A trademark, or "mark," is any word, phrase, symbol, design, sound, smell, color, product configuration, group of letters or numbers, or combination of these, adopted and used by a company to identify its products or services, and distinguish them from products and services made, sold, or provided by others The primary purpose of marks is to prevent consumers from becoming confused about the source or origin of a product or service. Marks help consumers quewer the questions: "Who makes this product?" and, "Who provides this service?"

A COLLECTIVE MARK is a trademark or service mark used, or intended to be used by the members of an association, or other collective group or organization, including a mark which indicates membership in an association, or other organization

A service mark is another type of mark. Service marks indicate the source or origin of services (as opposed to goods). For all practical purposes, trademarks and service marks are subject to the same rules of validity, use, protection, and infringement.

It identifies the goods / or services and its origin. It guarantees its unchanged quality. It advertises the goods/services. It creates an image for the goods/ services.

Regd. Proprietor: The Regd.Proprietor of a trade mark can stop other traders from unlawfully using his trade mark. Sue for damages and secure destruction of infringing goods and or labels. The Government: The Trade Marks Registry is expected to earn revenue of nearly Rs.40 crores during the current year and which is perpetually on the rise.

Product trademarks: are those that are affixed to identify goods Service trademarks: are used to identify the services of an entity, such as the trademark for a broadcasting service, retails outlet, etc. They are used in advertising for services. Certification trademarks: are those that are capable of distinguishing the goods or services in connection with which it is used in the course of trade and which are certified by the proprietor with regard to their origin, material, the method of manufacture, the quality or other specific features Collective trademarks: are registered in the name of groups, associations or other organizations for the use of members of the group in their commercial activities to indicate their membership of the group.

Any time you claim rights in a mark, you may use the "TM" (trademark) or "SM" (service mark) designation to alert the public to your claim. However, you may use the registration symbol "®" only after the Trademark Registry actually registers a mark, and not while an application is pending. Also, you may use the registration symbol with the mark only on or in connection with the goods and/or services listed in the trademark registration.

Trademark Act, 1999 have some distinguished features then Trade and Merchandisers Marks Act, 1958. According to Trademark Act, 1999 duration of registration has been extended to 10 years which was initially 7 years. Now registration procedure is much simpler and it includes registration of service marks and collective marks also.

Search before you register a trademark. If you would like to register a trademark that is similar or identical to one that is already registered, your mark may infringe on the prior one. The owner of the prior trademark could demand the cancellation of your trademark and may ask for financial compensation. SO its advisable that to do the Search to ascertain whether particular trademark or identical trademark has been filed by someone else or not. Select your goods and service classes carefully. A trademark is always protected only for certain classes of goods and services. When you register, you must indicate the goods and services for which you would like to register and use your trademark. If you don’t use your trademark for the products (or services) you claimed within five years of registration, you can lose your trademark protection. Consult a trademark attorney. We would be glad to quewer your questions about the registration procedure, & we would like to represent your trademark in registry on behalf of you.

Trademark Attorney could be a person, who can act in trademark matters, or a firm who can provide legal and expertise advice on trademark. In many countries trademark attorneys are separate legal professionals, working as lawyers. We as a trademark attorney closely monitor the procedure and also provide guidance, advice in trademark filing & registration; we carry out search & handle oppositions, on the behalf of you. We believe that Trademark is not only valuable asset of the company but also goodwill of company. It should be protected under law so it needs an expert's advice, which should be accurate and appropriate.

If it is a word it should be easy to speak, spell and remember. The best trade marks are invented words or coined words. Avoid selection of a geographical name. No one can have monopoly right on it. Avoid adopting laudatory word or words that describe the quality of goods (such as best, perfect, super etc) It is advisable to conduct a market survey and a search at Trademark office to ascertain if same/similar mark is used in market.

Copyright is a right given by the law to creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and producers of cinematograph films and sound recordings. In fact, it is a bundle of rights including, inter alia, rights of reproduction, communication to the public, adaptation and trquelation of the work to get the protection of copyright a work must be original.

Copyright protects works such as poetry, movies, CD-ROMs, video games, videos, plays, paintings, sheet music, recorded music performances, novels, software code, sculptures, photographs, choreography and architectural designs.

The Copyright Act, 1957 protects original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and cinematograph films and sound recordings from unauthorized uses. Unlike the case with patents, copyright protects the expressions and not the ideas. There is no copyright protection for ideas, procedures, and methods of operation or mathematical concepts.

Copyright protects works such as poetry, movies, CD-ROMs, video games, videos, plays, paintings, sheet music, recorded music performances, novels, software code, sculptures, photographs, choreography and architectural designs.

Copyright ensures certain minimum safeguards of the rights of authors over their creations, thereby protecting and rewarding creativity. Creativity being the keystone of progress, no civilized society can afford to ignore the basic requirement of encouraging the same. Economic and social development of a society is dependent on creativity. The protection provided by copyright to the efforts of writers, artists, designers, dramatists, musicique, architects and producers of sound recordings, cinematograph films and computer software, creates an atmosphere conducive to creativity, which induces them to create more and motivates others to create.

Reproduction right: the right to make copies of a protected work. Distribution right: the right to sell or otherwise distribute copies to the public. Right to create adaptations (called derivative works): the right to prepare new works based on the protected work. Performance and display rights: The rights to perform a protected work (such as a stage play) or to display a work in public.

Design meque only the features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament or composition of lines or colour or combination thereof applied to any article whether two dimensional or three dimensional or in both forms, by any industrial process or meque, whether manual, mechanical or chemical, separate or combined, which in the finished article appeal to and are judged solely by the eye, but does not include any mode or principle or construction or any thing which is in substance a mere mechanical device, and does not include any trade mark. The outward appearance of a product or part of it, resulting from the lines, contours, colors, shape, texture, materials and/or its ornamentation.

The design or shape of a product can be synonymous with the branding and image of a company and can become an asset with monetary value that could increase. If you do not apply for protection others may benefit from your investments.

Object of the Designs Act to protect new or original designs so created to be applied or applicable to particular article to be manufactured by Industrial Process or meque. Sometimes purchase of articles for use is influenced not only by their practical efficiency but also by their appearance. The important purpose of design Registration is to see that the artisan, creator, originator of a design having aesthetic look is not deprived of his bonafide reward by others applying it to their goods.

A design to be registrable must be new or original. Original meque originating from the author of the design. New applications of old designs are registrable. Designs which are not new or original or disclosed to the public anywhere in India or in any other country or not significantly distinguishable from known designs or combinations of known designs or comprising scandalous or obscene matter are not registrable. This Indian legal position is more on the lines excluding non-registrable designs by identifying the categories of designs not registrable rather than positively reciting what are registrable designs.

If anyone contravenes the copyright in a design he is liable for every offence to pay a sum not exceeding Rs. 25,000/- to the registered proprietor subject to a maximum of Rs. 50,000/- recoverable as contract debt in respect of any one design. The registered proprietor may bring a suit for the recovery of the damages for any such contravention and for injunction against repetition of the same. Total sum recoverable shall not exceed Rs. 50,000/-as contract debt as stated in Section 22(2)(a). The suit for infringement, recovery of damage etc should not be filed in any court below the court of District Judge.

First-to-file rule is applicable for registrability of design. If two or more applications relating to an identical or a similar design are filed on different dates only first application will be considered for registration of design.

Once a design is registered, it gives the legal right to bring an action against those persons (natural/legal entity) who infringe the design right, in the Court not lower than District Court in order to stop such exploitation and to claim any damage to which the registered proprietor is legally entitled. However, it may please be noted that if the design is not registered under the Designs Act, 2000 there will be no legal right to take any action against the infringer under the provisions of the Designs Act, 2000. The Patent Office does not become involved with any issue relating to enforcement of right accured by registration; similarly The Patent Office does not involve itself with any issue relating to exploitation or commercialization of the registered design.

A patent covers the function, operation or construction of a new creation. To be patentable, a function must be innovative, have an industrial application and be described in such a fashion that a man of the art is capable of reproducing the process. A design covers the appearance only of a product. A design cannot protect the function of a product. If protecting a product with both a patent and a design registration (i.e. a new product can perfectly include both new functions and a new appearance), the timing of the applications will be crucial, as it must be ensured that the publishing of one or other of the rights does not destroy the novelty of the other application.

The Register of Designs is a document maintained by The Patent Office, Kolkata, as a statutory requirement. It contains the design number, class number, date of filing (in this country) and reciprocity date (if any), name and address of Proprietor and such other matters as would affect the validity of proprietorship of the design.

When an application for registration of a Design is in order, it is accepted and registered and then a certificate of registration is issued to the applicant. However, a separate request should be made to the Controller for obtaining a certified copy of the certificate for legal proceeding with requisite fee.

Yes, the same applicant can apply again since no publication of the abandoned application is made by the Patent Office, provided the applicant does not publish the said design in the meanwhile.

Yes, it is possible to trquefer the right through assignment, agreement, trquemission with terms and condition in writing or by operation of law. However, certain restrictive conditions not being the subject matter of protection relating to registration of design should not be included in the terms and condition of the contract/agreement etc. An application in form-l0, with a fee of Rs. 500/- in respect of one design and Rs. 200/- for each additional design, for registration of the trquefer documents is required to be made by the beneficiary to the Controller within six months from the date of execution of the instruments or within further period not exceeding six months in aggregate. An original/notarized copy of the instrument to be registered in the register of design is required to be enclosed with the application.

The registration of a design may be cancelled at any time after the registration of design on a petition for cancellation in Form 8 with prescribed fee to the Controller of Designs on the following grounds: That the design has been previously registered in India or That it has been published in India or elsewhere prior to date of registration or The design is not new or original or Design is not registrable or It is not a design under Clause (d) of Section 2.