It is a sign or symbol or a picture, label, word or words that are used by a person on his goods or articles intended for sale to distinguish/identify them from the goods or articles of others. It is recognized as a very valuable form of IP as it is associated with quality and consumer protection in relation to a product or service. It is essentially a product of competitive economy where more than one person competes for the manufacture of the same product. This necessitated the need for marking of each manufacturer’s goods by a symbol that distinguishes it from similar goods made by others. Essentially a property law, it grants the trademark owner exclusive right to protect his mark by virtue of priority in adoption, long, continuous and extensive use.

Trademark is used as a product differentiator and is a valuable marketing tool in today’s competitive markets. Good trademarks are associated with quality, security and even sense of belonging in the minds of consumers for that product. Trademarks like Tata, Godrej, etc., embody the goodwill of the company and institution they represent.

Trademark Law in India is contained in the provisions of Trademark Act, 1999. The object of this Act is to confer protection to the user of the trademark on his goods and prescribe conditions for acquisition and legal remedies for enforcement of trademark rights. The earlier Trade and Merchandise Act, 1958 has been repealed, and the Trade Marks Act, 1999 was passed after taking into consideration developments in trading and commercial practices in the country since liberalization. Trademark protection under TRIPS is of significance to the Indian pharmaceutical industry which was in the practice of receiving protection for drug names closely resembling the International Non-proprietary Name (INN). As per Section 13 of the amended Trademark Act, 1999, the World Health Organization (WHO) approved INN for a potential new chemical entity cannot be registered for protection as a trademark. Post-TRIPS era, there are several trademark-related litigations in India.