What is a trademark?
A Trademark is a sign, symbol or design of one person which distinguishes his product from the product of his competitor. A trademark can be a word, logo, pictures, color or combination of any of these. In a layman language a trademark is a sign or symbol which will differentiate his product from his rivals. a Trademark provides an identity to the business or services offered by an individual.
What are the essential features that a trademark should have?
There are two essential features of a trademark. The first essential feature is that it should be distinctive and second essential feature is that it should not be deceptive. Distinctive would mean that the trademark should be different from the product sold or services offered. The example of a distinctive trademark is apple for computer. Besides being distinctive a trademark should not be deceptive. Deceptive here means that the trademark should not be such that it misleads the consumer. An example of deceptive trademark would be having an iso registration mark for a product which does not have the certification.
What marks can be adopted as trademark?
The following are the marks which can be adopted as trademark:
Any name for invented name
Letters or numerals or combination of letters and numerals
Monograms
Combination of colours
Shapes of goods or their packaging
Three dimensional marks
Sounds when they are said in a particular fashion
What marks can be registered as Trademark?
According to the Trade Mark Act, 1999 the following types of trademarks can be registered in India:
1) Product trademarks which are associated with particular goods
2) Service trademarks which are associated with particular kind of service
What do the symbols TM, SM AND R signify?
The symbol ™ stands for an unregistered trademark once the application for registration has been filed.
The symbol ℠ signifies an unregistered service mark once the application for registration has been filed.
The symbol ® signifies a registered trademark. A remedy exists in law if a registered trademark is used by any other person except the owner of the trademark.