The Trademarks Act, 1999 regulates brand protection, establishing a registry system for distinctive, non-misleading commercial marks.
1. Grounds for Refusal of Registration
- Absolute Grounds (Section 9): Trademarks cannot be registered if:
- They are devoid of distinctive character (cannot distinguish goods of one person from another).
- They consist exclusively of marks that describe the kind, quality, quantity, or geographical origin of the goods (generic/descriptive terms).
- They hurt religious sentiments or contain scandalous/obscene matter.
- Relative Grounds (Section 11): A trademark cannot be registered if it is identical or similar to an existing registered trademark for identical or similar goods, causing public confusion.
2. Deceptive Similarity Test
Under Section 2(1)(h), a mark is deceptively similar if it so nearly resembles another mark as to be likely to deceive or cause confusion.
📜 Landmark Case: Amritdhara Pharmacy v. Satyadeo Gupta (1963)
The Supreme Court held that the mark "Lakshmandhara" was deceptively similar to the registered trademark "Amritdhara" (both being medicinal preparations). The court established that deceptive similarity must be judged from the standpoint of an average consumer of average intelligence and imperfect recollection, considering the overall phonetic and structural similarity rather than side-by-side analytical comparisons.