India: Trademark

The intersection of trademark law and digital advertising has long been a contested frontier. One of its most persistent flashpoints concerns the practice of keyword advertising, where a business pays a search engine to display its advertisement when a user searches for a competitor’s brand name. In a significant ruling, the Delhi High Court, in Hindware Ltd. v. Grohe India Pvt. Ltd. & Ors., has provided what is, to date, India’s most definitive judicial answer to the question: does selling a registered trademark as a search keyword amount to trademark infringement, and can the search engine itself be held liable?

From 4,233 filings in 1995 to a record 13,436 in 2025, a data-driven analysis of Sri Lanka’s trademark landscape and what the numbers say about the road ahead.

Intellectual property (“IP”) law and food safety law have traditionally been treated as separate domains, administered by different authorities, under different statutes, and animated by different objects. IP law governs a proprietor’s exclusive rights over a mark and the consequences of its unauthorized use; food safety law governs the safety, labelling and honest presentation of food to the public.

India's handloom industry faces a critical challenge as traditional artisans struggle to protect their centuries-old craft from commercial exploitation despite robust legal frameworks. While the country has established comprehensive Geographical Indication laws and intellectual property protections for heritage textiles like Banarasi, Pochampally, and Kanchipuram sarees, a significant gap exists between legislative intent and practical enforcement. Can legal mechanisms truly safeguard the livelihoods of mil

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Building a successful business requires more than offering quality products or services. A strong brand identity often becomes one of the company's most valuable assets. This is why TM Registration Support for Business plays a significant role in protecting brand value and supporting long term growth.

In a decision reinforcing the importance of brand reputation and trademark protection in India, the Delhi High Court has declared GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Limited’s (“GSK”) trademark “CALPOL” as a “Well-Known Trademark” under Section 2(1)(zg) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999. The ruling came in the backdrop of a trademark dispute involving the marks “CALPOL” and “WALPOL”, wherein the Court recognized the extensive goodwill, reputation, and long-standing commercial presence associated with the CALPOL brand in India.

The Hon’ble Delhi High Court has granted a permanent injunction in favour of the American pharmaceutical and medical devices giant Johnson & Johnson (“J&J”), restraining a New Delhi-based entity from infringing its trademarks ‘Surgicel’, ‘Ligaclip’ and ‘Ethicon’, and from manufacturing, distributing, or selling counterfeit surgical devices. Recognising the grave public health risks posed by counterfeit medical products, the Court also awarded damages amounting to approximately ₹3.34 crore against the defendants.

The Delhi High Court's landmark ruling in the Hindware case examines whether Google's practice of allowing competitors to bid on trademarked keywords constitutes infringement, even when the trademark itself remains invisible to consumers. This analysis explores how the Court navigated the intersection of traditional trademark law and algorithmic advertising systems, questioning whether platforms can monetize brand searches by selling that commercial moment to rivals. The judgment fundamentally challenges th