By: Digbijay Mishra
BENGALURU: Amazon is facing in India what Apple encountered in China - a trademark hurdle for its top brands. The online retailer, which has introduced Prime, Echo and Prime Music here, has hit a roadblock at the Indian trademark office. The Seattle-based company's trademarks for these brands have not been accepted here yet, according to government documents.
The reason: Multiple domestic companies have registered trademarks for these brand names. In 2012, when iPhone maker Apple had faced a similar issue, it had to pay $60 million to the owner of the iPad trademark in China. Incidentally, Flipkart co-founder and executive chairman Sachin Bansal - who started the brand Billion last year - is also waiting to register it in about five categories with the trademark office. A majority of these applications has been accepted.
Experts working in the area of trademarks and patents say registration is a bigger problem for foreign players, especially when their brands gain global attention and motivate domestic companies or individuals in other countries to register those trademarks.
A company does not have to pay to the holder of trademark in order to get it registered. Once an application is not accepted or the status is shown as objected, the matter is heard by the trademark office and - based on multiple factors - a decision is taken whether to grant the requested trademark to an applicant.
When contacted, an Amazon spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.
A Flipkart spokesperson shared the list of granted registrations for trademarks of Billion. Flipkart Internet, which runs the online marketplace, has also secured the trademark for its annual festive sale named BigBillionDay, valid till 2024. The much-hyped sale event is now held for multiple days in the run-up to the festival of Diwali, and Flipkart calls it BigBillionDays.
While objections to top brands of Amazon in the trademark office is unlikely to have any immediate impact on its business, securing trademark of a brand has long-term dividends, especially when a company has already invested in it globally. Trademark lawyer and patent attorney Rahul Dev said, "From a business standpoint, such processing delays hamper the product positioning as, in case of infringement, brand owners have to pursue alternate remedies, including passing off actions."
Source >> https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/companies/amazons-prime-echo-hit-trademark-hurdles/articleshow/63650805.cms?
