trademark registration - acsguwahati/TRADEMARK-REGISTRATION GitHub Wiki

TRADEMARK REGISTRATION A trademarkis a type of Intellectual Property that protects names and other marks associated with a particular product or company. A trademark can be a wordmark, logo, combination of letters and numerals, shape of goods, packaging, or combination of colors or any combination thereof which identifies products or services of a particular source from others.

A trademark owner can be an individual, firm, company, society, or any legal entity. A trademark may be located on a package, a label, on an Invoice, or on the product itself.

An applicant can write TM on the logo/word mark after filing the trademark application. The symbol ® which indicates that the trademark is registered can be used after successful registration of the trademark.

It is common for a business owner to use multiple trademarks for their goods, alongside a shared mark that represents their enterprise, known as a house mark. This helps indicate that the goods originate from the same business, ensuring consistency and reinforcing the brand’s identity. A trademark is valid for 10 years, after that registration has to be renewed for another 10 years.

WHY TRADEMARK TO BE REGISTERED? Applying a trademark is not enough, a trademark has to be registered to get the maximum protection. Once a trademark is registered it protects not only the brand but also protects the unique font, color combination, get up, trade dress of a product packaging and helps to establish one’s prior and superior rights in the trademark. A trademark gives identity to a brand and helps to earn the customer’s trust and goodwill through its valued product portfolio, ethical business practices, and governance.

This protection allows a business to establish its brand’s reputation, prevent counterfeiting, and enjoy legal remedies which may include financial refunds in case of infringement.

A registered brand can sue for infringement, passing off, etc. as reputation and goodwill is always at stake.

The essential function of a trademark is to exclusively identify the source or origin of products or services, so a trademark, properly called, indicates the source or serves as a badge of origin.

In other words, trademarks serve to identify a particular entity as the source of goods or services. The use of a trademark in this way is known as trademark use. Certain exclusive rights attach to a registered mark.

Trademarks are used not only by businesses but also by non-commercial organizations and religions to protect their identity and goodwill associated with their name.

Trademark rights generally arise out of the use of, or to maintain exclusive rights over, that sign about certain products or services, assuming there are no other trademark objections.

TRADEMARK CLASSIFICATION? In trademark, goods, and services are classified according to the nature of the goods and services which are mentioned in the Fourth Schedule of Trademark Marks Rules, 2002.

In total, there are 45 classes (1 to 34 cover goods and 35 to 45 cover services). The idea behind this system is to specify and limit the extension of intellectual property right by determining which goods or services are covered by the mark and to unify classification systems around the world.