India Inc can now register trademark as ‘well-known’


In a significant development, the Trade Mark Rules 2017 — which were notified on March 6 — permit companies to apply for their trademark to be recognised as a 'well-known' one. In simple terms, a well-known trademark is one that is well recognised and any infringement could result in misleading the public.

Prior to this notification, any trademark was held as 'well-known' by courts only consequent to a dispute regarding its use, such as when another party applied for registration of the same or similar trademark. IPR advocates have many examples to share. 'Amul' for instance, was given the status of a 'well-known' mark, owing to infringement of the mark in the name of 'IMUL' by another milk cooperative. Watch manufacturer 'Rolex' got a favourable order from the Delhi high court, which recognised 'Rolex' as a well-known mark, and restrained Alex Jewellery from using this name for artificial jewellery as it could be misleading the public. Other well-known decisions are in the case of Whirlpool, Daimler-Benz, to name a few.....................Read more

 

Source: The Times of India


Comments (0)



Please Login or Register to join groups