Trade Marks Act 1999

Absolute Grounds for Refusal under Section 9 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999

A trademark application in India does not receive registration as a matter of course. Before a mark enters the Register of Trade Marks and the statutory rights of an exclusive proprietor crystallize, the application must pass through a rigorous examination process administered by the Trade Marks Registry. That examination is governed by two distinct categories […]

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Trademark Registration – The Complete Procedure under the Trade Marks Act, 1999

A trademark is among the most commercially significant assets a business can possess. It is the sign by which consumers identify the source of goods or services, the vessel that carries a brand’s reputation and the legal instrument through which that reputation is defended. In India, the law governing the registration and protection of trademarks

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The Role of the Trade Marks Registry – Structure, Functions and Jurisdiction

Every trademark right in India passes through a single institutional gateway: the Trade Marks Registry. It is the administrative body that receives applications, conducts examination, publishes marks for opposition, grants registration, maintains the official register, and adjudicates a wide range of inter partes proceedings. Without the Registry, the statutory scheme of trademark protection under the

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Deceptive Similarity and the Consumer Confusion Test in Indian Trademark Law

Few questions in Indian trademark law arise more frequently, or are decided with greater consequence, than whether two competing marks are deceptively similar to each other. The resolution of this question governs whether a trademark application will be accepted or rejected by the Registrar, whether an opposition proceeding will succeed or fail, and whether an

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Corn Products Refining Co. v. Shangrila Food Products Ltd.

Court: Supreme Court of India Case No.: Civil Appeal (arising from Trade Mark Application proceedings) Decided on: 8 October 1959 Bench: Justice A.K. Sarkar, Justice J.L. Kapur, Justice S.K. Das Citation: AIR 1960 SC 142; (1960) 62 Bom LR 162; [1960] 1 SCR 968 Background The appellant, Corn Products Refining Co., was a corporation incorporated

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The Concept of Well-Known Trademarks in India: Reputation beyond Goods and Geography under the Trade Marks Act, 1999

In the architecture of trademark law, not all marks occupy the same position. Most marks perform a single function – they identify the source of goods or services and distinguish one trader’s products from another’s. Well-known trademarks do something more. Through sustained use, investment and public recognition, they transcend their original commercial context and become

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Assignment, Licensing and Commercial Exploitation of Trademarks

Assignment, Licensing and Commercial Exploitation of Trademarks under the Trade Marks Act, 1999

In contemporary commerce, a trademark is not confined to its defensive function of preventing misuse. It is an active commercial asset – bought, sold, licensed, pledged, securitized, franchised and monetized across jurisdictions. The true commercial maturity of trademark law lies not merely in its enforcement provisions but in its recognition that goodwill is transferable property.

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