Controller of Patents and Designs
Under Section 3(d) of the Patents Act, 1970, efficacy is not a fixed, uniform standard confined to therapeutic effect; its content depends on the field of the invention. For an agrochemical compound, a new polymorphic form demonst…
EfficacyInventive StepPatent ProsecutionPrior ArtBrowse by Act and section
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