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The Trade Marks Act

An Act to amend and consolidate the law relating to trade marks, to provide for registration and better protection of trade marks for goods and services and for the prevention of the use of fraudulent marks.
1999
List of Chapters & Sections

  1. PRELIMINARY

  2. 1
     Short title, extent and commencement
  3. 2
     Definitions and interpretation

  • THE REGISTER AND CONDITIONS FOR REGISTRATION

  • 3
     Appointment of Registrar and other officers
  • 4
     Power of Registrar to withdraw or transfer cases, etc
  • 5
     Trade Marks Registry and offices thereof
  • 6
     The Register of Trade Marks
  • 7
     Classification of goods and services
  • 8
     Publication of alphabetical index
  • 9
     Absolute grounds for refusal of registration
  • 10
     Limitation as to colour
  • 11
     Relative grounds for refusal of registration
  • 12
     Registration in the case of honest concurrent use, etc
  • 13
     Prohibition of registration of names of chemical elements or international non-proprietary names
  • 14
     Use of names and representations of living persons or persons recently dead
  • 15
     Registration of parts of trade marks and of trade marks as a series
  • 16
     Registration of trade marks as associated trade marks
  • 17
     Effect of registration of parts of a mark

  • PROCEDURE FOR AND DURATION OF REGISTRATION

  • 18
     Application for registration
  • 19
     Withdrawal of acceptance
  • 20
     Advertisement of application
  • 21
     Opposition to registration
  • 22
     Correction and amendment
  • 23
     Registration
  • 24
     Jointly owned trade marks
  • 25
     Duration, renewal, removal and restoration of registration
  • 26
     Effect of removal from register for failure to pay fee for renewal

  • EFFECT OF REGISTRATION

  • 27
     No action for infringement of unregistered trade mark
  • 28
     Rights conferred by registration
  • 29
     Infringement of registered trade marks
  • 30
     Limits on effect of registered trade mark
  • 31
     Registration to be prima facie evidence of validity
  • 32
     Protection of registration on ground of distinctiveness in certain cases
  • 33
     Effect of acquiescence
  • 34
     Saving for vested rights
  • 35
     Saving for use of name, address or description of goods or services
  • 36
     Saving for words used as name or description of an article or substance or service

  • SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO PROTECTION OF TRADE MARKS THROUGH INTERNATIONAL REGISTRATION UNDER THE MADRID PROTOCOL

  • 36A
     Application of Act in case of international registration under Madrid Protocol
  • 36B
     Definitions
  • 36C
     Trade Marks Registry to deal with international applications
  • 36D
     International application originating from India
  • 36E
     International registrations where India has been designated
  • 36F
     Effects of international registration
  • 36G
     Duration and renewal of international registration

  • ASSIGNMENT AND TRANSMISSION

  • 37
     Power of registered proprietor to assign and give receipts
  • 38
     Assignability and transmissibility of registered trade marks
  • 39
     Assignability and transmissibility of unregistered trade marks
  • 40
     Restriction on assignment or transmission where multiple exclusive rights would be created
  • 41
     Restriction on assignment or transmission when exclusive rights would be created in different parts of India
  • 42
     Conditions for assignment otherwise than in connection with the goodwill of a business
  • 43
     Assignability and transmissibility of certification trade marks
  • 44
     Assignability and transmissibility of associated trade marks
  • 45
     Registration of assignments and transmissions

  • USE OF TRADE MARKS AND REGISTERED USERS

  • 46
     Proposed use of trade mark by company to be formed, etc
  • 47
     Removal from register and imposition of limitations on ground of non-use
  • 48
     Registered users
  • 49
     Registration as registered user
  • 50
     Power of Registrar for variation or cancellation of registration as registered user
  • 51
     Power of Registrar to call for information relating to agreement in respect of registered users
  • 52
     Right of registered user to take proceedings against infringement
  • 53
     No right of permitted user to take proceeding against infringement
  • 54
     Registered user not to have right of assignment or transmission
  • 55
     Use of one of associated or substantially identical trade marks equivalent to use of another
  • 56
     Use of trade mark for export trade and use when form of trade connection changes

  • RECTIFICATION AND CORRECTION OF THE REGISTER

  • 57
     Power to cancel or vary registration and to rectify the register
  • 58
     Correction of register
  • 59
     Alteration of registered trade marks
  • 60
     Adaptation of entries in register to amended or substituted classification of goods or services

  • COLLECTIVE MARKS

  • 61
     Special provisions for collective marks
  • 62
     Collective mark not to be misleading as to character or significance
  • 63
     Application to be accompanied by regulations governing use of collective marks
  • 64
     Acceptance of application and regulations by Registrar
  • 65
     Regulations to be open to inspection
  • 66
     Amendment of regulations
  • 67
     Infringement proceedings by registered proprietor of collective mark
  • 68
     Additional grounds for removal of registration of collective mark

  • CERTIFICATION TRADE MARKS

  • 69
     Certain provisions of this Act not applicable to certification trade marks
  • 70
     Registration of certification trade marks
  • 71
     Applications for registration of certification trade marks
  • 72
     Consideration of application for registration by Registrar
  • 73
     Opposition to registration of certification trade marks
  • 74
     Filing of regulations governing use of a certification trade mark
  • 75
     Infringement of certification trade marks
  • 76
     Acts not constituting infringement of certification trade marks
  • 77
     Cancellation or varying of registration of certification trade marks
  • 78
     Rights conferred by registration of certification trade marks

  • CHAPTER X.--SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR TEXTILE GOODS Omitted..

  • 79
     ic9560Omitted.ic9563
  • 80
     [Omitted.]
  • 81
     [Omitted.]
  • 82
     [Omitted.]

  • APPELLATE BOARD

  • 83
     Establishment of Appellate Board
  • 84
     Composition of Appellate Board
  • 85
     Qualifications for appointment as Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, or other Members
  • 86
     Term of office of Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and other Members
  • 87
     Vice-Chairperson or senior-most Member to act as Chairperson or discharge his functions in certain circumstances
  • 88
     Salaries, allowances and other terms and conditions of service of Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and other Members
  • 89
     Resignation and removal
  • 89A
     Qualifications, terms and conditions of service of Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and member
  • 90
     Staff of Appellate Board
  • 91
     Appeals to Appellate Board
  • 92
     Procedure and powers of Appellate Board
  • 93
     Bar of jurisdiction of courts, etc
  • 94
     Bar to appear before Appellate Board
  • 95
     Conditions as to making of interim orders
  • 96
     Power of Chairperson to transfer cases from one Bench to another
  • 97
     Procedure for application for rectification, etc., before Appellate Board
  • 98
     Appearance of Registrar in legal proceedings
  • 99
     Costs of Registrar in proceedings before Appellate Board
  • 100
     Transfer of pending proceedings to Appellate Board

  • OFFENCES, PENALTIES AND PROCEDURE

  • 101
     Meaning of applying trade marks and trade descriptions
  • 102
     Falsifying and falsely applying trade marks
  • 103
     Penalty for applying false trade marks, trade descriptions, etc
  • 104
     Penalty for selling goods or providing services to which false trade mark or false trade description is applied
  • 105
     Enhanced penalty on second or subsequent conviction
  • 106
     Penalty for removing piece goods, etc., contrary to section 81
  • 107
     Penalty for falsely representing a trade mark as registered
  • 108
     Penalty for improperly describing a place of business as connected with the Trade Marks Office
  • 109
     Penalty for falsification of entries in the register
  • 110
     No offence in certain cases
  • 111
     Forfeiture of goods
  • 112
     Exemption of certain persons employed in ordinary course of business
  • 113
     Procedure where invalidity of registration is pleaded by the accused
  • 114
     Offences by companies
  • 115
     Cognizance of certain offences and the powers of police officer for search and seizure
  • 116
     Evidence of origin of goods imported by sea
  • 117
     Costs of defence or prosecution
  • 118
     Limitation of prosecution
  • 119
     Information as to commission of offence
  • 120
     Punishment of abetment in India of acts done out of India
  • 121
     Instructions of Central Government as to permissible variation to be observed by criminal courts

  • MISCELLANEOUS

  • 122
     Protection of action taken in good faith
  • 123
     Certain persons to be public servants
  • 124
     Stay of proceedings where the validity of registration of the trade mark is questioned, etc
  • 125
     Application for rectification of register to be made to Appellate Board in certain cases
  • 126
     Implied warranty on sale of marked goods
  • 127
     Powers of Registrar
  • 128
     Exercise of discretionary power by Registrar
  • 129
     Evidence before Registrar
  • 130
     Death of party to a proceeding
  • 131
     Extension of time
  • 132
     Abandonment
  • 133
     Preliminary advice by the Registrar as to distinctiveness
  • 134
     Suit for infringement, etc., to be instituted before District Court
  • 135
     Relief in suits for infringement or for passing off
  • 136
     Registered user to be impleaded in certain proceedings
  • 137
     Evidence of entries in register, etc., and things done by the Registrar
  • 138
     Registrar and other officers not compellable to produce register, etc
  • 139
     Power to require goods to show indication of origin
  • 140
     Power to require information of imported goods bearing false trade marks
  • 141
     Certificate of validity
  • 142
     Groundless threats of legal proceedings
  • 143
     Address for service
  • 144
     Trade usages, etc., to be taken into consideration
  • 145
     Agents
  • 146
     Marks registered by an agent or representative without authority
  • 147
     Indexes
  • 148
     Documents open to public inspection
  • 149
     Reports of Registrar to be placed before Parliament
  • 150
     Fees and surcharge
  • 151
     Savings in respect of certain matters in Chapter XII
  • 152
     Declaration as to ownership of trade mark not registrable under the Registration Act, 1908
  • 153
     Government to be bound
  • 154
     Special provisions relating to applications for registration from citizens of convention countries
  • 155
     Provision as to reciprocity
  • 156
     Power of Central Government to remove difficulties
  • 157
     Power to make rules
  • 158
     Amendments
  • 159
     Repeal and savings