Unimarks

Unimarks a full-service Indian law firm offering transactional, advisory, dispute resolution and Intellectual Property Rights Registration and Enforcement.

[Unimarks @UnimarksIndia]

Key lessons: a one-vowel swap fails the triple identity test (S.11, S.57(2) Trade Marks Act, 1999). A bald reply to the Registry's examination report, with the real adoption story told first in court, signals bad faith. Clear your brand before you build it. #BrandProtection

[Unimarks @UnimarksIndia]

🚨 Delhi HC cancels 'PONTA' trademark: deceptively similar to Panasonic's 'PENTA' marks for electrical goods. AI-generated 'research' on foreign meanings rejected as unauthenticated and unverified. Panasonic v. Siddharth Vij, 5.6.2026. #TrademarkLaw #IPLaw #DelhiHighCourt

[Unimarks @UnimarksIndia]

The flip side: once validly served, Rule 45's 2-month timeline is mandatory — the Registrar has NO power to extend it under the 2017 Rules (Delhi HC in IBM's TIVOLI case). File the opposition, then diarise it like litigation. #BrandProtection #TradeMarksAct

[Unimarks @UnimarksIndia]

Delhi HC: a trademark opposition can't be 'deemed abandoned' under Rule 45 when the counter statement was never served — the 2-month evidence clock runs from SERVICE, not dispatch. Registry glitch ≠ opponent's fault. Jyothy Labs v. Registrar. #TrademarkLaw #IPLaw #DelhiHighC

[Unimarks @UnimarksIndia]

Even after the 5-yr non-compete expired, using "Beardsell" = passing off — the common-law right saved by S.27(2) Trade Marks Act 1999 (remedies: S.134–135). Lesson for founders: assign marks expressly, never by implication. #TrademarkLaw #IPLaw #MSME

[Unimarks @UnimarksIndia]

🔹 Madras High Court: buying a business ≠ buying the brand. Beardsell Ltd wins appeal — rivals permanently restrained from trading as "Beardsell." A 2003 MoU's "a new company" meant ONE company, not a dynasty, and didn't assign the name. Passing off upheld.

[Unimarks @UnimarksIndia]

Key lesson → your target consumer class changes the §29 calculus. Specialist professional buyer ≠ ordinary consumer. Critical for pharma, diagnostics & specialty B2B brands in India. Get IP clearance before you launch. #TrademarkLaw #IPLaw #DelhiHighCourt #IndianLaw

[Unimarks @UnimarksIndia]

🔹 Delhi HC Division Bench: BEVATAS (Intas) does NOT infringe BEVETEX (Sun Pharma). Marks compared as a whole — endings -TAS vs -TEX differ enough. Oncologists = specialist consumers; confusion bar is higher. §29 Trade Marks Act, 1999. Permanent injunction set aside.

[Unimarks @UnimarksIndia]

Renee Cosmetics v. Rupali Sharma, C.O.(COMM.IPD-TM) 107/2025 (5 June 2026): no evidence of acquired distinctiveness; 'imagination test' rejected. Lesson for brands: trend words describe, they don't distinguish. Pick coined marks. #BrandProtection #DelhiHighCourt

[Unimarks @UnimarksIndia]

🚨 Delhi HC cancels the 'GLASS SKIN' trademark. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela: the K-beauty trend term is descriptive of cosmetics — barred by S.9(1)(b), Trade Marks Act 1999 — and 'wrongly remaining on the Register'. Regn. No. 2825917 to go in 4 weeks. #TrademarkLaw #IPLaw

[Unimarks @UnimarksIndia]

The Court affirmed the Calcutta HC's interim orders (Division Bench, 2 Apr 2026): existing red stock with distributors/retailers to be sold via a 3rd party; units in possession repackaged. Passing off + trade dress, Trade Marks Act 1999. #BrandProtection #SupremeCourt

[Unimarks @UnimarksIndia]

⚖️ Colour can be a brand. Supreme Court upholds Exide's exclusive RED battery trade dress — Amara Raja restrained from making, selling or promoting its red 'Elito' batteries. #Trademark #TradeDress #IPLaw

[Unimarks @UnimarksIndia]

Trustees of Princeton University v. Vagdevi Educational Society (SC, JJ. Sanjay Kumar & Vinod Chandran). Trans-border reputation under the Trade Marks Act, 1999. Lesson for startups/MSMEs: clear your brand across classes BEFORE you launch. #BrandProtection

[Unimarks @UnimarksIndia]

SUPREME COURT: Six Telangana colleges using the "Princeton" name must now publicly disclaim any link to Princeton University, USA — largest-font website notices, campus boards & press ads (1–12 June). Foreign famous marks get protected here. #TrademarkLaw #IndianLaw #IP

[Unimarks @UnimarksIndia]

Claims: copyright (17 USC §501) + trademark/false-association (Lanham Act §43(a)). India's parallel: ANI Media v OpenAI in the Delhi HC. Brands: register marks, publish anti-scraping terms, vet AI tools. #TrademarkLaw #BrandProtection #StartupsIndia

[Unimarks @UnimarksIndia]

CNN sues Perplexity AI (US SDNY, filed 28 May 2026): its "answer engine" allegedly scraped 17,000+ CNN stories & falsely sold a "Comet Plus" tier as CNN premium access. #Copyright #AILaw #IPLaw

[Unimarks @UnimarksIndia]

GST now hits the FULL pooled stake, not platform fees. Gameskraft's ₹21,000 cr notice is restored; 2023 CGST amendments are retrospective. Industry exposure tops ₹1 lakh crore.

Founders: revisit pricing now. (2/2)
#GST #OnlineGaming #StartupsIndia

[Unimarks @UnimarksIndia]

⚖️ Supreme Court upholds 28% GST on online real-money gaming.

In DGGI v. Gameskraft (2026 INSC 595), it held: money staked on uncertain outcomes = betting & gambling. "Skill vs chance" is irrelevant. Karnataka HC set aside. (1/2)

[Unimarks @UnimarksIndia]

Plaintiff partnered with the defendant from 2004, sued only in 2019. Saket Court called it "protracted litigation" used to stifle competition. Lesson for brand owners: prior use + acquiescence (§33) defeat registration. #TrademarkLaw #IPLaw #IndianLaw #MSME

[Unimarks @UnimarksIndia]

🔹 Saket Court (Delhi) dismisses Jagran Prakashan v. Krishi Jagran (CS COMM 267/2019). "JAGRAN" mark can't block a prior user since 1996. 5-yr injunction vacated; ₹10L costs on the plaintiff. §34 Trade Marks Act, 1999 protects prior users. 🧵