Introduction
India has seen a massive boom in brand applications over the past decade. In fact, in 2020, for the first time, India surpassed Japan in the number of brands submitted, making it the world’s biggest brand filer. How are brands registering themselves with this growth of accession in the number of applications?
This can be answered by looking back just a little into the recent past. It was in the year 2016 that the Indian government announced a national IPR policy aimed at beefing up IPR ecosystem in India, among other things, for rapidly registering procedures and strengthening enforcement mechanisms and processes of all IP rights.Beforethisguidelines were implemented, applications, testing, hearing and sales processes were run in physics/offline mode, which significantly delayed ensuring registration due to branded application deficits at all registration stages. As a result of the implementation of the guidelines, Trade Mark Registration revised internal processes, increasing the use of technology and increased workers, improving the efficiency of procedures and accuracy of registration records.
Unique branding is of utmost importance to businesses and individuals in the fast-paced and competitive digital age. Trademark registration grants the protection of that identity and all the exclusivity and distinctiveness of products and services. Trademark registration in India is controlled by the Trademark Act of 1999 and Trademark Rules of 2017. A law exists under which trademarks can be further registered, protected, and enforced, which enables brand owners to curb their rights to their intellectual property. Any person claiming ownership of a trademark could apply for registration, and this includes natural person, body corporate, proprietary or partnership firms, start-ups, small enterprises, and trusts.The increased adoption of technology has improved the efficiency and accuracy of records in registering brand markings in India. Trademark registration takes less than 12 months which used to take about 2-3 years.
Advantage of Registration
Registering an Indian brand has several compelling benefits-
Exclusive Rights: Trademark Registration grants the owner an exclusive right to use the brand in connection with the goods or services that cover the registration. Provides legal estimates of property and validity and promotes defense against violations.
Protection against Injury: Registered Trademark are protected according to law, allowing owners to take legal action against misuse or injuries.
Brand recognition and goodwill: Registered trademarks help build consumer brand awareness and trust and contribute to goodwill and business appeal.
Licensing and Monetization: Registered trademarks can use licenses or franchises. This could potentially generate sales and business expansion.
Domestic and International Protection: Registered trademarks provide protection across India and can be used as the basis for protection of other countries via the Madrid protocol.
Current Scenario of Registration
Trademarks registered in the trademark registration must meet two important requirements. The brand must be able to distinguish between the brand owner’s products or services for graphic representation. Furthermore, a brand should not resemble a brand or brand already registered with the registrar.
Fast analysis of the trademark registration process in the registration marking register. This can be seen in two phases consisting of formal tests. Formal tests are performed immediately after the application is submitted to ensure that all formal requirements are met (i.e. all paperwork was properly filled out and all necessary documents were displayed as part of the application). Applications for a comprehensive examination will then be subject to absolute and relative reasons, and based on this, the examination report will be issued by the register. Applicants must submit their answers to the exam report within one month after the question. If the petitioner does not address the objection in the examination report, the examiner plans a hearing in which the oral discussion will be submitted to support the application.
However, if the examiner is satisfied with the answer, the mark will be published in the trademark journal for public examinations. After this publication, each third party who wishes to oppose the trademark can submit an opposition within four months of the date of publication.
Now the online portal has made the renewal process easier for the Trade Marks Registry. A duly prescribed form and prescribed fees will see the renewal of the mark within two or three days upon filing the request, provided everything is procedurally in order; and that renewal of the mark is shown on the online portal for the registry. The renewal will also be intimated and uploaded at the same time on the website. No hard copy of the renewal intimation would be issued to the proprietor or his agent/counsel.
As per regulations, the applicants have the liberty to track the status of their trademark applications on the official website of the trademark office. Trademark registration in India is important when protecting your brand identity and to earn an edge in the market. The knowledge of legal prerequisites, processes, and compliance will help businesses to safeguard their intellectual property and build a stronghold in the market.
It is also possible to trademark words without a logo. Such brands are called word brands, regardless of their design or foundation, and protect the word or phrase itself. Wordmarks grant you the exclusive right to use words in connection with a particular product or service, preventing others from using them in ways that could cause confusion. This type of brand is often used to protect brand names, slogans, or unique terms that distinguish between companies and products. Wordmark registration provides flexibility as owners use words in a variety of styles, fonts or logos, while maintaining legal protection at the same time.
Unregistered Trademark
Unregistered trademarks are recognized in India under the common laws of this country. The rights to trademark need to be established through passing-off actions under which proof of use of that trademark in India must be offered.In actions for passing-off, Indian Courts generally consider a variety of the following factors:
The prior use of the unregistered trademark; goodwill; reputation, acquired distinctiveness and exclusivity; misrepresentation of origin of goods and services caused by conflicting trademark and likely consumer confusion; and any injury or likelihood of injury to the unregistered trademark’s owner due to misrepresentation.
Further, courts in India have accepted the rights of unregistered foreign trademarks in India based on the trans-border reputation those trademarks enjoy in India.
Challenges and Improvements in Registration
Regarding testing, listening procedures and opposition parties, there is still space for improvement, and the costs of brand registration lawsuits and the resulting applicants are high. In 2020, the Registry trademark reported around 450,000 applications in various registered stadiums. However, for new applications, it was announced that the average time between exams and exams is only 40 days, indicating significant improvements.
Regarding third-party opposition, there are approximately 200,000 pending disputes that the trademark register must address in the near future. The scope of this issue was recognized by the Supreme Court in Delhi. Delhi has directed the registration of brands to develop strategies to tackle applications that are prominent in this gap.
On the light side, providing evidence supporting the opposition and counter statement online announcements and emailed opposition/applications has provided considerable efficiency throughout the process. If opposition to the brand is not followed by the applicant, the register will issue an order command electronically.
Conclusion
Registration has come a long way to make brand registration very quickly and easily, especially when implementing online services. But it still has a long way to go to meet international standards. The same can only be caused by more strength related to workers and infrastructure, where the role of government works. With more foreign investors interested in the Indian market, simple businesses are a critical factor in opening up opportunities for the country. A quick and simple mechanism to secure IP rights and secure business is synonymous with time.
The Indian trademark registry shows significant improvements in relation to efficiency and digitalisation, but is a challenge such as remaining, high costs and complexity of responsibility. These issues can be increased, and through legal simplification, technological advances, the effectiveness of trademark registrations can be improved and a more robust system of Indian intellectual property can be promoted. In India, this implies giving a boost to the technology-friendly simplification of legal procedures along with transparency and accountability so as to furnish a congenial environment for businesses to protect their intellectual properties. This encourages innovation and economic growth because it encourages businesses to invest in brand development and protection.
Reference
- World Intellectual Property Organization, World Intellectual Property Indicators 2021
- Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Limited vs. Controller General of Patents Designs and Trademarks and other connected matters (CGPDTM)
- Hana Onderkova, Trade Mark Registration in India: Traps and Challenges, European IPR Helpdesk
- Renu Suresh, Trademark Registration in India: A Comprehensive Guide, IndiaFilings
- At a glance: trademark registration and use in India,Lexolog
- Aakriti Jain & Dr. Ekta Gupta, Analyzing the Efficacy of Trademark Enforcement Against Infringement of Trademarks in India, IV Indian J. Integrated Res. L. 134 (2024)
This article has been written by Isha Gupta. For any other queries, reach out to us at: queries.ylcc@gmail.com
