Last Updated on June 4, 2024 by D. Lalitha B.com B.L (Hons)
A trademark is similar to a transcending beacon in the present serious business climate, sending customers to your one-of-a-kind services and goods in the middle of an ocean of competitors. It’s not just an image or a logo; it’s the identity of your business, and it can give you an essential advantage in your industry.
Having a reputable trademark might improve your business’ voice over the market chatter, allowing your brand to be quickly perceived and vividly remembered. However, how would you achieve this sought-after status? Let’s get into the subject more in-depth.
Benefits to Obtain a Well-known Trademark Status:
Some of the key benefits of being recognised as a well-known trademark are discussed below:
- They provide the company with dependability.
- The credibility of the company grew. Customers’ faith in a company’s products and services has grown.
- People begin to link your company with that well-known trademark.
- Provides recognition for the company name and business
- Aids in raising the company’s earnings
- Aids in the expansion and enhancement of the company
- Increases the brand’s acknowledgement from competitors
- Gives the company recognisable identification
- Distinguishes your brand from competitors
- Obtaining protection for these kinds of trademarks is effortless.
Documents Required to Get Well-known Trademark Status in India:
Some of the critical requirements to achieve status as a well-known trademark in India are mentioned or discussed below:
- Give exhaustive proof exhibiting the broad use of the growth of your brand in India. This could include promotional materials, leaflets, and limited-time crusades.
- Include documentation highlighting the commercial success of products or services associated with the trademark. This can include sales figures, revenue reports, and financial statements.
- Conducted and submitted the results of consumer surveys and market research indicating the level of recognition and reputation of Your trademark.
- Compile media coverage, such as articles, press releases, or news features, that highlight your trademark’s popularity and recognition.
- If applicable, incorporate any honours or certificates your trademark has received that acknowledge its excellence, popularity, or singularity.
- Give documentation of any lawful acknowledgements, grants, or choices acknowledging the uniqueness and recognition of your trademark in the business.
- In the unlikely scenario that your trademark has been perceived as well-known in several countries, provide a summary of these countries along with corroborating reports.
- A proclamation or affidavit attesting to the application’s facts and supporting documents.
- If your trademark has been highlighted in pertinent distributions or diaries, include multiple copies of these distributes as a part of your demonstration.
- The Process of Obtaining a Well-Known Trademark
- To get the situation with a well-known mark, an organisation must show that the general public widely recognises its trademark. This process can be complicated since it requires a lot of evidence to show the mark’s reputation. The supplementary components are thought about while deciding if a mark is well-known or not:
- The duration, extent, and location of any mark usage.
- The length, scope, and geographic scope of any mark advertising, including public relations campaigns, fair presentations, and displays of the associated products and services.
- The length of time, scope, and region of registrations or any mark registration applications. Such registration or application for registration must also reflect the magnitude of use and public recognition of the mark.
- A record of successful enforcement of IP rights about the mark, especially insofar as the mark has been acknowledged as well-known by competent enforcement authorities.
- The commercial value associated with the mark.
Owners of trademarks may apply for well-known mark status under the 2017 Trademark Rules, which were implemented in India. The standards for classifying a trademark as well-known are outlined in Sections 11(6) through 11(9) and include public awareness, length of usage, and geographical coverage. This alteration makes it possible to determine well-known marks more comprehensively.
Conclusion:
Some examples of well-known Trademark Registration granted by the Registrar after coming into force of the Trade Mark Rules, 2017 are Garnier, Oral-B, 7-Eleven, India Gate, LuLu, TCS, Godrej, India Gate, Biocon, Maruti, and some more. The protection of well-known trademarks under the Trademark Act has been strengthened and redefined with the help of the Trade Mark Rules, 2017. The same has sent out a message that India recognizes the more modern concepts of Trademark Protection. Despite the reality that Indian courts were proactive in defending well-known trademarks, furnishing improved legal security with the choice of a famous trademark application has been a beneficial development for trademark owners in addition to keeping buyers’ interests in mind and the overall Intellectual Property (IP) policy of the country.
FAQs
- What examples of well-known trademarks are there?
Brand names like Nokia, Pepsi, Apple, Puma, KFC, Google, and Amazon are examples of well-known trademarks. These brand names are perceived internationally and are significant resources for their respective owners.
- How can one approach be turning into a well-known trademark?
Your brand should be widely perceived by the general population, in a perfect world, universally, to qualify as a well-known trademark. The process includes presenting substantial evidence of the mark’s reputation, considering factors such as the degree and term of goal, progress, registrations, successful enforcement of intellectual property rights, and commercial value related to the mark.
- Can a business use a comparable trademark to a well-known one?
No, irrespective of whether a trademark possesses a place with a different course of services and goods compared to a well-known mark, it can’t be applied to the unlikely scenario that it is like the well-known mark. Famous trademarks are more protected, preventing similar marks from being used in any class or service across every topographical area.
- How do the 2017 Trademark Rules affect the assurance of well-known marks?
Before the 2017 Trademark Rules, Indian courts and tribunals determined a list of well-known marks compiled by the Trademark Registry. However, trademark holders now have the ability to apply for the status of well-known mark following the publication of the Trademark Rules in 2017. Sections 11(6) through 11(9) of the Trademark Regulations currently show the requirements to recognise a well-known trademark.
- What distinguishes a registered trademark from a well-known trademark?
A well-known trademark is one related to a famous business or brand and well known by the general population. Dissimilar to a typical registered brand, which is only protected inside clear classes of services and products and geographical regions, well-known trademarks appreciate more comprehensive security across all classes and areas. In addition, even if a trademark is not registered under the Trademark Act, it is still safeguarded.
