The Consumer Standard of Deceptive Similarity: Questions Unanswered by the Sai Silks Judgement

/ By / Trademark

The Telangana High Court’s recent observations in Sai Silks v. SKP B Gopinath have questioned whether the traditional standard of a consumer with “average intelligence and imperfect recollection” remains relevant in contemporary trademark disputes, and whether it is due for a revision. But does greater consumer awareness justify replacing this standard, or does it risk shifting the burden of avoiding confusion from traders to consumers? Adyasha Syam examines the judgment’s doctrinal inconsistencies and considers whether the existing test needs reform

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SpicyIP Tidbit: Kriti-cal Plating: Delhi HC Finally Signals Sorting the Personality Rights Salad Platter

/ By / Others

[This post is authored by Dr. Aakanksha Kumar. Aakanksha is an independent researcher and academic. Since 2019, she has designed and taught a self-created elective course across law schools titled Comparative Celebrity Laws: Personality, Publicity and Free Speech.] On 29 October 2026, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav passed an ad interim order in Kriti Sanon v. BBE Marketing Inc. & Ors. (CS(COMM) 1132/2026). The plaint was, as the order records, the familiar one: “Personality Rights / Publicity Rights”  pleaded as a

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[Part III] The Trial of Data Exclusivity

/ By / Data Exclusivity, Drug Regulation

In the third part of the post on data exclusivity (see here for Part I and Part II), Arnav explores whether there are alternative ways to incentivise domestic pharmaceutical innovation and clinical trials without introducing a data exclusivity regime. In this post, he examines possible policy interventions and alternative models, including a compensatory liability framework, while also highlighting the need for meaningful public consultation before any such policy decisions are made. Arnav is a 5th-year law student from Rajiv Gandhi

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[Part II] The Trial of Data Exclusivity

/ By / Drug Regulation

Continuing the discussion on the proposed introduction of data exclusivity in India, in Part II of his three-part post, Arnav examines its potential implications for domestic innovation, access to medicines, foreign investment, and the conduct of clinical trials. He also questions whether data exclusivity would address the underlying challenges facing India’s clinical trial ecosystem, and whether the promised benefits would justify the costs to public health and the domestic pharmaceutical industry. Arnav is a 5th-year law student from Rajiv Gandhi

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[Part I] The Trial of Data Exclusivity

/ By / Data Exclusivity

With reports suggesting that the Organization of Pharmaceutical Products in India is pushing for up to 10–12 years of data exclusivity protection in India, the debate over affordable medicines and pharmaceutical innovation is once again gaining momentum. But what would such a regime mean for India’s carefully negotiated patent bargain, generic competition and access to medicines? In Part I of the three-part post, Arnav Kaman examines the parallels between patent protection and data exclusivity, and the important questions that the

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Taping the Pipe: NPPA’s Trade Margin Cap on Anti-Cancer Drugs

/ By / Drug Regulation

Suppose there is a leak in your water supply pipe, and instead of replacing the pipe, you keep wrapping tape around the crack. The drip stops, for now but the pipe is still cracked, and you have only deferred the day it bursts. Policy-making on affordable medicines in India more or less follows the same approach, and the recent National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority’s (NPPA) Trade Margin Rationalisation (TMR) order for anti-cancer drugs is its latest example. In this post, I

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India’s Intellectual Property Policy Needs Evidence, Not Faith

/ By / Copyright, Data Exclusivity, Design, Innovation

Views expressed in this piece and in the TIF piece are author’s own. Vanakam readers! I have written a longish piece for the India Forum (TIF) on why we need more evidence to justify the current subject matter expansion that is taking place across various domains (from GUIs to GenAI to data exclusivities) and not simply operate on faith. This lament is not new; previously, Prof. Basheer and Swaraj, in many different words, brought up the same concern. The context

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Call for Submissions: Brands at the Edge of Intelligence: Trademarks, Technology, and Trust in the AI Economy (Abstract Submission by November 20, 2026)

/ By / Opportunities

The DPIIT–IPR Chair, National University of Study and Research in Law (NUSRL), Ranchi, invites original and unpublished research contributions examining the evolving relationship between Artificial Intelligence, trademarks, technology, brands, and consumer trust. The last date of abstract submission is November 20, 2026. For more details, check the call for submissions below:- Call for Submissions: Brands at the Edge of Intelligence: Trademarks, Technology, and Trust in the AI Economy The DPIIT–IPR Chair, National University of Study and Research in Law (NUSRL),

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India’s ABS Blind Spot: Conceptualising the Monitoring of Animal Genetic Resource Utilization under the ABS Framework

/ By / Biological Diversity

Unlike plant genetic resources, animal genetic resources have historically moved across borders through centuries of livestock exchange, breeding and interbreeding, making their origins and subsequent utilisation particularly difficult to trace. In this post, Achyuth examines India’s blind spots in monitoring their utilisation under the Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) framework and explores how inter-institutional coordination could help address them. Achyuth B. Nandan is a PhD candidate at Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, IIT Kharagpur, specialising in intellectual property law.

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Image with SpicyIP logo and the words "Weekly Review"

SpicyIP Weekly Review (October 26-November 1)

/ By / Copyright, Drug Regulation, Patent, Trademark

Announcing the 2026 Shamnad Basheer Essay Competition, a post on the ongoing Cadila-Hetero biosimilar dispute ahead of the Supreme Court hearing, and posts on the Indian Designs Office’s draft GUI Guidelines and the Trade Marks Registry’s proposed framework for the use of AI in proceedings. This and much more in this week’s SpicyIP Weekly Review. Anything we are missing out on? Drop a comment and let us know. Highlights of the Week Announcing the 2026 Shamnad Basheer Essay Competition on

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