2024, Vol. 6, Issue 6, Part B

Although safeguarding unregistered trademarks without any direct or significant sales in India presents several challenges for rights holders, the courts are beginning to adopt a more lenient stance. Maintaining brand equity presents a variety of issues for rights holders. Updates to various features are necessary to keep businesses engaging and new in the face of shifting consumer preferences. Right holders prioritise protecting the principal mark over all other marks and elements, such as colour, representation, and tag lines, due to financial constraints. These extra components occasionally might not be eligible for protection at the moment of adoption, but they have the potential to acquire secondary significance over time.

Copycats follow closely following trademarks and their characteristics as they gain popularity. A rights holder often faces direct mark infringement when rival products use the same mark, when parts of the mark are used without permission, or when the mark is used on entirely unrelated items. These days, a trademark is quite important for identifying products and services according to their calibre. A trademark is a type of good and reputation that is associated with a supplier of products or services, and it helps the customer recognise them by giving them a particular mark. It is capable of being produced legally since it is a form of intellectual property. Infringement of trademark rights is considered passing off for unregistered trademarks and infringement for registered trademarks. In India, remedies for trademark infringement include account for profit, damages, and injunction. The Indian Trade Mark Act of 1999 now governs trademarks in India.