Germany introduced its first trademark law in 1874. The Trade Marks Protection Act of 1894 replaced the previous Act. Currently, the German Trademark Act, which entered into force in 1995, is the main law governing trademark protection in Germany. In 2019, a new amendment was introduced that talks about removing the need for a graphic or visual representation of trademarks, the introduction of the certification mark, new rules on anti-counterfeiting measures, etc. Currently, trademark law in India is mainly governed by the Trademarks Act, 1999 and the Trademark Rules 2017, which are established under the Act. The law and regulations list the procedural aspects of trademark application, examination, publication, opposition, registration, renewal, correction and withdrawal of a trademark. As with patents, the Chief Administrator of the Trademark System in India is the Office of the Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (“CGPDTM”), which reports to the Ministry of Industrial Policy and Promotion (“DIPP”) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The Indian Trade Marks Act protects trademarks through the Act under the Trade Marks Act 1999 and also under the common law remedy of misleading marketing. [1] Legal trademark protection is administered by the Comptroller General of Patents, Designs, and Trademarks, a government agency subordinate to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The purpose of a trademark on a product sold on the market is to protect the consumer from confusion of that product with another similar product on the market.
One of the earliest evidence of “labeling” (as in branding) was the marking of cattle and other animals. As it began long before reading and writing, the first form of mark was only in the form of drawings. Murals from ancient Egypt depict cattle marked by agricultural workers. Cave paintings from southwestern Europe from the late Stone Age or early Bronze Age show cattle on their flanks. [1] In Laxmikant v. Patel v. Chetanbhai Shah,[4] the Supreme Court explained the purpose of trademark law as follows: In some countries, olfactory marks are accepted if they are accompanied by a graphic representation. The Smell trademark is sometimes protected by copyright. Many smells are associated with a particular manufacturer. In some cases, a particular fragrance is also a product in itself, in other cases, it is a fragrance applied or added to the product, not the natural smell of the product itself. The trademark is one of the areas of intellectual property and its purpose is to protect the trademark of the product or service.
Therefore, a trademark is defined as a mark that can be represented graphically and that is able to distinguish the goods and services of one person from those of others, and may include the shape of the goods, their packaging and their combination of colors, they include a device, a trademark, a title, a label ticket, a name, a signature, word, letter, number, form of merchandise, packaging or combination of colours, or any combination thereof. [7] Registration of the trademark is not mandatory, but in the current scenario there is an increase in infringements and many cases are contested, so it is advisable to register trademarks. There is also a need to protect trademarks globally. This is said because most have regional or local brand names and most are constantly pushing these weak names as they struggle to gain global approval. Trademark law in India prior to 1940 was based on the common law principles of distribution and equity as they were in force in England prior to the enactment of the first Registration Act of 1875. [3] The first trademark law in India was the Trade Marks Act 1940, which contained a provision similar to the UK Trade Marks Act 1938. In 1958, the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 was enacted, which consolidates the trade-mark provisions contained in other statutes such as the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Maritime Customs Act. [3] The Trade Marks and Merchandise Act, 1958 was repealed by the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and is the applicable law for registered trademarks.
[3] The 1999 Act was enacted to comply with the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement.