Trademark
A trademark is a symbol, word, phrase, design, or combination thereof that distinguishes the goods or services of one company from those of others. It serves as a brand identifier and helps protect a company’s brand identity from infringement or misuse. Trademarks are legally registered with government authorities to provide exclusive rights to their use in commerce, ensuring that other businesses cannot legally use similar marks that could cause confusion among consumers.
Legal protection for trademarks
An individual or entity using a trademark for their products can gradually acquire exclusive rights through its use. However, registering the trademark under relevant intellectual property laws is strongly advised for enhanced protection and to prevent others from using it. Trademarks can be protected indefinitely, as long as they are renewed periodically and legal action is taken against any infringement.
Trademark Application
Ensuring that the selected brand name or logo is not entered in the Trademark Registry India,the same can be registered. The first and foremost step in registration is to file a trademark application form at the Trademark Office,India. The Indian Trademark Offices are located at Chennai,Mumbai,Delhi, Ahmedabad and Kolkata. Mostly filing is done online. When the filing of application gets completed,an official receipt is immediately issued for future reference
Trademark publication
The trademark registration process includes a publication phase where the trademark is announced publicly, allowing anyone to object to its registration. If no objections are raised within 3-4 months of publication, the trademark moves forward to registration. If an opposition is filed, a fair hearing is conducted, and the registrar will decide on the registration based on the outcome of the hearing.
Trademark Examination
Once the application is filed, an examiner will review it for any discrepancies. The examiner’s response may be unconditional acceptance, conditional acceptance, or an objection. Unconditional acceptance leads to the trademark being published in the Trademark Journal. If the examiner’s acceptance is conditional or if objections are raised, an examination report will be issued outlining the issues or conditions that need to be addressed. The applicant will then have a month to fulfill these conditions or respond to the objections.
Copyright Protection
The Copyright Act of 2012 extends copyright protection to the digital realm by introducing several key measures:
- Penalties: It imposes penalties for circumventing technological protection measures and rights management information.
- Liability: It defines the liability of internet service providers for infringing activities that occur through their platforms.
- Statutory Licenses: It introduces statutory licenses for cover versions and broadcasting organizations, ensuring that authors and music composers receive royalties.
- Rights for Performers: It grants both economic and moral rights exclusively to performers.
- Copyright Societies: It guarantees equal membership rights in copyright societies for authors and other rights holders.
- Access for Disabled Individuals: It includes exceptions to copyright to facilitate access for physically disabled individuals.
Registration of a design
Registration of a design grants the owner an exclusive right (namely copyright) to use the design for the article under which it was registered. The right to sue the infringement of a registered design is conferred on the owner. This proves that registration of Design is indispensable for the protection of the Product Design. In addition to that an article must have its existence independent of the design facilitating the existence of the article without the design being applied to it.
