Intellectual Property

Background and Facts Government use of a patent is usually discussed as though it meant use inside a government department. The Kerala High Court has read it wider. In a judgment reported on September 28, 2026, the Court held that Section 100 of the Patents Act, 1970 allows the Central Government to authorise the manufacture of a patented medicine and its sale to a patient who needs it, provided the sale is on a non-commercial basis. The judgment was delivered by Justice Hari

Background and Facts Where a State has notified Civil Judges (Senior Division) as Commercial Courts, a trade mark infringement suit is now being tried by a court that Section 134 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 appears to put out of bounds. The Supreme Court has referred the conflict to a larger bench. The order was made in I.S.D.S. Private Limited v. Khemka Food Products Private Limited and was reported on September 21, 2026. The underlying suit, Commercial Suit No. 11 of 2023,

Background and Facts A patent assignment executed by an institution in favour of its own researcher, expressed to cover the United States and all countries foreign thereto, also carries the Indian rights. So held the Bombay High Court in Dr. Tarkeshwar Chandrakant Patil v. Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and Others [Commercial Miscellaneous Petition (L) No. 12000 of 2026], neutral citation 2026:BHC-OS:19905, in a judgment that also quashed a refusal order and sent a th

Introduction: Why Trademark Coexistence Agreements Matter Not every trademark dispute needs to end in litigation. When two businesses operate under similar marks but serve different markets, geographies, or product categories, a trademark coexistence agreement offers a practical, commercially sensible alternative to costly and protracted legal battles. A coexistence agreement is a legally binding contract between two trademark owners who agree to use similar (or even identica

In a significant development for India's pharmaceutical patent landscape, the Delhi High Court has directed Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited to seek prior court approval before commercially launching generic semaglutide tablets. The order, passed by Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani, comes in the wake of a patent infringement petition filed by Danish pharmaceutical major Novo Nordisk, which holds a formulation patent covering oral semaglutide tablets marketed under the brand

Introduction In a significant ruling reinforcing the protection of well-known trademarks in India, the Delhi High Court has granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction restraining a hotel operator from using the name "Hotel Jerome's Holiday Inn" or any deceptively similar mark. The order, passed in a suit filed by Six Continents Hotels, Inc., the registered proprietor of the globally recognized "Holiday Inn" trademark, underscores the judiciary's commitment to safeguarding esta

The Delhi High Court, in an order reported on August 20, 2026, has cancelled the trademark registration of DAPLOGIN, held by Razenta Pharma, on a petition filed by Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Limited. The court found that DAPLOGIN is deceptively similar to Dr. Reddy's prior registered trademark DAPLO, both of which are used for dapagliflozin based pharmaceutical formulations prescribed for the management of Type 2 diabetes. The ruling underscores the heightened standard of scrut

On August 20, 2026, a bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices KV Viswanathan and Arun Palli stayed a Calcutta High Court judgment dated August 4, 2026, which had held that hotels providing cable television in guest rooms are engaged in "communication to the public" under the Copyright Act, 1957, and must therefore obtain a separate copyright licence from the Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS). The stay was granted while hearing a special leave petition filed by Hot

The Delhi High Court, in T-Mobile International AG and Co. KG v. The Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks [C.A.(COMM.IPD-PAT) 149/2022], has laid down a structured seven-step framework for patent examiners to evaluate whether a patent claim is excluded as "a mere scheme or rule or method of performing mental act" under Section 3(m) of the Patents Act, 1970. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, sitting as a Single Bench, delivered the order on August 4, 2026, and direct

Introduction In a significant ruling on trademark priority, the Delhi High Court has held that an earlier trademark filing date prevails over subsequent commercial use, even where the later applicant has built substantial market presence and goodwill over nearly two decades. The judgment in Parle Products Private Limited v. The Registrar of Trade Marks and Anr. [C.A. (COMM.IPD-TM) 49/2025, decided on March 10, 2026 by Justice Tushar Rao Gedela] reaffirms the primacy of Sectio

The Supreme Court of India has disposed of the Special Leave Petitions in the long-running dispute over PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt. Ltd.'s registration of the FL 2027 potato variety under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001 (PPVFR Act). In Kavitha Kuruganti v. PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt. Ltd. (2026 INSC 811), decided on August 7, 2026, a Bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran declined to interfere with the Delhi High Court Di

India’s Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPVFR) Act, 2001 provides intellectual property protection to plant breeders, researchers, and farmers who develop new or extant plant varieties. Similar to patent protection under Indian IP law, plant variety registration grants the breeder exclusive commercial rights over the registered variety. This guide explains the complete process of registering a plant variety with the PPV&FR Authority, including eligibility c

The Delhi High Court on July 27, 2026, granted a dynamic injunction against 30 groups of rogue websites in a copyright infringement suit filed by Home Box Office Inc. (HBO) and its co-plaintiffs in Home Box Office Inc. v. Streamzy.to & Ors. (CS(COMM) 740/2026). Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani issued the ad-interim order restraining the identified websites from streaming, hosting, or making available HBO's copyrighted films and television programmes, while simultaneously craftin

When a trademark application is published in the Trade Marks Journal, it is open for opposition by any person who believes the mark should not be registered. Section 21 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 governs this opposition process. This guide covers the grounds for opposition, the filing procedure through Form TM-O, timelines, evidence stages, and appeals. What Is Trademark Opposition Trademark opposition is a legal proceeding in which a third party challenges the registration

The Delhi High Court has directed the removal of the teaser, promotional material, and related interviews for the upcoming film "Kala Hiran: The Battle for Legacy," ruling that the content prima facie infringes actor Salman Khan's personality rights. Justice Jyoti Singh, hearing the matter in C.S. (COMM) No. 1322 of 2025, gave the filmmakers a 24-hour deadline to remove the identified content, failing which platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube would have to take