IPR Amicus, August 2026

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Article

Minor variations, major consequences: Bombay High Court on pharmaceutical trademark infringement and trade-dress copying

By Khushi Lokwani and Pallaash Shankhdhar

The article in this issue of IPR Amicus discusses the Bombay High Court’s decision in Blue Cross Laboratories Pvt. Ltd. v. Alto Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., where the Court held that the mark ‘MEFIAL-SPAS’ infringed Blue Cross’s registered pharmaceutical mark ‘MEFTAL-SPAS’. It emphasized that even minor spelling changes can cause deceptive similarity in pharmaceutical products, where confusion may affect public health. The Court also found infringement of copyright and trade dress due to imitation of packaging, colour scheme, and artwork. According to the authors, commercial courts are becoming increasingly ready to make a considerable effort to punish those infringers who act deliberately, fraudulently, and opportunistically.

Ratio decidendi

·       IP litigation – Territorial jurisdiction of Court – Delhi HC refers issues to Larger Bench

·       Patentability – Guidelines for examination under Section 3(m) of the Patents Act laid down – Delhi High Court

·       Copyrights – Use of publicly available content of a news agency for training an AI model prima facie falls under ‘fair dealing’ – Delhi High Court

·       Copyrights – Hotels must obtain licence for in-room broadcasting of copyrighted music, even though subscribed through cable operator – Calcutta High Court

·       Copyrights – Re-broadcasting of Gurbani Kirtan is prima facie covered under ‘fair dealing’ – Delhi High Court

·       Trademarks – Section 9(1)(a) does not require the applied mark to be ‘unique’ – Delhi High Court

·       Trademarks – ‘Prior user’ not relevant when entities applied for same mark on ‘proposed to be used’ basis and one of them subsequently starts using the mark – Delhi High Court

·       Trademarks – ‘Biochem’ vs. ‘Alder Biochem’ – Division Bench upholds Single Bench decision granting interim injunction against ‘Alder Biochem’ – Delhi High Court

News Nuggets

·       Trademarks – Amendment of pending passing-off suit to include subsequent registration of the mark and additional relief of infringement is permissible

·       Trademarks – Use of identical mark for dissimilar goods – Section 29(4) not requires proof of actual confusion/damage

·       Trademarks – Opposition to be deemed as abandoned once evidence in support of opposition not filed within prescribed time – Section 131 and Rule 109 cannot override timeline provided under Rule 45

·       Commercial Courts Act, 2015 is applicable for appellate remedies even for suits filed before 23 October 2015

·       WTO Council for TRIPS’ Members review notifications, pandemic preparedness, biodiversity and IP office cooperation

·       India needs a fresh legal framework to address rapidly evolving AI technologies

·       BRICS Culture Working Group holds discussions on safeguarding rights of creators