Well-known Trademark in India

Well-known trademarks are the trademarks, which have wider reach and recognition. So, the registration and subsequent protection involve a combination of legal measures, including authorized trademark registration, legal action, and international agreements. The special type of registration strictly prevents unauthorized use and protect the reputation and goodwill of the trademark holder.

Meaning of Well-known Trademark in India

According to India's Trademarks Act, 1999, Section 2 (1) (zg), a "well-known trademark" is defined as "a mark which has become so to the substantial segment of the public which uses such goods or receives such services that the use of such mark in relation to other goods or services would be likely to be taken as indicating a connection in the course of trade or rendering of services between those goods or services and a person using the mark."

The definition that came before this one demonstrates without a reasonable doubt the immense protection that may be provided to a renowned mark, protection that is not limited to a particular category of goods or services.

Provisions Related to Well Known Trademark in India

In Section 11(2), it is stated that a trademark shall not be registered if or to the extent that an earlier trademark is already well-known in India. This is recognised as one of the connected reasons for rejection of a trademark, and it is recognised as one of the grounds for rejection of a trademark. One of the related grounds for refusing to grant a trademark is because of this.

In this part of Section 11, the criteria for evaluating whether or not a mark is considered to be a well-known mark are laid forth, and those criteria are as follows −

·         A description of the duration, extent, and geographical area of any use of that trademark; a description of the duration, extent, and geographical area of any promotion of that trademark, including advertising or publicity and presentation, at fairs or exhibitions of the goods or services to which the trademark applies; a description of the duration and geographic area of any presentation of the goods or services to which the trademark applies; a description of the duration and geographical area of any use of that trademark.

·         In Section 11, it specifies the elements and factors that must be met in order to be eligible for the issuance of a well-known trademark (9). Additionally, there are:

o    That there is on record an application for registration of the trademark in India.

o    The fact that an overwhelming majority of people are already familiar with the trademark.

o    The fact that the trademark has been used, at least occasionally, in India.

Registration of Well-known Trademark in India

The first step in registering a trademark in India is filing an application, and that step in the process has already begun. The trademark has been registered in respective jurisdiction.

·         According to the provisions of Section 11(10), it is the duty of the Registrar of Trade Marks to protect a famous trademark from being infringed upon by other marks that are either identical to it or that are extremely similar to it.

·         Rule 124 of the Trademark Rules of 2017 details the process that must be followed in order to submit an application for a trademark. This process may be summed up as follows for the submission of applications for well-known trademarks.

·         In order to get the process started for the recognition of a well-known trademark, an application must be submitted using the TM-M form. This is required in order to get the process started.

·         Electronic filing is the only method permitted for submitting the form, and there is a fee of one hundred thousand rupees that must be paid.

·         The applicant is obligated to provide the written proof, which consists of a summary of their case and evidence to support their entitlement to file an application.

·         If you want to give yourself the best possible chance of getting accepted, you need to provide the following kinds of proof with your application:

o    A list of any honours or recognitions won; documentation showing use of the trademark in India and/or overseas; any relevant domestic or foreign registrations for the mark, if applicable.

o    Annual promotional and advertisement expenses annual sales turnover worldwide including India in relation to goods sold and/or services provided under the mark Annual sales turnover worldwide including India in relation to goods sold and/or services provided under the mark Annual sales turnover worldwide including India in relation to goods sold and/or services provided under the mark Annual sales turnover worldwide including India in relation to goods sold and/or services provided under the mark Annual sales turnover worldwide including India in relation to goods sold and/or services provided under the mark Annual sales turnover worldwide including India in relation to goods sold.

o    Specific information on any steps taken for enforcement and the orders that were issued in the event that any orders recognising the mark as a well-known mark were issued, specifics on those orders are included below.

·         Every piece of documented proof must be submitted, and the overall size of the file must be less than 10 megabytes. The PDF format is necessary, and the file must not exceed that size.

·         After that, the papers that were delivered to the Trade Mark Registry are analysed by the office that was responsible for their delivery.

·         The moment has come to carry out the application review by means of publication.

·         If there are any objections to the mark, the applicant is the one who is responsible for processing and handling them. For the purposes of examination and/or determination, the Registrar has the authority to make any requests for supplementary papers he deems appropriate.

·         If the mark is accepted by the Registrar and declared to be a "well-known" mark, it is then published in the list of well-known marks that is maintained by the Trademark registration, which is also available online. If the mark is not approved and declared to be a "well-known" mark, it is not published. Before the decision of a trade mark as a well-known mark, the Registrar may solicit objections from the general public if the mark is not accepted and recognised as a "well-known" mark by the Registrar.

·         Within the next thirty days, any of these objections that you have must be presented and submitted.

·         Even after a mark has been registered, the Registrar has the authority to remove it from the list at any time if it is discovered that the same mark has been incorrectly or accidentally proclaimed as a well-known mark. This can happen even if the Registrar was unaware that the mark in question was a well-known mark. Even if the trademark has previously been registered, this is still a possibility.

·         Any appeal against this decision of the Registrar must be brought before the High Court within three months of the day on which such a decision was made (which was formerly known as the IPAB).

Conclusion

A well-known trademark in India is a trademark that is widely popular among the public as being associated with a specific product or service. In addition to this, its geographical coverage is much wider nationally as well as internationally. In legal terms, a well-known trademark is one that has acquired a significant reputation and goodwill in the market. For example, Nestle, TATA, Reliance, etc. In India, a well-known trademark is protected under Section 2(1)(zg) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, which states that such a trademark cannot be registered by any other person for similar or identical products or services. This provision is intended to prevent others from using a well-known trademark to mislead consumers or take advantage of the goodwill associated with the mark.

FAQs

Q1. What are some world famous trademarks?

Ans. Following are some of the globally known trademarks:

·         APPLE

·         Google

·         Tesla

·         Mercedes

·         BMW

·         Toyota

·         Audi

·         TATA

·         Reliance

·         Amazon

·         Microsoft

·         COCA-COLA

·         MCDONALDS

·         NIKE, etc.

Q2. Which is the No 1 brand in world?

Ans. Though this is a very subjective question, which answer may keep varying, depending upon the market value of respective brands; however, some of the brands that always remain on top are −

·         Google

·         Apple

·         Microsoft

·         Amazon, etc.