{"id":23490,"date":"2021-01-05T14:43:36","date_gmt":"2021-01-05T09:13:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/?p=23490"},"modified":"2021-01-05T14:43:38","modified_gmt":"2021-01-05T09:13:38","slug":"shedding-light-on-the-provisions-related-to-unconventional-trademark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/shedding-light-on-the-provisions-related-to-unconventional-trademark\/","title":{"rendered":"Shedding Light on the Provisions Related to Unconventional Trademark"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Section- 2(1) (zb) of the Trademarks Act, 1999 defines trademark as a mark that is capable of being graphically represented and is capable of distinguishing various goods or services of one person from those of others and can include shape of goods, their packaging as well as combination of colours. In this article we are going to learn about the various provisions related to Unconventional Trademark in India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">Page Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/shedding-light-on-the-provisions-related-to-unconventional-trademark\/#Introduction_to_an_Unconventional_Trademark\" >Introduction to\nan Unconventional Trademark<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/shedding-light-on-the-provisions-related-to-unconventional-trademark\/#Requisites_for_the_Registration_of_an_Unconventional_Trademark\" >Requisites for\nthe Registration of an Unconventional Trademark<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/shedding-light-on-the-provisions-related-to-unconventional-trademark\/#Provisions_Regarding_Unconventional_Trademark_Law_in_India\" >Provisions Regarding\nUnconventional Trademark Law in India<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/shedding-light-on-the-provisions-related-to-unconventional-trademark\/#Other_Notable_Examples_of_Unconventional_Trademark_in_India\" >Other Notable\nExamples of Unconventional Trademark in India<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/shedding-light-on-the-provisions-related-to-unconventional-trademark\/#Why_is_it_Difficult_to_Get_an_Unconventional_Trademark_Registered\" >Why is it\nDifficult to Get an Unconventional Trademark Registered?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/shedding-light-on-the-provisions-related-to-unconventional-trademark\/#Conclusion\" >Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Introduction_to_an_Unconventional_Trademark\"><\/span>Introduction to\nan Unconventional Trademark<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A\ntraditional trademark is the one that is unique and symbolize origin and the\nusage of the product. A regular trademark can generally be a word mark, device\nmark, numeral etc., however, an unconventional trademark is the one that does\nnot fall in any of the categories i.e. conventional or traditional trademarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\ncredit for the development of the unconventional marks goes to the <strong><em>Trade\nRelated Aspects to Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement<\/em><\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>TRIPS agreement is an international treaty that deals with Intellectual Properties of the signatory nations and sets standardized legal rules and regulations for all. As India is also a participant of both Trade Related Aspects to Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement and Paris agreement, because of that it is also under obligation to follow the protocols and guidelines issued under the agreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-left\"><b>Read our article<\/b>:<mark style=\"background: #fffd03 !important;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/unconventional-marks-in-india-not-an-ordinary-trademark\/\">Unconventional Marks in India- Not an Ordinary Trademark<\/a><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Requisites_for_the_Registration_of_an_Unconventional_Trademark\"><\/span>Requisites for\nthe Registration of an Unconventional Trademark<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>An\nunconventional trademark is majorly represented in the form of sound marks,\nsmell marks, shape marks or colour marks. Though, it is compulsory for an unconventional mark too,\nto be distinctive. It must possess the ability to be differentiated from\nthe goods and services of one person from that of another. Moreover, it must be\nable to suggest the source and origin of the product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conditions for\nUnconventional Trademark Registration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Conditions that must be fulfilled to register an Unconventional mark-<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Conditions-that-must-be-fulfilled-to-register-an-Unconventional-mark.png\" alt=\"Conditions for Unconventional Trademark Registration\" class=\"wp-image-23491\" width=\"566\" height=\"152\" srcset=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Conditions-that-must-be-fulfilled-to-register-an-Unconventional-mark.png 985w, https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Conditions-that-must-be-fulfilled-to-register-an-Unconventional-mark-300x81.png 300w, https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Conditions-that-must-be-fulfilled-to-register-an-Unconventional-mark-768x207.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 566px) 100vw, 566px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>The proposed unconventional\ntrademark must be distinctive.<\/li><li>The proposed mark must allow a\nperson to be able to differentiate a particular product from other products.<\/li><li>The proposed mark must possess\nthe ability of being graphically representation.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Provisions_Regarding_Unconventional_Trademark_Law_in_India\"><\/span>Provisions Regarding\nUnconventional Trademark Law in India <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With the\nintroduction of new trademark rules on 6th March 2017, a ground for the existence\nof unconventional marks was established in India. The new trademark rules\nprovided provisions for the registration of the unconventional marks in India. Provisions\nfor different types of Unconventional Marks are explained below-<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sound Mark <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A\nsound mark can be registered by submitting a sound clip that includes musical\nnotations and is completely original as per the Rule 26(5). <br>\nThe Indian entity which got an unconventional trademark registered was ICICI\nbank. A combination of musical notation called \u201cJingle\u201d was registered by the\nICICI Bank as a sound mark under the rule 26(5).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Colour Mark<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A\ncolour mark can be registered by submitting a work that includes combination of\ncolours. The responsibility of the originality of the work lies upon the\napplicant and it is to be proved by him that the proposed unconventional mark\nhas obtained distinctiveness because of the bonafide usage over the period of\ntime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mostly,\nin the cases of colour marks, even if the proposed mark is not inherently\ndistinctive, the brand owners are still eligible to apply for the alleged\ntrademark if it has been acquired distinctiveness because of its long usage as\nit is quite challenging for an applicant to prove that a combination of colours\nor single colour is inherently distinctive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During\nthe application for the registration of a colour mark, the applicant must be\nable to provide evidence that supports the fact that the colour or the\ncombination of colours is exclusively and solely associated with their goods\nand services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They\nmust be able to proof that the general public with mediocre mental state\nidentifies the colour only and only as the applicant\u2019s colour mark. The entire\nburden of proof lies upon the applicant to prove that the proposed colour mark\nhas acquired distinctiveness or secondary meaning due to bonafide usage over a\nperiod of time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Smell Mark<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>However,\nno provision regarding the smell mark has been enforced yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Other_Notable_Examples_of_Unconventional_Trademark_in_India\"><\/span>Other Notable\nExamples of Unconventional Trademark in India <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Pronunciation of \u201c<strong><em>Yahoo<\/em><\/strong><sup><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Yahoo!\"><strong><em>[1]<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/sup>\u201d as \u2018Yodel\u2019 was the first unconventional trademark that was represented graphically using musical notations and was the first one to be registered in India.\u00a0 <\/li><li>The Trademark shape of \u2018Zippo lighter\u2019 and its legality was upheld by the court when it was challenged stating that a shape can be trademarked only when the mark is peculiar and distinctive.<\/li><li>A German company registered the sound \u2018Allianz Aktiengesellschaft\u2019 as a sound mark in India. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These are major Unconventional Trademark whose registration led to a drastic development and change in the field of <a href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/trademark-registration\"><strong>Trademark registration<\/strong><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_is_it_Difficult_to_Get_an_Unconventional_Trademark_Registered\"><\/span>Why is it\nDifficult to Get an Unconventional Trademark Registered?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nprovisions for registration process of a regular trademark that consists of\nvisuals or words are mentioned in the Section 18 of the Trademark Act, 1999.\nUncountable traditional trademarks have been registered since the formation of\nthe Act, however, the registration of an unconventional trademark that includes\nsound mark, smell mark, colour mark is yet to speed up as to prove the\noriginality of a sound, colour or a smell is quite challenging. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Applying\nthe rule of originality on a device or a word mark is easy, however, when it\ncomes to an unconventional mark, one may get confronted with hardships. The\nevidence to prove the originality of a colour mark and getting it registered is\nnot a very difficult task, if the applicant can prove that the combination of\ncolours or the single colour has acquired its distinctiveness after its usage\nfor a long time by the applicant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span>Conclusion <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The procedure of the registration of the unconventional trademark has been introduced in the Trademark rules Act, 2017. With the growing technology, the recognition of colours, shapes, scents and sounds is the today\u2019s need.  Unconventional mark would help an ordinary customer with imperfect recollection to help identify any product which they will usually not be able to differentiate between. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-left\"><b>Read our article<\/b>:<mark style=\"background: #fffd03 !important;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/misconceptions-relating-to-trademark-registration-in-india\/\">Misconceptions Relating To Trademark Registration in India<\/a><\/mark><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Section- 2(1) (zb) of the Trademarks Act, 1999 defines trademark as a mark that is capable of being graphically represented and is capable of distinguishing various goods or services of one person from those of others and can include shape of goods, their packaging as well as combination of colours. In this article we are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":23492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[1394],"acf":{"service_id":"18"},"authorName":"Sakshi Srivastava","authorImageUrl":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG-20180130-WA0007.jpg","authorDescription":"Sakshi has pursued B.B.A.LL.B.(IPR Hons.). She is an avid reader and is keen to gather and share her knowledge on the subjects relating to IPR, Company Law and GST. Priorly she has worked as a legal researcher and vide her articles she aims at improving the core knowledge of the subjects to the masses.","postViews":2999,"readingTime":4,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23490"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23490"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23498,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23490\/revisions\/23498"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}