In February, Kochhar & Co successfully represented ITC with respect to its brand Wills, which was being misused on the internet.
Wills is a well-known Indian trademark associated with a wide range of consumer products including cigarettes, personal care products and other specialty items.
Mark Segal of Namegiant.com, a domain broker, had registered the domain name “www.wills.in”. ITC alleged that this constituted a violation of its proprietary right to the Wills trademark on the grounds that the domain name was identical, and therefore misleading. The company argued that the registration had been granted to someone who had no legitimate right or interest in the name, and that it amounted to cyber-squatting.
