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Law of Trademarks

LL.M. · 16 topics in 5 units

Past question papers for Law of Trademarks

Unit I 3 topics

  1. Trade marks: concept, functions, theory and the Trade Marks Act, 1999What a trade mark is and does, the economic and consumer-protection theories behind protection, the history from 1877 to 1999, and the salient features of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 with the 2010 amendment and the 2017 Rules.7 min
  2. Basic requirements of a trade mark: distinctiveness, graphical representation and non-conventional marksThe spectrum of distinctiveness from generic to fanciful, acquired distinctiveness and secondary meaning, graphical representation after Sieckmann, and how Indian, EU and US law treat colours, sounds, shapes, smells and trade dress.6 min
  3. Trade mark law in India compared with the UK, the US and the EUThe international history of trade mark law and the basic principles of the Indian system set against those of the UK, the US and the EU: use against registration, the definition of a sign, ex officio examination, the confusion tests, dilution, non-use and bad faith, with a comparative table.7 min

Unit II 5 topics

  1. Non-registrable marks: absolute and relative grounds of refusalSection 9 on marks refused for what they are, section 11 on marks refused because of earlier rights, sections 13 and 14, bad faith, and the US and EU debate on scandalous and disparaging marks.6 min
  2. Registration procedure, honest concurrent use and rectificationFrom application to certificate under sections 18 to 25, opposition, the effect of registration, honest concurrent use under section 12 with the Pirie factors and Amritdhara, removal for non-use, rectification after the IPAB, and Patel Field Marshal on section 124.8 min
  3. Collective marks and certification marksWhat a collective mark is, why it serves an association rather than a trader, the registration procedure and regulations under sections 61 to 68, certification marks under sections 69 to 78, and how both relate to geographical indications.6 min
  4. The Madrid System for international registration of marksThe Madrid Agreement of 1891 and the Protocol of 1989, how an international application moves from the office of origin through WIPO to designated offices, dependency and central attack, transformation, and India's Chapter IVA.6 min
  5. Transfer of trade marks: assignment, transmission, licensing and registered usersAssignment and transmission of registered and unregistered marks under sections 37 to 45, the limits that prevent assignment from creating deception, assignment without goodwill, licensing, registered users and permitted use under sections 48 to 55, the trafficking objection, quality control, and comparative rules in the UK, US and EU.7 min

Unit III 3 topics

  1. Well-known trade marks and trans-border reputationParis Article 6bis, TRIPS Article 16 and the 1999 WIPO Joint Recommendation; section 2(1)(zg) and the criteria in section 11(6) to (10); rule 124; and the line of cases from Whirlpool to the territoriality turn in Toyota v. Prius.6 min
  2. Deceptive similarity and infringement of registered trade marksSection 2(1)(h) and the tests of deceptive similarity from Corn Products to Cadila (2001), the structure of section 29 including dilution and the Renaissance Hotel presumption, the consequences of a deceptively similar mark at each stage, and the EU and US tests for comparison.7 min
  3. Passing off: the common law action and its remediesThe classical trinity of goodwill, misrepresentation and damage, Lord Diplock's five characteristics, extended passing off, how passing off differs from infringement after Durga Dutt, the Indian cases from Laxmikant Patel to Syed Mohideen, and the remedies available.6 min

Unit IV 3 topics

  1. Comparative advertising, disparagement and the limits of trade mark rightsSections 29(8) and 30(1) on comparative advertising, the puffery and disparagement cases from Reckitt & Colman to Pepsi and Dabur, the EU model in O2 and L'Oreal v. Bellure, and the other defences: descriptive use, exhaustion after Kapil Wadhwa, acquiescence, prior use, own name and parody.6 min
  2. Domain names, keywords and trade marks on the internetCybersquatting and the Indian domain name cases from Yahoo! to Satyam Infoway, the UDRP and INDRP, jurisdiction over websites after Banyan Tree, keyword advertising in the EU and India, and liability of online marketplaces.6 min
  3. The Registrar, the Central Government and the Appellate BoardThe Trade Marks Registry and the Registrar's administrative and quasi-judicial powers, the powers of the Central Government, the constitution, composition and powers of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board from 2003 to 2021, its abolition by the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 and the present appellate route to the High Courts.6 min

Unit V 2 topics

  1. Remedies for infringement: ex parte orders, damages and criminal sanctionsInterim injunctions and the Wander and Midas Hygiene principles, ex parte relief under section 135(2) and Order XXXIX Rule 3, Anton Piller, Mareva and John Doe orders with their safeguards, the punitive damages debate, criminal remedies under sections 103 to 115, and border measures.8 min
  2. International trade mark instruments: Paris, TRIPS, the TLT, Nice, and the roles of WIPO and the WTOThe trade mark provisions of the Paris Convention (Articles 6 to 10bis) and of TRIPS (Articles 15 to 21), the Trademark Law Treaty 1994 and the Singapore Treaty 2006, the Nice and Vienna classifications, and how WIPO and the WTO implement and harmonise trade mark law, with India's position.7 min