INDIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Raj Ramachandran, Kartik Jain, Mannat Nirola and Anmol Mahajan, JSA Advocates & Solicitors
and 4 of the Patents Act, including inventions contrary to public order or morality, traditional knowledge and specified biological processes. Registration Process India follows a first-to-file system. A patent applica - tion may be filed by the inventor, assignee or legal representative with either a provisional or complete specification. Applications are ordinarily published after 18 months from the filing or priority date, unless early publica - tion is requested. Any person may file a pre-grant opposition after publication and before grant. Patent examination is initiated only upon filing a request for examination within the prescribed period. Following examination, the Patent Office issues a First Examina - tion Report setting out objections, if any, which must be addressed by the applicant. Upon satisfaction of the statutory requirements, the patent may be grant - ed. Post-grant opposition proceedings may also be initiated on prescribed grounds. Enforcement and Remedies Patent rights are enforced through civil proceedings. Infringement generally occurs where a third party, without authorisation, makes, uses, sells, offers for sale or imports a patented product or process. Proceedings may be instituted before the competent District Court or High Court having jurisdiction. The principal remedies available under the Patents Act include interim and permanent injunctions, damages or an account of profits, recovery of costs, and sei - zure, forfeiture or destruction of infringing goods and materials predominantly used in their manufacture. 7.2 Trade Marks Trade Mark Protection Trade mark protection in India is governed by the Trade Marks Act, 1999. Under the Trade Marks Act, a trade mark is any mark capable of graphical represen - tation and of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those of another. Protection extends to words, names, logos, labels, devices, signatures, packaging, shapes, colours, sound marks, numerals and combinations thereof.
Registration confers an exclusive right to use the trade mark in relation to the registered goods or services and provides statutory remedies against unauthor - ised use. However, registration is not mandatory, as unregistered marks may also be protected through passing off actions. Indian law also recognises prior user rights, transborder reputation and protection of well-known trade marks. A registered trade mark is protected for a period of ten years from the date of application and may be renewed indefinitely for successive periods of ten years. Registration Process India follows the Nice Classification system and per - mits multi-class applications. The registration process generally involves filing an application, examination by the Trade Marks Registry, publication in the Trade Marks Journal, opposition proceedings (if any) and registration. The application is examined for compliance with statutory requirements and potential conflicts with earlier marks. Following publication, any person may oppose registration within four months. If no opposi - tion is filed, or if opposition proceedings are success - fully concluded, the Registrar grants registration and issues a registration certificate. India is also a signa - tory to the Madrid Protocol, enabling international reg - istration through a centralised filing system. Enforcement and Remedies Trade mark infringement generally arises where a registered trade mark or a deceptively similar mark is used without authorisation in a manner likely to cause confusion or deception. Trade mark rights may be enforced through civil and criminal proceedings. Registered proprietors may institute infringement actions, while proprietors of unregistered marks may pursue passing off claims. Civil remedies include interim and permanent injunc - tions; damages or an account of profits; delivery up, seizure or destruction of infringing goods; and recov - ery of costs. Certain trade mark offences, including falsification of trade marks and dealing in counter -
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