Trademark practitioners filing evidence must be very careful about what they use to establish use or the declaration of first use.
“Such evidence must be filed without any alteration or effacement, lest it is revealed during subsequent litigation and turns out to be fabricated!” said Dr. Mohaan R Dewan, principal of R.K.
Dewan & Co.in Mumbai. Dewan gave the advice in connection with Alphavector India Pvt Ltd v Sach Industries & Ors. The recent trademark case involved companies that similarly manufacture bicycles and the numbers 91 and 99 used as marks for the products.
Alphavector, owner of trademarks featuring the number “91,” filed a suit against Sach before the Delhi High Court for infringement and passing off. The latter was found to be using the marks “NINETY-NINE” and “99” on its Facebook page in 2021. Read more