A trademark, popularly known as a brand name, is a unique symbol, logo or word(s) used
to represent a business or its products / services. It enables the consuming public to
distinguish the goods / services of one trader from another. It is strongly advisable that
you register your trademark or brand name as soon as they are coined. Once registered,
that same symbol or series of words cannot be used by any other organization, forever, as
long as it remains in use and proper paperwork and fees are paid.
Over time, trademarks become synonymous with a company name, so that you don’t
even need to see the name to recognize a particular business. Think of the apple shape
with the bite taken out that Apple uses as its logo, the swoosh logo that Nike features on
all of its products, or the golden arches McDonald’s registered decades ago.
The fact that we so easily associate symbols and words with companies and their brands
is one of the biggest advantages of their use. When a customer sees a familiar logo or
phrase, they have instant recognition, which can drive preference and, ultimately, sales.
Trademarks fall into two general categories: Trademarks and Service Marks.
Marks that identify goods or products of a trader to the general public are known as
Trademarks.
Marks that identify services are known as Service Marks. A service mark is a logo used
by service industries to distinguish its services from those of another provider (e.g.
entertainment, transportation, or travel agents).
Once a Trademark is registered, that same symbol or series of words cannot be used by
any other organization as long as it remains in use and proper paperwork and fees are
paid.
It becomes a prima facie proof of ownership of the applicant. The proprietor of the
registered Trademark will then have all the benefits, remedies and protection afforded
by the Trade Marks Act, 1999.
You also have the right to recover damages from any party found to have infringed or
misused your mark, plus costs for the suit.
Individuals, Sole Proprietors, Partnerships, Companies, or lawful associates, provided
they meet the requirements of the Trade Mark Act.
Trademark is valid for a period of 10 years from the date of application and can be
renewed thereafter for a further period of 10 years at a time.
No, a trademark registered in India only gives protection in India. If you intend to export
your goods overseas, a separate application must be made in each of the countries where
you seek protection.
However, there is an option of getting registered in 28 countries together via Community
Trademark (CTM) application.
A Trademark may be limited wholly or in part to any color combination, and any such
limitation shall be taken into consideration by the tribunal having to decide on the
distinctive character of the Trademark.
However, if the Trademark is registered without limitation of color, it shall be deemed
to be registered for all colors.
Yes, India has four Trademark offices located at Kolkata, New Delhi, Mumbai and
Chennai. Each office has a separate territorial jurisdiction.
The appropriate office for filing the application normally depends on where the
applicant resides, has domicile, place of business, or origin of the invention. In case of
foreign applicants, it depends on the address for service in India given by such applicant.
Conducting a search is the first step in the process of registration of a Trademark
application. It is advisable to conduct a search so that you can get to know about the
availability of the proposed mark whether it is clear to adopt, already registered, or
whether a similar trademark is being used by some other person.
A Trademark application (TM-A) can be filed for a single class or multiple classes.
An application claiming priority from a convention country can also be filed in India
within 6 months from the priority date.
The Registrar will cause the application to be examined in accordance with the
provisions of the Trademark Act. If an objection to the mark is raised, an official
Examination Report will be issued by the Registrar within 3 months to 1 year of filing,
depending upon the backlog of the Trademark Registry.
The Registry may accept or refuse the application subject to the provisions of the Act.
A Trademark application can be refused or objected to on relative or absolute grounds
which mainly relate to similarity with already registered marks or lack of distinctive
character. The applicant can submit a reply to the Examination Report within
30 days from the date of the report.
If the examiner, after scrutinizing the reply to the examination report, finds it
appropriate, then the trademark will be accepted and advertised in the Trademark
Journal. If the examiner is not satisfied with the reply, then the matter may be listed
for a hearing on a stipulated date and time.
After examination and upon acceptance of the response by the Registrar, the
application is ordered for advertisement or publication in the Trademark Journal.
An application is advertised in the Trademark Journal to invite the public to file
opposition against the registration of the trademark.
Once a mark is accepted, the Registrar advertises the mark in the official Trademark
Journal, which is published and available on the Registry’s website every Monday.
Once the Trademark is published in the Trademark Journal, any aggrieved person can
oppose its registration by filing a notice of opposition with the Registry. The notice
of opposition must be filed within the prescribed period of 4 months from the date
on which the mark was published in the Trademark Journal.
If the application for registration after its advertisement is unopposed, or if opposed
but decided in favor of registration, the mark will be registered and a registration
certificate will be issued.
The registration of the trademark remains valid for a period of 10 years from the
date of filing the application and can be renewed thereafter for a further period
of 10 years at a time.
If any person is aggrieved by an entry wrongly made or wrongly remaining on the
register of trademarks, they are entitled to file a petition for cancellation of
registration or rectification of the register for removal of the registered mark.
Rectification of a registered trademark is a proceeding in which a party seeks to
remove a registered trademark from the register.
Rectification can be filed only after a trademark is registered on the following grounds:
A Copyright is a set of rights given under the Copyright Statute to the creators of
artistic, literary, musical, dramatic, sound recording and cinematography films.
A Copyright does not protect concepts, ideas, discoveries, procedures and methods.
To get the protection of Copyright, the work must be original.
Copyright is a bundle of rights that confers on its owners the right to reproduce the
work, issue copies of the work to the public, perform the work in public,
communicate the work to the public, make any translation of the work, make any
adaptation of the work, and make cinematographic films or sound recordings in
respect of the work.
The owners enjoy certain moral rights as well such as:
Any individual who is the author or rightful owner, or his/her assignee or legal heir,
can file an application for registration of copyright of work.
In practice, the © symbol is usually followed by the year when copies of the work
were first made available, and the name of the copyright owner. Sometimes there may
also be a statement indicating the terms of permitted use.
In cases where owners only allow their works for very limited usage, the term
“All Rights Reserved” may be found after this symbol.
In case of a cinematography film, sound recording, photography, work of the
government or work of an international body, validity of the copyright is for
60 years from the date of publication.
In the case of original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, the validity is
the lifetime of the author plus 60 years after the death of the author.
Upon filing an application for copyright with complete details and copies, the
Registrar will issue a diary number and the author or rightful owner has to wait for a
mandatory period of 30 days for any objection that may be filed in the Copyright
Office against the claim that the concerned work is created by the applicant.
If any objection is filed, it may take another one month to decide whether the work
could be registered by the Registrar of Copyrights after giving an opportunity of
hearing the matter from both the parties.
If no objection is filed within the said period, the application is then formally
examined and objections by the examiner, if any, are raised, or any extra documents
required are requested for. The response to the objection or examination report has
to be filed within 30 days.
A Copyright registration certificate is issued by the Copyright Office after the
objections, if any, are overcome to the satisfaction of the Copyright Office.
A Patent is a statutory right for an invention granted for a limited period of time to the patentee by the Government, in exchange for full disclosure of the invention. It allows the inventor to exclude others from making, using, selling, or importing the patented product or process without permission.
Patent rights are usually enforced in a court. A court may stop patent infringement or declare a patent invalid if successfully challenged by a third party. The patent owner has the right to decide who may or may not use the patented invention during the protection period.
The owner may license the invention to others or sell the patent rights. Once the patent expires, the invention enters the public domain and can be commercially used by others. Patents encourage innovation by rewarding inventors for their creativity and providing recognition and financial benefits.
Patent protection is generally granted for 20 years from the date of filing the application. For applications filed under the national phase of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the term of the patent is 20 years from the international filing date.
No. Patent protection is territorial in nature and is effective only within India. There is no concept of a global patent.
However, filing an application in India allows the applicant to file corresponding applications in convention countries or under the PCT within 12 months from the filing date in India.
An invention relating to a product or process that is new, involves an inventive step, and is capable of industrial application can be patented. However, it must not fall under the non-patentable categories mentioned in Sections 3 and 4 of the Patents Act.
A patent application can be filed by the true and first inventor or by his assignee, either alone or jointly with another person. The legal representative of a deceased inventor can also apply for a patent.
A patent application should be filed as early as possible. Filing a provisional specification helps establish a priority date for the invention. Delays may risk another inventor filing first or accidental publication of the invention.
Generally, inventions that have been published or publicly displayed cannot be patented due to lack of novelty.
However, the Patents Act provides a 12-month grace period in certain cases such as publication in journals, exhibitions organized by the Government, or disclosure before a learned society.
Yes. Patent applications remain confidential for 18 months from the filing or priority date. After that, they are published in the Official Journal of the Patent Office and become available for public inspection.
India has four Patent Offices located in Kolkata, New Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai. Each office has its own territorial jurisdiction depending on the applicant’s residence, place of business, or origin of the invention.
The applicant has to provide all details of the invention with as much detail as possible.
The following information is required:
The drawings and diagrams should clearly explain the working of the invention with visual
illustrations. They play an important role in a patent application.
Ideally, if you have worked on the invention during the research and development phase,
you should maintain lab records duly signed and dated by you and the concerned authority.
Conducting a search is an important step in the process of patent registration so that it
can be determined whether the invention meets the patentability criteria under the Indian
Patents Act.
Patent drafting is the process of preparing patent claims, specifications, and drawings.
It plays a crucial role in the prosecution, management, and maintenance of a patent
application.
According to the provisions of the Patents Act, an application for a patent can be filed
at the head office of the Indian Patent Office or its branches depending upon the
jurisdiction where the applicant resides, has domicile, or has a principal place of
business.
A patent application can be filed as:
An application for patent filed with the Patent Office without claiming priority from
any other application is called an ordinary application.
If the invention is at an early research and development stage, a provisional application
can be filed. It provides the following benefits:
After filing a provisional application, the applicant secures the filing date and gets
12 months to submit the complete specification. If the complete specification is not
filed within 12 months, the application will be abandoned.
As per Section 135 of the Indian Patents Act, when an applicant files a patent
application claiming priority from a similar application filed in a convention country,
it is called a convention application. It must be filed within 12 months from the date
of the earliest priority application.
After filing the complete specification along with the patent application, the
application is published after 18 months from the first filing date.
If the applicant does not want to wait for 18 months, an early publication request can
be filed with the prescribed fee. In such cases, the patent application is published
within one month from the date of the request.
The patent application is examined only after filing a Request for Examination (RFE).
After receiving this request, the controller assigns the application to a patent
examiner who reviews it based on various patentability criteria such as:
The examiner prepares a First Examination Report (FER) which may include prior art
documents similar to the claimed invention. The applicant is then notified of the
objections.
Most patent applications receive objections based on the examination report. The
applicant must file an appropriate reply addressing the objections after analysing the
report.
This gives the inventor an opportunity to explain the novelty of the invention over
existing prior art references.
Once the patent application satisfies all patentability requirements, it is placed
in order for grant. The grant of the patent is notified in the Patent Journal which
is published periodically.
An industrial design means features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament, whether in two dimensional or three dimensional form, applied to an article by any industrial process or means which in the finished article appeals to and is judged by the eye.
Articles commonly registered include containers, bottles, furniture, lamp shapes, vases, packaging designs, etc.
To be registrable, an industrial design must be new and original in India or elsewhere. It must not have been disclosed before, must satisfy the design definition and must not be contrary to public order or morality.
An application for design registration can be filed by any person claiming to be the proprietor of a new or original design.
An application for design can be filed at any of the four Patent Offices located in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai or Kolkata.
However, the Designs Wing of the Patent Office at Kolkata is the head office for handling design applications and the other offices transmit applications to Kolkata for further processing.
Industrial designs falling under the following categories are not registrable:
Additionally, the following items are not registrable under the Designs Act:
An important criterion is that the article must exist independently of the design. If the design is removed and only blank paper or cloth remains, such articles are generally not eligible.
The owner of a registered industrial design obtains exclusive rights over the design and can prevent others from using it without permission.
These rights allow the owner to license the design, apply it to products for sale, or sell the design for monetary consideration.
An Industrial Design is valid for a period of 10 years and can be renewed for an additional period of 5 years.
You should file the design application before the design is disclosed to the public.
Registration gives the owner exclusive rights to make, import, sell, hire or offer for sale any article to which the registered design has been applied.
An Industrial Design application can be filed in a prescribed format accompanied by
the prescribed fee and four copies of the representation of the design (size 33 cm x
25 cm with suitable margins). The drawing should clearly depict the features of the
design from all views and must clearly state the view.
An application for design can be filed at any of the four Patent Offices located in
Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai or Kolkata. However, the Designs Wing of the Patent Office
at Kolkata is the head office for handling design applications and the other three
offices also transfer such applications to Kolkata for further processing and
prosecution.
On receipt of the application in the Patent Office, the application is numbered,
dated and taken up for examination. Unlike patents, there is no requirement to file
a separate request for examination. Design applications, once filed, are
automatically taken up for examination.
If any defects are noticed in the application, they are communicated to the
applicant or to his agent. The defects must be corrected within a period of
six months from the official filing date of the application.
If the defects are not rectified as required by the Controller, a personal hearing
may be provided to the applicant. The Controller’s decision after the hearing
is communicated in writing, stating the reasons, to the applicant or his agent.
An application is accepted when all shortcomings raised in the examination
report have been rectified. If accepted, the Patent Office issues the
registration certificate and the design is published in the Patent Office Journal.
The registration of an Industrial Design remains valid for a period of
10 years from the date of filing and can be renewed for a further
period of 5 years.
When any of the rights granted under the Intellectual Property (IP) regime are violated,
the aggrieved party has two non-mutually exclusive remedies – Civil Remedies
and Criminal Remedies. Even though these remedies are distinct and
independent, they can be availed simultaneously.
The principal function of the judiciary is to provide legal remedies against infringement
of personal and property rights. Infringement of intellectual property rights is
considered a tortious invasion of property.
Courts in India have the power to grant relief in cases related to violation or infringement
of intellectual property rights. The judiciary not only adjudicates intellectual property
matters but also interprets various IP statutes for better understanding and application.
Civil remedies can be enforced by filing a suit for infringement or passing off before
the competent court. The following civil remedies may be granted:
The criminal remedies available to owners of trademarks, copyrights, and patents
are as follows:
Yes. It is a punishable offence if any animal is subjected to cruelty as specified under
Section 11 (a) to (o) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
Section 11(1)(a) to (o) of the Act specifies acts that amount to cruelty against animals.
If the offender does not stop the act, a legal case can be filed in court.
Killing a pet is illegal and constitutes cruelty under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
It is also a cognizable offence under Sections 428 and 429 of the Indian Penal Code.
Such an act falls under Theft (Section 379 IPC).
Animals are treated as movable property under the law.
Punishment may extend to imprisonment up to 3 years or fine or both.
The Animal Welfare Board of India is a statutory body established under
Section 4 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
Its purpose is to promote animal welfare and prevent animals from being subjected to unnecessary pain or suffering.
As per AWBI guidelines dated 26 February 2015:
Such bans violate fundamental freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution of India.
No. As per AWBI guidelines, housing societies cannot prohibit pets from using lifts or impose charges on pet owners for doing so.
Street dogs cannot be beaten, relocated or killed.
They may only be sterilized and vaccinated under the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2001
and returned to their original location.
Yes. Threatening or intimidating animal caregivers can amount to criminal intimidation
under Section 503 of the Indian Penal Code.
Under Section 2(b) of the Performing Animals Rules, 1973, performing animals are
animals used for entertainment where the public is admitted through sale of tickets.
Wildlife protection laws are primarily governed by the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
The Act prohibits hunting, poaching, trapping or harming wild animals.
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