How to Transfer Trademark Rights in India?

With time and continuous advancements in almost every industry worldwide, trademarks has become one of the fastest emerging and most exclusive Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in India. A trademark, which identifies and differentiates the products or services of a business from those of others, is beneficial for not just brands but consumers as well. It generates the goodwill that bestows businesses with target customers and assists people in purchasing quality products. Another reason that makes any trademark popular amongst the Intellectual Property industry and several other sectors is its ability to get transferred. Indeed, the transfer of trademark rights is beneficial for both – who gives the rights and who takes them. Are you excited to have insight into the process of making profits through transferring trademark rights in India? Read below:

The Indian Trademarks Act, 1999 states that for transferring Registered Trademark rights, there is a need to opt for either trademark assignment agreement or trademark licensing agreement.

(I) Trademark Assignment

Trademark Assignment is a way to legally transfer the trademark rights of the assignor (original owner) to the assignee (person or company interested in obtaining the rights). In legal terms, it refers to the legal transfer of proprietary rights over products and services. The transfer under a trademark assignment is possible in the following ways:

(a) Complete Assignment: As the name depicts, this assignment facilitates the transfer of full ownership, i.e., all the rights, thus allowing the assignee to use, share, and process the mark in whatever way he wants while maintaining a distance from legal issues like Trademark Infringement. After the complete assignment of the trademark, the assignor hold no control over the brand, logo, or anything related to it.

(b) Partial Assignment: The partial assignment, which restricts the transfer of trademark rights to specific services or products, is beneficial for those who don’t want to lose complete control over their rights. It bestows the assignor with the option to share his rights while adding terms and conditions that limit the assignee’s control to some products. It means the assignee can use the trademark rights for only those things that are permitted by the assignor.

Procedure for Assignment of a Trademark

1. Create a trademark assignment application, including the request for the transfer of trademark rights. As per the Trademark Law, there is no hard and fast rule for who should make the application. Hence, anyone whether the assignor or the assignee can make the application, but it must be in FORM TM-P format and holds the terms of the transfer as well as details of both the parties.
2. File the prepared application before the registrar. As the delay in applying in front of the registrar can result in an additional fee, be cautious about filing within six months of proprietorship’s acquisition.
3. Obtain the Registrar’s Permission. Though the transfer of trademark works as per the needs of the assignor and assignee, yet it is mandated to follow the registrar’s direction before the expiry of the assignment. Although the period of assignment expiry in India is for six months, it is extendable under the registrar’s supervision.
4. Understand the registrar’s directions and according to them, advertise the assignment. After that, provide the registrar with copies of both advertisements and directions.
5. At last, the registrar after getting satisfied with the application, advertisements, and all documents will permit the transfer of the said trademark from the original owner to the new proprietor. By registering the name of the assignee in the legal record, the registrar ensures that now the assignee can use the assigned trademark rightfully.

(II) Trademark Licensing

It allows the transfer of a trademark while imposing some restrictions that prevent the licensee (new owner) from owing full ownership over the rights of the licensor (original owner). Although the concept of licensing appears a bit restrictive, it is beneficial for both licensor and licensee. It helps the former to expand his market and upsurge the number of consumers whereas the later to enjoy the royalties obtained with the trademark.

Assuredly, registering a licensing agreement is not necessary, still, the parties should do so to enjoy the expected benefits without facing issues. The procedure to Register a Trademarklicense agreement is similar to registering the assignment agreement. So if you want to go for trademark transfer via licensing, there is a need to make the application followed by filing it before the registrar. If you are a licensor and don’t want to create the application, you can ask the licensee to do so as the law states that anyone out of the two can create the application that must be in TM-28 form format. Once satisfied with the application, documents, and other formalities, the registrar will allow both of you to use the transferred trademark rights as per the terms mentioned in the license agreement.

The concept of transfer of trademarks is a tactic that generates benefits for both – who provides the rights and who obtains the rights. So if you also want to join the race and make profits with this approach, the above-given guide will help you for sure. However, before proceeding, it is recommended to have a deep insight into every fact related to this IPR, no matter whether it is related to the simple filing of the Trademark Application or any other aspect. For view source: https://www.kashishipr.com/blog/how-to-transfer-trademark-rights-in-india/

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Facebook Tries to Secure Trademark for the Term “Book”

After successfully getting the trademark for common, generic words ‘Face’ and ‘Book’ in the United States nearly 13 years ago, Facebook, one of the leading social media giants is presently attempting to accomplish the same in Europe.

Seeking to secure the word ‘Book’ under Trademark Protection, the social media giant applied for the same in the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in June 2019.

At present, the Trademark Application submitted to the EUIPO is under examination, with a decision expected later. The reason behind trademarking such generic words is to protect established brands from businesses that might deal in offering similar products and services under similar names, thus misleading the consumers and potentially taking the brands’ revenue.

The list Facebook provided in its application emphasizes a voluminous range of products and services, including things from electronic game software to wearable peripherals for computers, software for modifying photographs, and electronic radio components.

If the application gets approved, the term ‘book,’ which originally referred to an archaic paper-based data storage format, will soon join the words such as Face, Like, Wall, Poke, the letter F, and a particular shade of blue in the long list. Besides, Facebook will commence preventing its competitors from Trademark Infringements of the word ‘Book’ – something that will be a significant effort, but undoubtedly not outside the power of the social media giant and its legal teams. On the other side, the bad news for its competitors, especially small and fledgling companies is that Facebook has in the past appeared to be happy to go after and shut down the startups for perceived trademark infringement.

Nevertheless, this might not be the apt time to look for positive outcomes in Europe, where the amount of goodwill and trust towards American giants, in general, is at an all-time low. Still, Facebook is continuously trying hard to complete its trademark collection as it has already secured a trademark for the word ‘face’ more than a decade ago, thus making it plausible that its new application will be granted soon.

Meanwhile, in addition to ‘Facebook,’ i.e., ‘Face’ and ‘Book,’ there are many words such as ‘BOOMERANG,’ ‘LIKE,’ ‘F8,’ etc., that are protected as Facebook’s Intellectual Property (IP) in the US.

Nonetheless, Facebook is not alone in a frenzy to protect generic words as Registered Trademarks. For instance, fashion designer Mark Jacobs and Ohio State University are also striving to be the first in a race to register the word “THE” with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). For view source: https://www.kashishipr.com/blog/facebook-tries-to-secure-trademark-for-the-term-book/

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Copyleft – Everything You Need to Know About This IP License

We are living in a rapidly advancing era where the Internet has made it ever-harder to prevent unauthorized users from stealing one’s hard work. In such a malicious age, there might be hardly anyone who isn’t aware of the Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs). There are several IPRs that one can get to keep his original assets safe. However, the selection varies as per the needs of the owners and nature of the things to be protected. For instance, copyright is a set of some exclusive rights that empower the creator to prevent others from using his original creation without his permission. Indeed, almost all of us are aware of this IPR and understand that being creators, we need to safeguard our creative Intellectual Property (IP) with it. Nevertheless, it becomes a bit difficult in case of being prolific or having famous work, thus making many creators to move towards copyleft instead.

In this article, you will come across almost everything that you need to know about copyleft.

What is Copyleft?

Copyleft refers to an IP license based on the concept according to which you can distribute your work to others with the right to copy, modify, or share it further. It provides users with the freedom to use, reform, or distribute the work in whatever way they want on a condition of maintaining the same liberty in the revised editions of the work. It encourages better and more creations. Although copyleft compels people to distribute the modified work while transferring the same copyleft license to others, it doesn’t demand to make the copylefted work free as in case of the public domain.

What are the 3 Key Concepts of Copyleft?

1. Copyleft Is All About the Freedom of Users

In spite of the name that appears contradictory to copyright, copyleft is copyright’s subset intended with a goal to bestow users with freedom, not to abolish copyright. Copyright empowers the original creator of a unique and innovative work to legally control whether others can copy, modify, and distribute his work or not and if they can, then how. If a user uses a copyrighted work in a manner not similar to how its owner allows, he may face legal issues like copyright infringement. It means copyright law entitles the original creator to prohibit others from using his work in an unauthorized manner and also to take legal actions against such users. However, copyleft license exists inside the legal framework of copyright, but its core concept is to allow users to copy, change, or distribute works as per their need, with only one vital clause that the derivate works must offer the same freedom to other users.

2. Copyleft Isn’t Limited to Just Permission

Many people have a misconception that copyleft license is like a permissive license that bestows users with the freedom to do whatever they want. Well, the fact is that copyleft undoubtedly grants liberty but at the same time, imposes users to fulfill some demands. The most remarkable one is that the user accessing a copyleft object must distribute its derivative versions under license offering the same or similar rights to other users.

Example: Suppose you are a photographer who provides a copyleft photo to any company. The firm can copy, modify, and share the photo as it wants, but at a condition of allowing others to use the modified work with the same freedom.

Known as the ‘share-alike’ clause, this shows that copyleft isn’t limited to just giving freedom; it demands freedom as well.

3. Copyleft Isn’t Necessarily Free

As seen above, a copyleft works on two significant aspects; first: the freedom for users to reproduce, change and share derivative works, second: the “share-alike” condition to maintain liberty in secondary works for further users. However, freedom doesn’t mean that copyleft work is accessible for free. Indeed, you may be able to get any copyleft object without paying but only if the owner is ready. Moreover, most of the time, such works are available in exchange for some fees. Therefore, note that if you desire to use any copyleft work, you may have to pay for it.

What is the Difference Between Copyright and Copyleft?

Although the concept of copyleft has resulted from copyright, both these legal terms differ. One remarkable difference between copyleft and copyright is that the former permits third-parties to use the owner’s rights as they want, i.e., liberally but with a demand that they will not cut off the liberality and allow others also to enjoy the same freedom whereas copyright appears a bit restrictive and limit third-parties to use the rights as the owner wants. In short, copyleft provides and demands freedom, whereas copyright focuses on restriction and originality of the author’s work.

Copyright or Copyleft: What Should You Opt?

Well! The answer to this question depends on what you as a creator want; whether to keep the rights to yourself or welcome third-parties willing to do the same with other users. When it comes to financial benefits, copyleft licensing may not help you in making good money. Moreover, even if you could end up making earnings, there are possibilities that you would make significantly less than what you have made by traditional copyright rules. Hopefully, you have gained a better insight into copyright and copyleft and can make a fair decision yourself. However, in case you still have any doubt, it is better to consult an experienced attorney who can help you in having a clear idea of these two legal terms. For view source: https://www.kashishipr.com/blog/copyleft-everything-you-need-to-know-about-this-ip-license/

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Metrasens Gets another Patent for Its Global MRI Safety Business

Metrasens, the world’s leading provider of advanced magnetic detection technologies, on 3rd September 2019, proudly announced the further strengthening of its patent portfolio through the grant of a new patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The recently granted patent emphasizes protecting the technology that reduces alarm fatigue in Metrasens’ Ferromagnetic Detection Systems (FMDS) used to enhance the safety of patients and staff in hospitals’ MRI departments.

FMDS systems for MRI safety invented by Metrasens’ founders were first introduced worldwide in 2003, and since then, MRI departments in over 36 countries have purchased Metrasens’ Ferroguard safety systems. With its first patent granted before 2000 and a total of 21 international patents at present, the company owns a substantial Intellectual Property (IP) in the field of magnetic detection. However, the patent of this family granted in China is presently subject to a case in the China State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) by Nanjing Cloud Magnet Electronic Technology Company Limited.  Metrasens is also taking legal action against the plaintiff and its member – Nanjing Haole Technology Company Limited (NH) in the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court for Patent Infringement and the Nanjing Intermediate Court for Copyright Infringement. In regards to this case, SIPO has announced that it thinks the patent is invalid as it lacks an inventive step. It seems as if Metrasens will strongly appeal to the SIPO decision.

As a defendant, Metrasens said that Nanjing Haole Technology Company Limited was previously one of the Metrasens’ appointed distributors that were designated to distribute its Ferroguard FMDS products in Southern China. Metrasens had chosen to terminate the relationship on discovering that this group was involved in the emergence and sale of products, which in Metrasens’ opinion, possessed very similar functions and technical features to Metrasens’ patented products. Metrasens, with the help of its distributor – Beijing Yihai has established itself as a leading provider of MRI safety solutions to hospitals across China. The leader also has a further eight patents in the Patent Application filed in China as a reflection of its substantial investment for developing technology that helps to keep the Chinese public safe.

Dr. Simon Goodyear, Metrasens’ co-founder as well as CEO, said that their close relationships with the Chinese radiology community and MRI system vendors have enabled the rapid and accelerating adoption of their Ferroguard systems in China. They are proud that the MRI community and IP administrative value their products’ benefits that are the result of their years of experience. With the new grant, they will continue to pursue their goals of advancing and ensuring patient safety in China, and of safeguarding Metrasens’ business and intellectual property, with equal vigor. ). For view source:  https://www.kashishipr.com/blog/metrasens-gets-another-patent-for-its-global-mri-safety-business/

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