Trademark Infringement

Posted by Mayank Pal on September 16th, 2022

Trademark infringement is defined under section 29 of the Trademarks Act, 1999. As per this section, infringement of a trademark is basically unauthorized usage of the mark which is similar or identical to the mark which has been already registered by another person in a similar trade or business. 

The elements of trademark infringement are-

1. Unauthorized usage- the use of the mark should be done by an unauthorized person. If the person is authorized by the owner of the trademark, then that will not be considered an infringement.
2. Identical or similar – the mark used by the unauthorized person should be identical or deceptively similar to the already registered mark. The word deceptively similar means that there is a possibility that the average consumer may confuse the infringing mark with the already registered mark.
3. Registered mark – the mark which is being infringed should be registered as per the provisions of the Trademark Act, 1999. If the mark is not already registered, then the unauthorized use of the identical or deceptively similar mark will not be considered an infringement.
4. Similar class of goods and services – finally, the mark should be used for the goods and services which fall under the same class as that of the registered trademark.

In cases where the trademark is infringed, the owner of the trademark can take both criminal and civil action against the other party. As per the Trademarks Act, 1999 the infringement of the trademark is a cognizable offence and the owner of the trademark can file a police complaint against the other party. In case the owner of the trademark decides to institute criminal proceedings, then the other party can be punished for the imprisonment of a term, not less than six months but which can be extended to the..........................click here to read full article