IP Intelligence

Articles & Case Analyses

Landmark judgments, legislative updates, and practice notes from the Aswal Associates team — covering India, China, ASEAN, Europe, and South Asia.

Latest
◆ Form 27 Compliance Deadline: 30 Sep 2026 — Triennial Filing Under Patents (Amendment) Rules 2024 (Apr 2026) ◆ Delhi HC: Prior User Rights Trump Well-Known Mark — Kent RO vs Kent Cables (Mar 2026) ◆ Calcutta HC: GUIs Are Registrable Designs Under Designs Act 2000 (Mar 2026) ◆ India Registers First Olfactory Trademark — Rose Fragrance on Tyres (Nov 2025) ◆ DPIIT Concept Note on Designs Act Amendments — Digital Designs, Hague, 12-Month Grace (Jan 2026) ◆ Maldives Enacts Trademark Act 2025 — First Comprehensive IP Statute (Nov 2025) ◆ China Patent Examination Guidelines Amendments: AI, Biotech — Effective Jan 2026 ◆ Delhi HC: Prior User Rights Trump Well-Known Mark — Kent RO vs Kent Cables (Mar 2026) ◆ Calcutta HC: GUIs Are Registrable Designs Under Designs Act 2000 (Mar 2026) ◆ India Registers First Olfactory Trademark — Rose Fragrance on Tyres (Nov 2025)

Recent Articles

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Patents · India · Compliance · Deadline Alert
Form 27: Everything a Patentee and Licensee Must Know About Statement of Commercial Working in India — Compliance Deadline: 30 September 2026
Form 27 is a statutory obligation under Section 146(2) of the Patents Act, 1970. With the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024 shifting the filing cycle from annual to triennial, the first consolidated deadline for most patentees falls on 30 September 2026. This comprehensive guide covers who must file, what changed, disclosure requirements, penalties under the Jan Vishwas Act, 2023, extension procedures, and a practical compliance checklist.
Aswal Associates29 Apr 2026
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Trademarks · Delhi HC · Prior User Rights · Well-Known Mark
Delhi HC: Prior User Rights Trump Well-Known Mark Status — Kent Cables Defeats Kent RO for Fans
The Delhi HC Division Bench restrained Kent RO from using KENT for fans despite its well-known mark status, holding that Kent Cables' prior use since 2006 established superior rights.
Aswal Associates13 Mar 2026
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Designs · Calcutta HC · Landmark · Digital IP
Calcutta HC: Graphical User Interfaces Are Registrable Designs Under the Designs Act, 2000
Landmark ruling in NEC Corporation vs Controller of Patents and Designs holds GUIs qualify as registrable designs — digital designs deserve the same protection as physical designs.
Aswal Associates12 Mar 2026
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Designs · India · DPIIT · Legislation
India Releases Comprehensive Concept Note on Proposed Amendments to the Designs Act, 2000
DPIIT's January 2026 Concept Note proposes sweeping reforms: virtual designs, GUIs, 12-month grace period, deferred publication, revised 5+5+5 term, and Hague Agreement accession.
Aswal Associates23 Jan 2026
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Trademarks · Nepal · International · Compliance
Nepal Issues Critical Compliance Deadlines for Pending Trademark Applications Following September 2025 Civil Unrest
The DoI, Nepal issued a Supplementary Notice on December 1, 2025, following destruction of physical trademark files. Brand owners must act urgently or face permanent forfeiture of rights.
Aswal AssociatesDecember 2025
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Trademarks · India · Non-Conventional Marks
India Registers Its First Olfactory (Smell) Trademark: A Historic Milestone
On November 21, 2025, India's CGPDTM accepted its first-ever olfactory trademark — a rose-like fragrance applied to tyres by Sumitomo Rubber Industries, using a pioneering seven-dimensional olfactory vector.
Aswal Associates21 Nov 2025
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Patents · Delhi HC · Procedural
Delhi HC Interprets 'Date of Grant': When Controller Signs Order, Patent Is Granted (Vertex Pharmaceuticals)
The decisive point is when the Controller signs the order — not when uploaded on the IPO website. Pre-grant opposition filed after signed order but before upload is not maintainable.
Aswal AssociatesApril 2025
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Patents · Delhi HC · Restoration
Delhi HC Grants Patent Application Restoration: Agent Error Does Not Defeat Rights (Synertec)
Patent application restored despite missed Form-18 deadline caused by patent agent error. Court rules that intent to prosecute was clear and delay was not intentional.
Aswal AssociatesDecember 2025
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Patents · Delhi HC · Inventive Step
Delhi HC: Inventive Step Must Be Evidence-Based, Not Assumption-Driven (Dong Yang PC)
Vertical Rotary Parking System patent allowed. Controller's rejection based on "common general knowledge" without evidence set aside.
Aswal AssociatesJuly 2025
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Trademarks · Delhi HC
Trademark Proprietor Cannot Claim Monopoly Over Entire Class: Delhi HC (PRO-EASE vs PRUEASE)
Registration in a class does not grant exclusivity over all goods in that class. Rights extend only to goods for which the mark is actually used.
Aswal Associates29 Nov 2025
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Designs Act · Supreme Court
Supreme Court Formulates Two-Pronged Test: When Does Section 15(2) Bar Copyright? (Inox vs Cryogas)
Landmark ruling on copyright vs design protection. Engineering drawings lose copyright once commercial production exceeds 50 articles, shifting protection to the Designs Act.
Aswal Associates3 Dec 2025
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Trademarks · Maldives · International
Maldives Enacts Landmark Trademark Act 2025 (Law No. 19/2025)
The Maldives enacted its first comprehensive trademark statute on 11 November 2025, replacing decades of reliance on cautionary notices. A new IP Office (MIPO) administers a modern first-to-file system.
Aswal Associates25 Nov 2025
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Patents · China · AI
China's Patent Examination Guidelines Amendments: AI, Biotech, Dual Filings — Effective Jan 2026
CNIPA's comprehensive amendments cover inventor disclosure, dual patent retention elimination, refined inventiveness standards, and new examination criteria for AI models.
Aswal Associates26 Dec 2025
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Trademarks · Madras HC
Madras HC: COVID Lockdown Filing Delays Cannot Cause Deemed Abandonment
Affidavit filed within deadline but unsigned due to pandemic restrictions treated as valid. Procedural provisions cannot defeat substantive rights in extraordinary circumstances.
Aswal AssociatesFeb 2026

In Depth

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Patents · India · Amendment Rules 2024
Salient Features of Patent Amendment Rules 2024
The March 2024 amendments introduce gender and age disclosures for inventors, revised examination timelines, updated Form 1 requirements, and key changes to national phase filings and divisional applications.
Aswal AssociatesMarch 2024
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Trademarks · Delhi HC · Google Ads
MakeMyTrip vs Booking.com: Using Rival's Mark on Google Ads = Trademark Infringement + Passing Off
Justice Pratibha M. Singh restrained Booking.com and Google from using the 'MakeMyTrip' mark as a keyword on the Google Ads Program in India — competitors encashing on a rival's trademark reputation constitutes both infringement and passing off.
Aswal Associates17 May 2022
"Statutes must be interpreted in light of technological advancements and contemporary commercial realities — digital designs deserve the same protection as physical designs."
— Calcutta High Court, NEC Corporation & Ors. v. Controller of Patents and Designs, March 2026

From the Archive

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Designs Act · Delhi HC · Three-Judge Bench
Delhi HC Three-Judge Bench: Infringement Suits Against Registered Design Proprietors Are Maintainable; Passing Off Available (Mohan Lal)
Landmark three-judge bench ruling on design infringement and passing off — subsequently considered by the five-judge bench in Carlsberg.
Aswal AssociatesMay 2023
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Designs Act · Delhi HC · Five-Judge Bench · Landmark
Delhi HC Five-Judge Bench Overrules Mohan Lal: Composite Suits for Design Infringement and Passing Off Are Maintainable (Carlsberg)
A five-judge bench overruled the earlier restriction, holding that design infringement and passing off claims arising from the same transaction can be combined in a single composite suit.
Aswal Associates14 Dec 2018
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Trademarks · Myanmar · International
Trademark Registration in Myanmar: New Trademark Law 2019 & Transition to IPO Filing
The Myanmar Trademark Law 2019 replaces the deed-based cautionary notice system with a modern IPO filing regime. Transition timelines and strategy for Indian businesses.
Adv. Gaytri NegiNovember 2019
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Trademarks · Madrid Protocol · India
Advantage of Madrid Filing in India: Benefits & Drawbacks After the 2017 Rule Amendments
India joined the Madrid Protocol in 2013. The 2017 rule amendments narrowed the advantages significantly — this analysis compares Madrid vs direct national filing strategies.
Aswal AssociatesSeptember 2019