Subjects: LAW, PLW
Microsoft Sued for Trademark Infringement by Azure Knowledge Corporation
SAN FRANCISCO, May 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Azure Knowledge Corporation "Azure," a leading IT company of India, has sued Microsoft for trademark infringement and for passing off for the trademark 'Azure'.
The Indian Company (Azure Knowledge Corporation) claims to have been using the trademark 'Azure' since 1996, registering it in 1998. They claim that Microsoft has only been using the trademark 'Azure' in India since 2016 as per its own admission on its website1.
As per the application made by Microsoft in Trade mark Registry2, Microsoft's date of application is 9th August 2019 and 23rd October 2008 ; while its USER date is "Proposed to be used". On the other hand , Azure Knowledge Corporation's application date is 8th June 1998 and its USER date is 1st May 1996.
The Counsel of the Indian Company has accordingly claimed in the Court that "the Indian Company is not only a prior adopter of the mark 'Azure,' but is also a prior user of the same mark."
Litigation has been filed in the Indian Court to restrain Microsoft from using the trademark 'Azure' in India, 'Microsoft Azure', 'Azure Cosmos DB', 'Azure Cloud For All', 'Azure Sphere', 'Azure Brain Wave', and other names identical to or similar to its trademark 'Azure'.
The Counsel of the Indian Company has stated in the Court that Microsoft has also recently applied for a new logo for mark 'Azure' with the Indian Registry under Application No 3134764 which is again similar to the logo mark of Indian Company (Azure Knowledge Corporation).
Azure has accused Microsoft of deliberately using the mark 'Azure' despite having prior knowledge that the Indian Company (Azure Knowledge Corporation) is the legal and the statutory owner of the trademark.
The learned Counsel also indicated that if the judgment goes against Microsoft, Microsoft will not only have to stop using the said marks in India , but Microsoft may also be liable for hefty penalties for making profit by continuously using a mark for commercial purposes - in spite of being aware that its legal ownership lies with Indian company (Azure Knowledge Corporation).
Azure Knowledge Corporation is a leading IT company of India established since 1996. http://azureknowledge.com/
References
- https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/updates/azure-available-in-india-regions/
- Application No 4329742 and 1747500
SOURCE Azure Knowledge Corporation Pvt. Ltd.
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