Trademark Registration In Chennai

By Author: acsguwahati
Total Articles: 3
Comment this article

TRADEMARK REGISTRATION IN CHENNAI IMPORTANCE
Trademark registration of a brand in Chennai has become productive in modern business world. Trademark registration in Chennai is imperative to prevent others from adopting the same brand name and logo. It has been witnessed that there are some brand that has been in use since long but has not acquired Trademark registration. In that case, the prior user has to engage in legal battle to register the trademark and process becomes lengthy.

THE BENEFITS OF TRADEMARK REGISTRATION FOR BUSINESSES
Trademark registration allows the use of logo, words, symbols that represents a business or the products and services offered by the business. These trademark are used by business to distinguish between the goods and the services that are provided by a business from the goods or services offered by their competitors. Once a company/firm gets trademark registration no other organization can make the same trademark in same category of goods or services as long as the trademark remains in use.

WHO CAN APPLY FOR TRADEMARK REGISTRATION
Any Proprietorship ...
... firm, Partnership firm, LLP, Company, Society, government, and semi-government organizations in Chennai can file an application for trademark registration.

Trademark registration can be for a word, logo, combination of word, alphabet, numerals etc. Trademark registration not only protects a brand but also give recognition to a firm, company etc. and increases its business.

Trademark registration in Chennai can be applied in Proposed to be used, which means even if the trademark is not in use it can be applied. So it is essential that brand in use but not obtained Trademark registration should immediately acquire Trademark registration.

HOW TO APPLY FOR TRADEMARK REGISTRATION ?
Trademark registration is applied in form TM-A with prescribed fees. The process of getting a trademark registered in Chennai is online. The following documents are required for filing fresh trademark application.

Power of Attorney to be submitted by applicant in favor of Attorney.
Pan Card/Aadhar Card of the Proprietor/signatory
Address of the applicant/office address of the entity.
Trade License in case of firm.
Incorporation certificate of Company or LLP.
Logo
Affidavit & supporting user documents like Invoice, bill etc. if trademark already in use.
For any questions related to trademark registration contact our trademark experts for free. visit acsguwahati.com/trademark registration
TRADEMARK REGISTRATION PROCESS IN CHENNAI
Step 1- Search for the trademark which should be done for different combinations in the intellectual property website.

Step 2- Preparation of the application by the Trademark Attorney in Form TM-A, for which power of attorney from applicant required i.e. TM-48.

Step 3- Filing of the application with Trademark registry with prescribed fees.

Step 4- On successfully submission, application number allotted for future reference and applicant eligible to use TM on their trademark.

Step 5- The department process starts like- Formalities check pass, Mark for exam, examination report, hearing, acceptance. Reply to any objection raised during the process has to be submitted within 30 days.

Step 6- If the trademark is accepted, it will be published in the Journal which will remain for 4 months. Any person during this period can file objection if they believe that the advertised trademark registration will hamper their business. If no objection is filed registration is granted after 4 months.

Step 7- If the trademark is refused, the only remedy is to apply for review of the decision by paying applicable fees.

TRADEMARK REGISTRATION FEES IN CHENNAI
For single firm/small enterprise/individual- Rs 4,500/- (Govt. fees)
For partnership firm/LLP/Company- Rs 9,000/- (Govt. fees)

TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT
Trademark Infringement is defined under Section 29 of the Trademarks Act, 1999. It is defined as an unauthorized use of a trademark by a person who is not the registered Proprietor of the trademark. It is the violation of the exclusive rights attached to a registered trademark, without the permission of the registered owner.

Various Courts have held that trademark infringement cause confusion in the minds of the public. The person infringing a trademark take undue advantage of hard earned reputation and goodwill of the registered owner. For trademark infringement what needs to be proved is that infringing trademark is deceptively similar or identical to the registered trademark.

WHAT CONSTITUTES TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT ?
That the plaintiff’s mark is registered.
That the defendant’s mark is identical with, or deceptively similar to the plaintiff’s mark.
That the defendant’s use of the mark is in the course of trade in respect of goods/services covered by the registered trademark.
That use by the defendant is in such manner as to render the use of the mark likely to be taken as being use as a trademark.
That the defendant’s use of the mark is not by way of permitted user and accordingly unauthorized infringing use.
That use of the impugned mark by the defendant (a) takes unfair advantage and or b) is detrimental to the distinctive character or the repute of the plaintiff’s registered mark.
Remedies of Trademark Infringement
Criminal Remedies-

As the trademark infringement matter is a cognizable offence, police complaint can be filed and the infringer can be prosecuted directly. The infringer if found guilty can be punishment with imprisonment and fine.

Civil Remedies-

That a civil suit for trademark infringement shall be filed only before a Court not inferior to a District Court having jurisdiction which can grant the following remedies like:

Injunction against the use of the impugned mark.
Awarding damages.
Appointment of a local commissioner by the respective court for custody or sealing of infringing material and accounts.
Handing over of accounts and profits.
An application under Order 39 rule 1 & 2 of CPC for grant of temporary or ad interim ex-parte injunction. Interim orders are generally ex-parte or after notice.
DEFENCES AGAINST TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT
Fair Use-

In order to claim this defence, the infringer need to show that he received the consent of the registered owner or either proves that he acted without intending to defraud or mislead the consumer of the goods.

Prior User-

Section 34 of the Act recognises prior use of a mark. Prior use of the mark has more rights than the subsequent user even if the subsequent user has the registered the trademark. The benefit will be available to an infringer to prevent the Proprietor or a registered user of a registered trademark to interfere or restrain the continued use of an identical or nearly resembling mark by the infringer.

Removal of a trademark due to non-use-

Section 47 of the Trademark Act provides for the removal of trademark from the register on either of the two grounds-

That the trademark was registered without any bonafide intention on the part of the applicant for registration that it should be used in relation to those goods/services by him.
That up to a date 3 months before the date of application for removal of the mark, a continuous period of 5 years from the date on which the trademark is actually entered in the register or longer has elapsed during which there was no bonafide use thereof in relation to those goods/services.
EFFECT OF CONSENT-
Section 33 of the Trademark Act recognises delay and acquiescence, which states-

Where the Proprietor of an earlier trademark has consented for a continuous period of 5 years in the use of a registered trademark, being aware of that use, he shall no longer be entitled on the basis of that earlier trademark-

To apply for a declaration that the registration of the later trademark is invalid,
To oppose the use of the later trademark in relation to the goods or services in relation to which it has been so used,
Unless the registration of the later trademark was not applied in good faith.

TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT CASE LAWS:
Sony Corporation vs. K. Selvamurthy

In this case, Sony Corporation filed a trademark infringement suit claiming dilution of its well-known SONY trademark against a sole proprietor running a tours and travels business under the name, Sony Tours and Travels. After analysing the facts before it, the District Court came to the conclusion that the Defendant did not take unfair advantage of, or cause detriment to the distinctive character or repute of the Plaintiff’s SONY mark. The Court came to this conclusion as Sony Corporation’s business is limited to electronics and media, which could be differentiated from the tours and travels business of the Defendant. The Court also noted that the use of the word, Sony by the Defendant did not cause any confusion among the consumers. It also took note of the inordinate delay of the Plaintiff in approaching the Court, and granted Defendants Rs. 25, 000/- as costs.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited vs Cipla Limited

In this case, the Respondent/Plaintiff filed a suit for a permanent injunction before the Madras High Court against the Applicant/Defendant for infringement of its copyright and trademark. The Court herein, granted an interim injunction in favour of the Respondent/Plaintiff. Henceforth, the Applicant/Defendant filed three applications with a plea to vacate the interim relief granted on grounds of urgency. The plea was based on the fact that the drugs were of a huge amount, carried an expiry date of 1 year, and were in demand because of the ongoing pandemic as they helped in relieving the Covid-19 symptoms. The Court held that the Respondent/Plaintiff had made out a prima facie case for continuance of the interim order as the balance of convenience continued to be in their favour. While holding so, the Court pointed out that they cannot allow a party to violate another person’s IPR, notwithstanding the fact that the country was facing an unprecedented medical emergency. The Court upheld the interim order and held that it shall continue to remain in force subject to the final decision of the suit.

The Coca Cola Company v. Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd.

The defendant, Bisleri by a master agreement, had sold and assigned the trademark MAAZA including formulation rights, know-how, intellectual property rights and goodwill for India with respect to a mango fruit drink known as MAAZA to Coca Cola.
In 2008, the defendant company filed for registration of the mark MAAZA in Turkey and started exporting fruit drink under the name MAAZA. The plaintiff, Coca Cola claimed permanent injunction and damages for infringement of trademark.
The court granted an interim injunction against the defendant (Bisleri) from using the trademark MAAZA in India as well as for export, which was infringement of trademark.

TRADEMARK OPPOSITION IN CHENNAI
Trademark opposition in Chennai comes under the latter part of the trademark registration process once the same is approved by the department. Trademark opposition is generally filed by the third parties to create a hindrance to the smooth registration process. There is no restriction in filing a trademark opposition in Chennai, whereas defending a trademark is at the hands of the applicant. The government fees for filing trademark opposition is Rs 2700/-.

TRADEMARK RENEWAL & MAINTENANCE IN CHENNAI
Trademark registration in Chennai is given for a period of 10 years, after that the same is to be renewed for another 10 years by paying the prescribed government fees of Rs 9,000/-. If Trademark registration before expiry is not renewed within time, then such a Trademark is removed from the records. Once removed, the trademark can be acquired by others but if the same owner wants to revive the same then it has to be applied afresh.

After a trademark is registered it must be maintained to keep it alive. There are certain steps which must be followed to maintain a trademark like:

Renewal of the trademark every ten 10 years.
Continuous use of the trademark.
Prepared search of trademark use at regular intervals to rule out unauthorized use of your trademark.
constant vigilance and taking prompt action against such illegal and unsolicited use of your trademark.
CONCLUSION
The Detroit of India’ Chennai is a key industrial hub in South India. This city has quietly spent the past few years building a reputation as one of the best places to do business in India. Over the years, the city and its surrounding regions have become preferred locations for business for many automobile companies and their ancillary units. Further, the e-commerce sector has also seen significant growth in the Chennai region. Chennai’s business opportunities attract people from all over India. Trademark registration in Chennai is a popular option due to cut throat competition amongst all business entity for better protection of their trademark and also to prevent fraudulent use of the mark by others. One of the primary steps in Trademark Registration is to ensure that the brand name has not already been taken by another legal entity. We can search a brand name to check the availability of the particular name in India in trademark database. For Trademark Registration in Chennai , the name of your business must be unique. The suggested name should not match with any existing trademarks in India.