law: Trade Marks Act, 1999  
  2. Definitions and interpretation.— 
  (1) In this Act , unless the context
  
  otherwise requires, - 
  (a) "Appellate
  
  Board" means the Appellate Board established under section 83:
  (b)
  
  "assignment" means an assignment in writing by act of the parties
  
  concerned;
  (c) "associated
  
  trade Marks" means trade marks deemed to be, or required to be, registered
  
  as associated trade marks under this Act;
  (d) "Bench "
  
  means a Bench of the Appellate Board;
  (e)
  
  "certification trade mark" means a mark capable of distinguishing the
  
  goods or service in connection with which it is used in the course of trade
  
  which are certified by the proprietor of the mark in respect of origin,
  
  material, mode of manufacture of goods or performance of service not so
  
  certified and registrable as such under Chapter IX in respect of those goods or
  
  service in the name, as proprietor of the certification trade mark , of that
  
  person;
  (f)
  
  "Chairman" means the Chairman of the Appellate Board.
  (g) "collective
  
  mark" means a trade mark distinguishing the goods or services of members
  
  of an association of persons (not being a partnership within the meaning of the
  
  Indian Partnership Act, 1932 (9 of 1932) which is the proprietor of the mark
  
  from those of others.
  (h) "deceptively
  
  similar", - A mark shall be deemed to be deceptively similar to another
  
  mark if it so nearly resembles that other mark as to be likely to deceive or
  
  cause confusion.
  (i) "false trade
  
  description" means- 
  (I) a trade
  
  description which is untrue or misleading in a material respect as regards the
  
  goods or services to which it is applied or
  (II) any alteration of
  
  a trade description as regards the goods or services to which it is applied,
  
  whether by way of addition, effacement or otherwise, where that alteration
  
  makes the description untrue or misleading in a material respect, or
  (III) any trade
  
  description which denotes or implies that there are contained, as regards the
  
  goods to which it is applied, more yards or meters than there are contained
  
  therein standard yards or standard meters, or
  (IV) any marks or
  
  arrangement or combination thereof when applied- 
  (a) to goods in such a
  
  manner as to be likely to lead persons to believe that the goods are the
  
  manufacture or merchandise of some person other than the person whose
  
  merchandise or manufacture they really are.
  (b) in relation to
  
  services in such a manner as to be likely to lead persons to believe that the
  
  services are provided or rendered by some persons other than the person whose services
  
  they really are, or
  (V) any false name or
  
  initials of a person applied to goods or service in such manner as if such name
  
  or initials were a trade description in any case where the name or initials- 
  (a) is or
  
  are not a trade mark or part of a trade mark, and
  (b) is or are
  
  identical with or deceptively similar to the name or initials of a person
  
  carrying on business in connection with goods or services of the same
  
  description or both and who has not authorized the use of such name or initials,
  
  and
  (c) is or are either
  
  the name or initials of a fictions person or some person not bona fide carrying
  
  on business in connection with such goods or services.
  And the fact that a
  
  trade description is a trade mark or part of a trade mark shall not prevent
  
  such trade description being a false trade description within the meaning of
  
  this Act.
  (j) "goods"
  
  means anything which is the subject of trade or manufacture.
  (k) "Judicial
  
  Member" means a Member of the Appellate Board appointed as such under this
  
  Act, and includes the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman.
  (l)
  
  "limitations" (with its grammatical variations) means any limitation
  
  of the exclusive right to the use of a trade mark given by the registration of
  
  a person as proprietor thereof, including limitations of that right a to mode
  
  or area of use within India or outside India.
  (m) "mark"
  
  includes a device, brand, heading, label, ticket, name, signature, word,
  
  letter, numeral, shape of goods, packaging or combination of colors or any
  
  combination thereof.
  (n) "Member"
  
  means a Judicial Member or a Technical Member of the Appellate Board and
  
  includes the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman.
  (o) "name"
  
  includes and abbreviation of a name.
  (p) "notify"
  
  means to notify in the Trade Mark Journal published by the Registrar.
  (q)
  
  "package" includes any case, box, container, covering, folder,
  
  recetacle, vessel, casket, bottle, wrapper, labler, band, ticket, reel, frame,
  
  capsule, cap, lid, stopper and cork.
  (r) "permitted
  
  use: in relation to a registered trade mark, means the use of trade mark- 
  (i) by a registered
  
  user of the trade mark in relation to goods or service- 
  (a) with
  
  which he is connected in the course of trade, and
  (b) in respect of
  
  which the trade mark remains registered for the time being, and
  (c) for
  
  which he is registered as registered user, and
  (d) which complies
  
  with any conditions or limitations to which the registration of registered user
  
  is subject, or
  (ii) by a person other
  
  than the registered proprietor and registered user in relation to goods or
  
  services- 
  (a) with
  
  which he is connected in the course of trade, and
  (b) in respect of
  
  which the trade mark remains registered for the time being, and
  (c) by consent of such
  
  registered proprietor in a written agreement, and
  (d) which complies
  
  with any conditions or limitations to which such user is subject and to which
  
  the registration of the trade mark is subject.
  (s)
  
  "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act.
  (t)
  
  "register" means the Register of Trade Mark referred to in
  
  sub-section (1) of section 6.
  (u)
  
  "registered" (with its grammatical variations) means registered under
  
  this Act.
  (v) "registered
  
  proprietor" in relation to a trade mark, means the person for the time
  
  being entered in the register as proprietor of the trade mark.
  (w) "registered
  
  trade mark" means a trade mark which is actually on the register and
  
  remaining in force.
  (x) "registered
  
  user" means a person who is for the time being registered as such under section
  
  49.
  (y)
  
  "Registrar" means the Registrar of Trade Mark referred to in section
  
  3.
  (z)
  
  "service" means service of any description which is made available to
  
  potential users and includes the provisions of services in connection with
  
  business of any industrial or commercial matters such as banking,
  
  communication, education, financing, insurance, chit funds, real estate,
  
  transport, storage, material treatment, processing, supply of electrical or
  
  other energy, boarding, lodging, entertainment, amusement, construction,
  
  repair, conveying of news or information and advertising.
  (za) "trade
  
  description" means any description, statement or other indication, direct
  
  or indirect,-
  (i) as to the number,
  
  quantity, measure, gauge or weight of any goods, or
  (ii) as to the
  
  standard of quality of any goods or services according to a classification
  
  commonly used or recognized in the trade, or
  (iii) as the fitness
  
  for the purpose, strength, performance or behavior of any goods, being
  
  "drug" as defined in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 (23 of 194))
  
  or "food" as defined in the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954
  
  (37 of 1954), or
  (iv) as to the place
  
  or country in which or the time at which any goods or services were made,
  
  produced or provided, as the case may be, or
  (v) as to the name and
  
  address or other indication of the identity of the manufacturer or of the
  
  person providing the services of the person for whom the goods are manufactured
  
  or services are provided, or
  (vi) as to the mode of
  
  manufacture or producing any goods or providing services, or
  (vii) as to the
  
  material of which any goods are composed, or
  (viii) as to any goods
  
  being the subject of an existing patent, privilege or copyright, and includes- 
  (a) any description as
  
  to the use of any mark which according to the custom of the trade is commonly
  
  taken to be an indication of any of the above matters.
  (b) the description as
  
  to any imported goods contained in any bill of entry or shipping bill.
  (c) any other
  
  description which is likely to be misunderstood or mistaken for all or any of
  
  the said matters.
  (zb) "trade
  
  mark" means a mark capable of being represented graphically and which is
  
  capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from choose of
  
  others and may include shape of goods, their packaging and combination of
  
  colors , and in relation to Chapter XII (other than section 107), a registered
  
  trade mark or mark used in relation to goods or services for the purpose of
  
  indicating or so as to indicate a connection in the course of trade between the
  
  goods or services, as the case may be, and some person having the right as
  
  proprietor to use the mark, and in relation to other provisions of this Act, a
  
  mark used or proposed to be used in relation to goods or services for the
  
  purpose of indicating or so to indicate to a connection in the course of trade
  
  between the goods or services, as the case may be, and some person having the
  
  right, either as proprietor or by way of permitted user, to use the mark whether
  
  with or without any indication of the identity of that person, and includes a
  
  certification trade mark or collective mark.
  (zc)
  
  "transmission" means transmission by operation of law, devolution on
  
  the personal representative of a deceased person and any other mode of
  
  transfer, not being assignment.
  (zd) "Technical
  
  Member" means a Member who is not a Judicial Member.
  (Ze)
  
  "tribunal" means the Registrar or, as the case may be, the Appellate
  
  Board, before which the proceeding concerned is pending.
  (zf)
  
  "Vice-Chairman" means a Vice-Chairman of the Appellate Board.
  (zg) "well-known
  
  trade mark" in relation to any goods or service, means a mark which has
  
  becomes so to the substantial segment of the public which uses such goods or
  
  receives such services that the use of such mark in relation to other goods or
  
  services would be likely to be taken as indicating a connection in the course
  
  of trade or rendering of services between those goods or services and a person
  
  using the mark in relation to the first mentioned goods or services.
  In this Act, unless the context otherwise
  
  requires, any reference - to "trade-mark" shall include reference to
  
  "collective mark" or "certification trade mark".
  To the use of a mark shall be construed as a
  
  reference to the use of printed or other visual representation of the mark.
  To the use of a mark.- in relation to goods,
  
  shall be construed as a reference to the use of the mark upon, or n any
  
  physical or in any other relation whatsoever, to such goods.
  In relation to goods, shall be construed as a
  
  reference to the use of the mark as or as part of any statement about the
  
  availability, provision or performance of such services.
  To the Registrar shall be construed as
  
  including a reference to any officer when discharging the functions of the
  
  Registrar in pursuance of sub-section (2) of section 3.
  To the Trade Marks Registry shall be construed
  
  as including a reference to any office of the Trade Marks Registry.
  For the purposes of this Act, goods and
  
  services are associated with each other if it is likely that those goods might
  
  be sold or otherwise traded in and those services might be provided by the same
  
  business and so with description of goods and descriptions of services.
  For the purposes of this Act, "existing
  
  registered trade mark" means a trade mark registered under the Trade and
  
  Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 (43 of 1958) immediately before the commencement of
  
  this Act.