The Trade Marks Act, 1999 (Act No. 47 of 1999) consolidates and amends the law relating to trade marks in India. It provides for registration and better protection of trade marks for goods and services, governs the rights conferred by registration, infringement and passing off, assignment and licensing (registered users), collective and certification marks, protection through international registration under the Madrid Protocol, rectification of the register, offences and penalties, and the jurisdiction of the Registrar of Trade Marks and the High Courts (following abolition of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board in 2021). It repealed the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958.
CHAPTER I — PRELIMINARY
CHAPTER II — THE REGISTER AND CONDITIONS FOR REGISTRATION
- Section 3 — Appointment of Registrar and other officers
- Section 4 — Power of Registrar to withdraw or transfer cases, etc.
- Section 5 — Trade Marks Registry and offices thereof
- Section 6 — The Register of Trade Marks
- Section 7 — Classification of goods and services
- Section 8 — Publication of alphabetical index
- Section 9 — Absolute grounds for refusal of registration
- Section 10 — Limitation as to colour
- Section 11 — Relative grounds for refusal of registration
- Section 12 — Registration in the case of honest concurrent use, etc.
- Section 13 — Prohibition of registration of names of chemical elements or international non-proprietary names
- Section 14 — Use of names and representations of living persons or persons recently dead
- Section 15 — Registration of parts of trade marks and of trade marks as a series
- Section 16 — Registration of trade marks as associated trade marks
- Section 17 — Effect of registration of parts of a mark
CHAPTER III — PROCEDURE FOR AND DURATION OF REGISTRATION
- Section 18 — Application for registration
- Section 19 — Withdrawal of acceptance
- Section 20 — Advertisement of application
- Section 21 — Opposition to registration
- Section 22 — Correction and amendment
- Section 23 — Registration
- Section 24 — Jointly owned trade marks
- Section 25 — Duration, renewal, removal and restoration of registration
- Section 26 — Effect of removal from register for failure to pay fee for renewal
CHAPTER IV — EFFECT OF REGISTRATION
- Section 27 — No action for infringement of unregistered trade mark
- Section 28 — Rights conferred by registration
- Section 29 — Infringement of registered trade marks
- Section 30 — Limits on effect of registered trade mark
- Section 31 — Registration to be prima facie evidence of validity
- Section 32 — Protection of registration on ground of distinctiveness in certain cases
- Section 33 — Effect of acquiescence
- Section 34 — Saving for vested rights
- Section 35 — Saving for use of name, address or description of goods or services
- Section 36 — Saving for words used as name or description of an article or substance or service
CHAPTER IVA — SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO PROTECTION OF TRADE MARKS THROUGH INTERNATIONAL REGISTRATION UNDER THE MADRID PROTOCOL
- Section 36A — Application of Act in case of international registration under Madrid Protocol
- Section 36B — Definitions
- Section 36C — Trade Marks Registry to deal with international applications
- Section 36D — International application originating from India
- Section 36E — International registrations where India has been designated
- Section 36F — Effects of international registration
- Section 36G — Duration and renewal of international registration
CHAPTER V — ASSIGNMENT AND TRANSMISSION
- Section 37 — Power of registered proprietor to assign and give receipts
- Section 38 — Assignability and transmissibility of registered trade marks
- Section 39 — Assignability and transmissibility of unregistered trade marks
- Section 40 — Restriction on assignment or transmission where multiple exclusive rights would be created
- Section 41 — Restriction on assignment or transmission when exclusive rights would be created in different parts of India
- Section 42 — Conditions for assignment otherwise than in connection with the goodwill of a business
- Section 43 — Assignability and transmissibility of certification trade marks
- Section 44 — Assignability and transmissibility of associated trade marks
- Section 45 — Registration of assignments and transmissions
CHAPTER VI — USE OF TRADE MARKS AND REGISTERED USERS
- Section 46 — Proposed use of trade mark by company to be formed, etc.
- Section 47 — Removal from register and imposition of limitations on ground of non-use
- Section 48 — Registered users
- Section 49 — Registration as registered user
- Section 50 — Power of Registrar for variation or cancellation of registration as registered user
- Section 51 — Power of Registrar to call for information relating to agreement in respect of registered users
- Section 52 — Right of registered user to take proceedings against infringement
- Section 53 — No right of permitted user to take proceeding against infringement
- Section 54 — Registered user not to have right of assignment or transmission
- Section 55 — Use of one of associated or substantially identical trade marks equivalent to use of another
- Section 56 — Use of trade mark for export trade and use when form of trade connection changes
CHAPTER VII — RECTIFICATION AND CORRECTION OF THE REGISTER
- Section 57 — Power to cancel or vary registration and to rectify the register
- Section 58 — Correction of register
- Section 59 — Alteration of registered trade marks
- Section 60 — Adaptation of entries in register to amended or substituted classification of goods or services
CHAPTER VIII — COLLECTIVE MARKS
- Section 61 — Special provisions for collective marks
- Section 62 — Collective mark not to be misleading as to character or significance
- Section 63 — Application to be accompanied by regulations governing use of collective marks
- Section 64 — Acceptance of application and regulations by Registrar
- Section 65 — Regulations to be open to inspection
- Section 66 — Amendment of regulations
- Section 67 — Infringement proceedings by registered proprietor of collective mark
- Section 68 — Additional grounds for removal of registration of collective mark
CHAPTER IX — CERTIFICATION TRADE MARKS
- Section 69 — Certain provisions of this Act not applicable to certification trade marks
- Section 70 — Registration of certification trade marks
- Section 71 — Applications for registration of certification trade marks
- Section 72 — Consideration of application for registration by Registrar
- Section 73 — Opposition to registration of certification trade marks
- Section 74 — Filing of regulations governing use of a certification trade mark
- Section 75 — Infringement of certification trade marks
- Section 76 — Acts not constituting infringement of certification trade marks
- Section 77 — Cancellation or varying of registration of certification trade marks
- Section 78 — Rights conferred by registration of certification trade marks
CHAPTER X — [OMITTED — SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR TEXTILE GOODS]
CHAPTER XI — APPEALS
- Section 83 — [Omitted]
- Section 84 — [Omitted]
- Section 85 — [Omitted]
- Section 86 — [Omitted]
- Section 87 — [Omitted]
- Section 88 — [Omitted]
- Section 89 — [Omitted]
- Section 89A — [Omitted]
- Section 90 — [Omitted]
- Section 91 — Appeals to High Court
- Section 92 — [Omitted]
- Section 93 — [Omitted]
- Section 94 — Bar to appear before Registrar
- Section 95 — [Omitted]
- Section 96 — [Omitted]
- Section 97 — Procedure for application for rectification, etc., before High Court
- Section 98 — Appearance of Registrar in legal proceedings
- Section 99 — [Omitted]
- Section 100 — [Omitted]
CHAPTER XII — OFFENCES, PENALTIES AND PROCEDURE
- Section 101 — Meaning of applying trade marks and trade descriptions
- Section 102 — Falsifying and falsely applying trade marks
- Section 103 — Penalty for applying false trade marks, trade descriptions, etc.
- Section 104 — Penalty for selling goods or providing services to which false trade mark or false trade description is applied
- Section 105 — Enhanced penalty on second or subsequent conviction
- Section 106 — [Omitted]
- Section 107 — Penalty for falsely representing a trade mark as registered
- Section 108 — [Omitted]
- Section 109 — [Omitted]
- Section 110 — No offence in certain cases
- Section 111 — Forfeiture of goods
- Section 112 — Exemption of certain persons employed in ordinary course of business
- Section 112A — Adjudication of penalties
- Section 112B — Appeal
- Section 113 — Procedure where invalidity of registration is pleaded by the accused
- Section 114 — Offences by companies
- Section 115 — Cognizance of certain offences and the powers of police officer for search and seizure
- Section 116 — Evidence of origin of goods imported by sea
- Section 117 — Costs of defence or prosecution
- Section 118 — Limitation of prosecution
- Section 119 — Information as to commission of offence
- Section 120 — Punishment of abetment in India of acts done out of India
- Section 121 — Instructions of Central Government as to permissible variation to be observed by criminal courts
CHAPTER XIII — MISCELLANEOUS
- Section 122 — Protection of action taken in good faith
- Section 123 — Certain persons to be public servants
- Section 124 — Stay of proceedings where the validity of registration of the trade mark is questioned, etc.
- Section 125 — Application for rectification of register to be made to High Court in certain cases
- Section 126 — Implied warranty on sale of marked goods
- Section 127 — Powers of Registrar
- Section 128 — Exercise of discretionary power by Registrar
- Section 129 — Evidence before Registrar
- Section 130 — Death of party to a proceeding
- Section 131 — Extension of time
- Section 132 — Abandonment
- Section 133 — Preliminary advice by the Registrar as to distinctiveness
- Section 134 — Suit for infringement, etc., to be instituted before District Court
- Section 135 — Relief in suits for infringement or for passing off
- Section 136 — Registered user to be impleaded in certain proceedings
- Section 137 — Evidence of entries in register, etc., and things done by the Registrar
- Section 138 — Registrar and other officers not compellable to produce register, etc.
- Section 139 — Power to require goods to show indication of origin
- Section 140 — Power to require information of imported goods bearing false trade marks
- Section 141 — Certificate of validity
- Section 142 — Groundless threats of legal proceedings
- Section 143 — Address for service
- Section 144 — Trade usages, etc., to be taken into consideration
- Section 145 — Agents
- Section 146 — Marks registered by an agent or representative without authority
- Section 147 — Indexes
- Section 148 — Documents open to public inspection
- Section 149 — Reports of Registrar to be placed before Parliament
- Section 150 — Fees and surcharge
- Section 151 — Savings in respect of certain matters in Chapter XII
- Section 152 — Declaration as to ownership of trade mark not registrable under the Registration Act, 1908
- Section 153 — Government to be bound
- Section 154 — Special provisions relating to applications for registration from citizens of convention countries
- Section 155 — Provision as to reciprocity
- Section 156 — Power of Central Government to remove difficulties
- Section 157 — Power to make rules
- Section 158 — Amendments
- Section 159 — Repeal and savings
THE SCHEDULE
Note: The Trade Marks Act, 1999 (Act No. 47 of 1999) came into force on 15th September, 2003, replacing the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958. Major amendments include the Trade Marks (Amendment) Act, 2010 (introducing the Madrid Protocol Chapter IVA and omitting the textile-goods Chapter X), the Finance Act, 2017, the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 (abolishing the Intellectual Property Appellate Board and transferring its jurisdiction to the High Courts), and the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 (decriminalising certain offences and introducing the civil-penalty adjudication regime under sections 112A and 112B).
