Calcutta High Court Ruling Puts Lakhs of Trademarks, Including Brand Names, at Risk

27-Aug-2024

In an important ruling, the Calcutta High Court has delivered its judgement that the post of Associate Manager of the Trademark Registry does not entitle him to pass quasi judicial orders. This ruling has an enormous significance in intellectual property society, and it raised a number of doubts as to whether a number of trademarks approved by this particular authority were even legal . This has raised questions with regard to the legal capacity of the Associate Manager to make decisions of judicial nature. Consequently, trademarks that were either registered and/or opposed under this authority are free to be declared invalid and/or challenged. This has developed a key legal issue as regards those organizations that have utilized these trademarks to secure their market influence and unique identifications. This ruling is potentially very damaging for firms, that have to engage in time-consuming and expensive legal processes in an attempt to protect their trademarks. The lack of clarity of this case could also affect business continuity with particular emphasis on brand and intellectual property sensitivity. There are also more demands for the need to review and make necessary changes on the Trademark Registry’s processes in a bid not to have such occurrences in the future. The above decision highlights the need to have proper supervision of the IPR management in India together with legally sound procedures.

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