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Tag: Trade Marks Act

trademark

Restoring Lapsed Trademarks: Rajinder Singh v. Registrar

The Delhi High Court's ruling in Rajinder Singh v. Registrar of Trade Marks underscores the mandatory obligation of the Registry to ensure proper service of renewal notices under Section 25(3). When the Registry fails to update address records and sends notices to defunct addresses, it cannot rely on its own procedural errors to extinguish a proprietor's rights. This case adds to a growing list of precedents where courts have intervened to restore marks lapsed due to administrative negligence, ensuring that commercial rights remain protected against bureaucratic failures in the trademark renewal process.

8 min read
trademark

Google Liable for Keyword Bidding: Hindware v. Google

In the landmark ruling of Hindware v. Google, the Delhi High Court has fundamentally shifted the framework of intermediary liability in India. Moving away from the 'visibility' test, the Court ruled that Google’s keyword auction mechanism constitutes active participation in trademark infringement. By monetizing coined marks for competitors, Google loses its Section 79 safe harbour protection. This 163-page judgment clarifies that active commercial participation by a platform triggers liability, regardless of whether the trademark appears in the ad copy itself. This is a critical precedent for all IP practitioners in India.

11 min read