What is Well-known trademark?

About Well-known trademark 

• The Trade Marks Act, 1999, provides protection to well-known trademarks to prevent misuse and obligates the Registrar to safeguard them against similar trademarks.
• Once a mark is declared well-known, the owner can prevent others from registering or using identical or similar marks for different goods and services.
• This trademark mark can be licensed or franchised to others, providing the owner with an additional source of revenue.
• Factors that can be considered when determining whether a trademark is well-known are:
  • The degree of knowledge or recognition of the mark in the relevant section of the public in India
  • The duration, extent, and geographical area of any use of the mark
  • The duration, extent, and geographical area of any promotion of the mark in India.
  • The degree of inherent or acquired distinctiveness of the mark
  • The extent to which the mark has been registered in India or in other countries.

Significance of Well-known Trademark

• Well-known trademarks are highly valuable assets for businesses. They contribute to brand recognition, consumer trust, and market competitiveness.
• The recognition of a trademark as “well-known” grants it additional protection against unauthorized use, even for goods or services not directly related to the original trademark. This protection helps prevent consumer confusion and safeguards the reputation and distinctiveness of the mark.

What is a trademark?

• It is a distinctive sign or indicator used by a business organisation to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities.
• It serves as a badge of origin exclusively identifying a particular business as a source of goods or services. Trademark infringement is the unauthorised usage of a sign that is identical or deceptively similar to a registered trademark.

Q1: What is Intellectual property rights (IPR)?

These are the legal privileges granted to the inventor or creator to safeguard their intellectual work (in the arts, sciences, literature, etc.) for a specific period of time. These legal rights grant the inventor or creator, or his assignee, the sole right to fully exploit their invention or creation for a specific amount of time.

Source: Delhi HC declares ‘Haldiram’ as well-known trademark