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Trademark registration process India

July 20th, 2009 at 12:42pm Under trademark law

Trademark registration is often considered a very lengthy and cumbersome process, but under the guidance of trademark registration law firm India the process becomes very convenient and easy to follow. Filing requirements of India trademarks have been divided into two heading i.e. individual applicants and corporate applicants. Thus, the individual applicants have to furnish information such as name, address, nationality, nature of business, trademark to be applied for, list of products or services, international class and priority details if any such claims have been made. On the other hand corporate applicants are required to furnish name, address, type of incorporation, country of incorporation, nature of business, trademark to be applied, and print of the trademark, list of products and services and international class.

The process is followed by filing a trademark application. This application mainly comprises of the power of attorney and priority document. It should be noted that an undisputed registration process is completed within twelve to fifteen months. The term of a trademark is ten years and can be renewed after applying to the trademark office India.

Trademark registration India defines the compulsory period of usage for avoiding cancellation of the trademark. The tribunal has the rights to decide upon the registrability of a trademark which can be partially or wholly limited to any combination of colors. Trademark registration at India varies depending upon the type of product to be trademarked. Registrability of a collective trademark has a specific process and should be done after filing in the prescribed form along with the payment of fee. In such case the organization can obtain the trademark after permitting its members usage of the same. The regulation should duly specify facts including the persons authorized the usage of trademark, condition of usage of trademark, condition of membership and relationship of such member with the organization and details of membership.

India Trademarks – Get Details about india trademarks,indian trademark registration, trademark news, trademark lookup, india trademark office

July 14th, 2009 at 06:43pm Under trademark law

A ‘Mark` may consist of a word or invented word, signature, device, letter, numeral, brand, heading, label, name written in a particular style, the shape of goods other than those for which a mark is proposed to be used, or any combination thereof or a combination of colors and so forth. Subject to certain conditions, a trademark may also be symbolized by the name of a person, living or dead. For the purpose of registration, a mark chosen should be capable of distinguishing goods or services of one person from those of the others. Further it should not be deceptively similar to an existing mark of another person and not the one expressly prohibited under the Act. The marks devoid of any distinctive character, or which are only indicative of the kind, quality, quantity, purpose, value or geographical origin of the goods, or which are marks already in vogue in the trade due to their customary use may not be registered. But these disqualifications do not apply to marks, which have already acquired distinction due to their popularity and consistent use. Internationally acclaimed brand names are freely available for use in India. The trademark registration confers upon the owner the exclusive right to the use of the registered trade mark and indicates so by using the symbol (R) in relation to the goods or services in respect of which the mark is registered and seek the relief of infringement in appropriate courts in the country. The exclusive right is however subject to any conditions entered on the register such as limitation of area of use etc. Also, where two or more persons have registered identical or nearly similar mark due to special circumstances such exclusive right does not operate against each other.Under modern business condition a trade mark performs four functions:•    It identifies the goods / or services and its origin. •    It guarantees its unchanged quality •    It advertises the goods/services •    It creates an image for the goods/ services.We offer very comprehensive India Trademark Services. We cover all the needs of our clients beginning from Trademark Search, Trademark Filing, Trademark oppositions and Appeals. We also provide Trademark Enforcement services. We provide Comprehensive India Trademark Search facility where we conduct a search in the India Trademarks Registry covering India Trademark Database that includes all Trademarks issued and Pending Trademark Applications whether they are published in the official journal or unpublished. This low cost paid comprehensive India Trademark Search is conducted in the database of trade marks and service marks that are registered and advertised before acceptance in the Trade mark Journal published by the Trade Mark Registry. Please see our India Trade Mark classification page to know to which class your goods or services may belong to. We provide India Trademark Registration services and we have experienced India Trademark Attorneys in our panel of consultants. Please see the requirements, time taken, cost and other details at India Trademark Registration Our Low-Cost India Trademark Watch service enables you to utilize our service wherein we watch for any mark conflicting with your trademarks advertised in the India Trademark Journal of India and notify you in time so you can file Trademark Opposition to such marks. We also notify you for your Trademark Renewal. In addition we also conduct Trademark Enforcement actions and assist to prevent Trademark Infringement of your trademarks in India.

Understanding Indian trademark law

July 8th, 2009 at 06:42pm Under trademark law

To be in par with international trademark law, the Indian trademark law has been codified and is about to undergo an amendment. Recently India signed the Madrid Protocol allowing foreign applicants to file international application designating India like most of the other countries in the world. Trademark registration India makes it mandatory to fulfill certain requirements. These requirements specify that the trademark to be registered should be distinctive and not deceptive. This means that words describing the product, geographical names and common surnames should always be avoided. The concept of ‘well known mark’ was also introduced after the last amendment.

Priority: It is important to file a corresponding application in India for claiming a priority from an application made in US. India trademarks states that the process should be completed within six months from the date of filing the original application.

Grounds of refusal: A trademark application can be rejected on following grounds.

Absolute ground: Section 9 states the various absolute grounds under which the applications can be rejected. This includes points such as trademark devoid of distinctive character, descriptive trademark, trademark likely to cause confusion and trademarks prohibited under the Emblems and Names Act, 1950.

Prohibition: Section 13 of the act prohibits the registration of each such trademark which is a commonly used and universally accepted name of a chemical element. OR has been declared by the WHO and been notified by the registrar as international non proprietary name.

Statutory defense: Trademark office India states down various statutory defense available to the applicants. This mainly includes honest concurrent usage, prior user and acquiescence for registration, parallel imports, generic ness and fair use while describing the products for criminal matters.

License/Assignment: Under the trademark registration law India trademarks are recognized as movable property thus, can be easily licensed/assigned. Thus, a trademark can be easily assigned irrespective of the goodwill attached to it.

Trademark Law India

July 8th, 2009 at 12:43pm Under trademark law

Indian Trademark Law has been codified in conformity with the International Trademark Law and is about to undergo an amendment to be at par International Trademark Law.Recently India has signed Madrid Protocol that will allow Foreign Applicants to file an International Application designating India like many countries around the globe e.gChina. Though unlike China and many other countries Multi class filing is allowed in India.

Statue: The various statues dealing with Intellectual property laws in India are as follows:

1. Trademarks Act, 1999

2. Copyright Act, 1957

3. Patents Act, 1970 as amended by Patents (Amendments) Act, 2005

4. Designs Act, 2005

5. Code of Civil Procedures, 1908

6. Indian Penal Code, 1860

7. Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999

8. Semiconductor, Integrated Circuit Layout Design Act, 2000

9. Plants Varieties Protection and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001

10. Information Technology Act, 2000

Requirement:A ‘Trademark’ means a mark capable of being represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those of others.

A ‘Mark’ includes a device, brand, heading, label, ticket, name (including abbreviations), signature, word, letter, numerals, shape of goods, packaging or combination of colors and any combination thereof.

The two main requirements of a trademark are that it must be distinctive (adapted to distinguish the goods/services of the applicant from that of others) and not deceptive. Therefore while selecting a trademark, words that are directly descriptive of the goods, common surnames or geographical names should be avoided as these confer weaker protection to the proprietor even if registered.

Now the concept of “well known mark” has been introduced after the last amendment and Section 2 (zg) defines a well known mark as:

“Well-known trademark, in relation to any goods or services, means a mark which has become so to the substantial segment of the public which uses such goods or receives suchservices that the use of such mark in relation to other goods or services would likely to be taken as indicating a connection in the course of trade or rendering of services between those goods or services and a person using the mark in relation to the first mentioned goods or services.”

While determining whether the mark is well-known mark, the registrar will take in to consideration while determining that the mark is a well known mark.

(a) the knowledge or recognition of the alleged well known mark in the relevant section of the public including knowledge obtained as a result of promotion of the trademark.

(b) the duration, extent and geographical area of any use for that trademark.

(c) The duration, extent and geographical area for any promotion of the trademark including advertising or publicity and presentation at fairs or exhibition of the goods or servicesin which the trademark appears.

(d) The duration and geographical area of any registration of any publication for registration of that trademark under this Act to the extent that they reflect the use or recognition of thattrademark.

(e) The record of successful enforcements of the rights in that trademark, in particular the extent to which the trademark has been recognized as a well known trademark by any Court or Registrar under that record.

Whereas a trademark has been determined to be well known in at least one relevant section of the public in India by any court or Registrar, the Registrar shall consider that trademarkas a well known trademark for registration under this Act.

“Relevant section of Public” may be actual or potential consumers of, persons involved in channels of distribution of or business circles dealing with the type of goods or services towhich the mark is applied.

The Registrar is not required to consider the following facts while determining a well known trademark.

a) The Trademark has been used in Indiab) The Trademark has been registeredc) The application for registration of the Trademark has been filed in India.d) The trademark is well known in or has been registered in, or in respect of which an application for registration has been filed in any jurisdiction other than India ore) The trademark is well known to the public at large in India.

Priority:For claiming a priority from an application filed in United States a corresponding application should be filed in India within 6 months of date of filing of original application.

Various Grounds for refusal:

Absolute grounds:

Section 9 of the Trademarks Act, 1999 sets out the absolute grounds for refusal of trademarks, which can be grouped under following heads:

a) Trademark is devoid of distinctive character;b) Trademarks that are descriptive;c) Trademarks likely to deceive of cause confusion;d) Trademarks or signs that are customary in current language and in the bonafide and established and customary practice of the trade;e) Trademarks comprising scandalous or obscene matter or likely to hurt religious susceptibilities in India;f) Trademarks consisting of shape which are purely functional or are necessary to obtain a technical result or give substantial value to the goods; org) Trademarks whose use is prohibited under Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950.

Prohibition:

Section 13 of the Trademarks Act, 1999 prohibits registration of any word as trademark which is:

a) Commonly used and accepted name of any chemical element or any chemical compound (as distinguished from mixtures) in respect of a chemical substance or preparation; orb) Declared by the World Health Organization and notified as such by the Registrar, as an International non-proprietary names.

Relative grounds of refusal:

Section 11 of the Trademarks Act, 1999 sets out the relative grounds for refusal of trademarks, which can be grouped under following heads:

a) identical or similar to a previous mark with and/or without similar or identical goods;b) Prohibition of use of the trademark under passing off or law of copyright;

Statutory defense available under the Act:

For registration:

a) Honest concurrent use;b) Acquiescence; orc) Prior user

Against Injunction suit or criminal matters

a) Use in accordance with honest practices in Industrial or commercial matters;b) Parallel Imports;c) Fair use in description of the goods or services; ord) Generic ness.

Special Considerations in case of well known mark:

As per Section 11 of the Trademarks Act, while considering an application for registration of a trademark and opposition filed in respect thereof the Registrar shall

a) protect a well known trademark against the identical or similar trademark.b) take into consideration the bad faith involved either of the applicant or the opponent affecting the rights relating to the trade mark.

However this provision shall not effect the trademark if it trademark has been registered in good faith disclosing the material information to the Registrar or where right to atrademark has been acquired through use in good faith before the commencement of this Act.

Enforcement of Trademarks Rights:

Opposition (before the Registrar) and Cancellation (before the Registrar as well as Appellate Board)

Opposition can only be done after publication of the trademark and within 3 months of date of availability of Journal. One month extension is available if sought before the expiry of 3months time.

Cancellation on the ground of non-use for a period of 5 years and 3 months and proof of intention on part of the registered proprietor not to use the trademark at the filing date and nonuse till the cancellation petition.

Before the Courts: Ex-parte Injunction, Permanent Injunction, Anton Pillar Order, and /or Arrest and Seizure of goods (irrespective of registration).

Assignment/ license:

Trademarks are now recognized as a “movable property” under the Indian law and can be therefore assigned/ licensed. A trademark can be assigned with or without the goodwillattached to it.

Renewal:

The trademarks can be renewed perpetually, are renewable for a period of 10 years on payment of prescribed fees.

Express processing:

Under Indian trademark law now it is possible to expedite the various proceeding e.g. search, examination etc. by filing a request with prescribed fees. Indian Trademarks law are at par with the International laws and has stringent procedures for safeguarding and protecting interest of the proprietor of mark.