Well Known Trademark And Indian Law

Dec 2022
What is well-known trademark?

As per new Trade Mark Rules 2017, a new procedure has been created that allows the Registrar to proclaim a particular trademark as “well known”.

Section 2(1)(zg) Of The Trademark Act, 1999 states that well- known trademark is a mark which has become well known to the section of the public which uses such goods and services and use of that mark in relation to goods and services of other business would be considered as infringement as customers using the product would think that the goods and services given are in relation to the well- known brand.

Indian statutory provision

A well-known trade mark has been vouchsafed with extraordinary protection and safeguards against passing off and infringement of such trademarks. Well-known trademarks are recognized in India on the basis of their reputation, nationally and internationally.

Provisions related to well-known trademarks
  • Rule 124 of Trade Mark Rules 2017

    This rule permits the trademark owners to file a request for grant of “well-known” trademark to the Registrar in form TM-M. A trademark owner can request for a well-known trademark without getting into any proceedings or rectifications. Rule 124 ensures a trademark to be granted the tag of “well-known” merely by an application of request to the Registry.

  • Under Trademarks Act, 1999
    • 11 (2) – Protection of well-known marks across all classes

      Well-known trademarks are to be recognized and protected across all the classes of goods and services

    • 11 (9) – Conditions not required for well-known trademark registration

      For a trademark to be granted protection in India, it is not necessary that the mark owner has his business in India or its trademark is registered within India, nor is it required that the trademark is known to the masses as a whole.

    • 11 (10) – Obligation on the Registrar

      It is an obligation on the registrar that in case of a dispute and/or infringement the registrar must protect the interest of the well-known trademark against the identical ones and also must take into consideration and notice the ill intention and malafide motive of the complainant or the opponent.

Remedies Available to the Trademark Owner against Infringement
  • The owner can Prevent registration of similar and deceptive similar trademark in respect to all class of goods and services.
  • He can also prevent incorporation of the trademark in the name or logo of any organization or corporate name.
  • Further the owner can also Request removal of infringing mark and can ask Punitive damages too.
Trending Blogs
The Common Law Protection Of Trade Secrets And The Need For A Statue
Introduction: A trade secret is anything you use in your business that gives you an advantage over your competitors. A trade secret can be a recipe, process, formula, strategy, technique or device that your competitors do not know, do not have, and cannot use. With development in technology, as well as the ease of sharing, […]
Read More
Delhi HC’s Ex Parte Order in Coca-Cola Company & Anr vs Glacier Water Industries Ltd.
This is a case of a Delhi High court ex parte proceeding concerning trademark dilution. The plaintiff filed a suit seeking a permanent injunction, damages and to restrain them from passing off their products as that of the plaintiff. The plaintiff also pleaded the court to restrain the defendants from using the mark ‘KINLEY’ and […]
Read More
Intellectual Property and its Role in the Pharmaceutical Industry
Intellectual property rights are considered to be an important asset of any corporate unit. It is an indication of the creation of mind and the work that makes one entity different from the other. With better IP or intellectual rights, it would be easy to promote the possible innovations and this would be useful in […]
Read More
Copyrights of Music in India
Music is an art more specifically an intangible form of art. Copyrighting a song or a melody protects the basic right of the creator. The copyright also assist the creator financially. In order to ask for copyright the creator needs to file a registration. Once the creator gains the copyright, any infringement to the copyrighted […]
Read More
Protection Folklores India Intellectual Property Rights
India is a land of diversity when it comes to folk and ethnic culture with hundreds of ethnic, linguistic and religious groups with diverse origins and lifestyles that, over time, intermingled in part and remained untouched in parts over centuries. Perception about folklore differs in India, mainly associated with tribals and simple rural people, rather […]
Read More
3D Printing and IPR
The three-dimensional or 3D printing service is different from the traditional way of manufacturing. In the 3D process, objects are created layer wise to get the desired three dimensional impacts. Since the inception of this latest idea in 1980s, it has gone through several changes in the technology used. This requires use of different production […]
Read More
Intellectual Property Glance
The discussion on intellectual property starts with distributing it into three categories for the same of convenience and clarity. The product of intellectual efforts: The product of intellectual effort could be tangible or intangible encompassing such outcomes as literary creations, artistic creations, books, music, song, dance, drama, sculpture, paintings and even computer programs. It must […]
Read More
Blockchain Technology: Is it Building a Brighter Future
What is Blockchain Technology? The Blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of transactions that can be programmed to record virtually everything of value. So a blockchain is a continuously growing list of records called blocks, which are linked and secured. It protects the identities of the users. Although transactions on the blockchain are not completely […]
Read More
Voluntary Cancellation of Trademark Registration
Trademark registration is a timely affair for 10 years, and it is registered as per the Trademark Act, 1999. There are certain rules and laws pertaining to trademarking a symbol for a brand. A proprietor can get a symbol, phrase of the word, or equivalent trademarked to be used for the brand. But there are […]
Read More
Patents – An Important Tool for Pharmaceutical Industry
For suitable protection of medical inventions, patents are the perfect option. This would also safeguard medical discoveries that are research-based and it is done by most of the pharmaceutical companies. In return for the protection offered by the patent, it can disclose the research used in coming up with the medical innovation in the pharmaceutical […]
Read More
X
Download Firm Profile