Trademark Squatting: A Foul Play

In the recent past, it is apparent that the brands are proactively involved in the protection of their Intellectual Property Rights in order to standout in the commercial hub. However, certain reprobates driven with malicious intent attempts to meddle rights of honest users by virtue of squatting. In the words of World Intellectual Property Organisation (“WIPO”), Trademark squatting is defined as the registration or use of a generally well-known foreign trademark that is not registered in the country or is invalid as a result of non-use.  In such instances, the trademark squatters apply for the earlier adoption of the well-known marks before the products released in the market with an intent to sell it to the rightful owner at the hefty price. For instance, Apple Inc., had to pay a whopping US $ 60 million to settle a dispute involving its mark ‘IPAD' with a Chinese company, Shenzen Proview Technology, which had registered the trademark IPAD in China in 2012. In most