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
Protection of Acronyms under Trademark Law
It is known that acronyms are the first letters of a long phrase of words combined together. On the other hand, trademark is about a mark that shall help distinguish the product or service of goods or service from the rest of the items. Therefore, it can be said that an acronym can be registered […]
Read More
Intellectual Property Rights in the Era of Counterfeit Goods
The industry of counterfeited products has taken shape due to the desire of customers to get hands-on high quality item at reasonable rates. They have great satisfaction in this and this is where the counterfeited goods are made available in the market. Different world markets are full of counterfeited products ranging from cosmetics, electronics, footwear, […]
Read More
Pharma Companies File 15% of Patents in India
The Indian Pharma industry is primarily known for its Generic Drugs. But recently, to push its value higher in the market, the Indian pharmaceutical industry is investing more in research and development of new drugs along with increasing the potency of the existing ones to move up the value chain. From 2013-2015, out of the […]
Read More
Drug Patents and Generic Pharmaceutical Drugs
When a drug is manufactured and released to the market in the initial period, it is sold under a certain brand names and can only be availed from a pharmacy after being prescribed by the doctor. The patent of the drug is owned by a few brands who are the only eligible brands to manufacture […]
Read More
PTAB Should Not Disapprove Claims on the Grounds of Indefiniteness in IPR
Federal Circuit has disapproved of arguments of claims that show any reason other than anticipation pertaining to party procedures. Federal Circuit has rejected the challenge shown by Samsung Electronics America, Inc. The company challenged that PTAB can disapprove claims that are considered indefinite in IPR. Samsung has been charged on the grounds of infringing U.S. […]
Read More
Need for Kashmiri Saffron to get the GI tag
The Kashmiri Saffron has been given geographical indication tag recently from Lieutenant Governor G C Murmu. The acquiring of GI tag is a step ahead in bringing the brand among the list of top ones. The tag has been given for the saffron grown in Kashmir. In this regard, it can be said that the […]
Read More
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
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
Color Trademarks in the Pharmaceutical Industry
The trademarks are vital part of company goods or service and with help of trademark; the consumers are able to identify the business better. Before deciding the correct trademark option for pharmaceutical industry, it is necessary to check for its existence. If any similar one is already present in the trademark database, it is better […]
Read More
India dropped to 40th position in International Intellectual Property Index
India has fallen to 40th position in the International Intellectual Property Index. This index helps know about the IP climate in the 53 global economies of the present year. This is as per the report US Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center. As per last year’s report, India has been ranked in the 36th […]
Read More
X
Download Firm Profile