Trademarks Questions and Answers

Q: A non-counterfeit product imported from another country without the permission of the intellectual property owner is called as :

Such a product is a parallel import.Parallel imports, or grey-market goods, are genuine products made by or with the consent of the IP owner and sold abroad, then imported into another country without the owner's permission, usually to take advantage of price differences. Whether they are lawful depends on the importing country's rule on exhaustion of rights.Counterfeit smuggling and IPR piracy concern fake or unauthorised copies, while the product here is genuine (non-counterfeit). 'Cross-border import' is not the term of art.

Q: In which of the following case while deciding the dispute whether the trade mark of plaintiff and respondent are likely to be a deceptively similar and may create confusion the Apex court expressed - "........the proprietor of the trade mark cann't enjoy monopoly over the entire class of goods and particularly, when he is not using the said trade mark in respect of certain goods falling under the same class."Choose the correct option :

The case is Nandhini Deluxe v Karnataka Co-operative Milk Producers Federation.In this 2018 case the Karnataka milk federation, owner of the mark NANDINI for milk products, opposed the registration of NANDHINI by a restaurant chain for food items in the same classes. The Supreme Court allowed registration and observed that the proprietor of a trade mark cannot enjoy a monopoly over the entire class of goods, particularly when it does not use the mark for certain goods in that class.National Sewing Thread (1953) concerned passing off of the EAGLE mark, and the two Delhi High Court decisions are not the Apex Court ruling quoted.

Q: While determining the cases of deceptive similarity in contesting claim of trademarks, the court while deciding the issue of "identity", "similarity", "Like to cause confusion" from the perspective of which one of the following fictitious characters ?

The court judges from the perspective of an average man of ordinary intelligence with imperfect recollection.In trade mark cases, Indian courts, as in Amritdhara Pharmacy v. Satya Deo Gupta (1962) and Corn Products v. Shangrila Food Products (1959), ask whether the marks would be likely to deceive or confuse an ordinary purchaser of average intelligence and imperfect recollection, who does not compare the two marks side by side but carries a general impression of one.The person skilled in the art is the patent law standard, the lay observer is used in copyright comparisons, and the reasonable and prudent man belongs to negligence.

Q: Which one of the following is not the absolute grounds for refusal of registration of trademark u/s 9 of the Trademarks Act, 1999 ?

The one that is not an absolute ground is conflict with rights under the Copyright, Patents or Designs Acts.Section 9 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 sets out absolute grounds for refusal, which turn on the mark itself: marks devoid of distinctive character; marks consisting exclusively of indications designating kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value or other characteristics; marks that have become customary in current language or established trade practices; and marks that deceive, hurt religious feelings or are obscene.Options A, B and C are these. Conflict with earlier rights of others, such as a copyright, is a relative ground under Section 11, where an earlier right can be enforced against the mark, so it is not an absolute ground.

Q: Which one of the category of intellectual property rights is subject to a specific period of validity and protection will remain valid unless the registration is cancelled :

The key's answer is The Geographic Indications of Goods Act, 1999.Under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, registration of a GI is valid for ten years, and it may be renewed for further periods of ten years each without limit. So protection has a specific period of validity yet continues as long as it is renewed and not removed from the register.A patent lasts twenty years and then expires. A design is registered for ten years, extendable once by five, after which it falls into the public domain. Copyright arises without registration and lasts for a fixed term (life of the author plus sixty years for most works).

Q: Which one of the following is not the grounds for refusal to register the trademarks u/s 11 of the Trademarks Act, 1999 ?

The one that is not a ground under section 11 is the public policy, economic policy and public sentiment ground.Section 11 sets out the relative grounds for refusal, which depend on earlier rights. Section 11(1)(a) bars a mark identical to an earlier mark for similar goods, and 11(1)(b) a similar mark for identical or similar goods, where confusion is likely (options A and B). Section 11(3) bars a mark whose use may be prevented by the law of passing off or by copyright law (option C).Option D's grounds of prejudice to public policy, economic policy or public sentiment are not among them; the absolute grounds in section 9 deal with deception, religious susceptibilities and scandalous or obscene matter, which are different again.

Q: An office known as Trade Marks Registry has been established under Section........of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 to provide for registration and better protection of trademarks for goods and services.

The Registry is established under Section 5(1).Section 5(1) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 provides that there shall be a Trade Marks Registry for the purposes of the Act, and that the Registry established under the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 shall be the Trade Marks Registry under the new Act.Section 5(2) deals with the head office of the Registry and section 5(3) with branch offices. Section 6 concerns the register of trade marks, and section 7 the classification of goods and services.

Q: Infringement of Registered Trademark dealt under section ..... of Trademark Act, 1999.

Infringement is dealt with in Section 29 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999.Section 29 sets out when a registered trade mark is infringed, for example by use of an identical or deceptively similar mark in the course of trade for identical or similar goods or services, or by taking unfair advantage of a mark with a reputation.Section 30 sets limits on the effect of registration (acts that are not infringement). Sections 22 and 24 deal with other matters of registration, not infringement.

A non-counterfeit product imported from another country without the permission of the intellectual property owner is called as :

A.Counterfeit smuggling
B.IPR Piracy
C.Parallel import
D.Cross-Border import

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2019, SET Exam - 2019,

Answer: C

Such a product is a parallel import.

Parallel imports, or grey-market goods, are genuine products made by or with the consent of the IP owner and sold abroad, then imported into another country without the owner's permission, usually to take advantage of price differences. Whether they are lawful depends on the importing country's rule on exhaustion of rights.

Counterfeit smuggling and IPR piracy concern fake or unauthorised copies, while the product here is genuine (non-counterfeit). 'Cross-border import' is not the term of art.

Discuss in Forum

In which of the following case while deciding the dispute whether the trade mark of plaintiff and respondent are likely to be a deceptively similar and may create confusion the Apex court expressed - "........the proprietor of the trade mark cann't enjoy monopoly over the entire class of goods and particularly, when he is not using the said trade mark in respect of certain goods falling under the same class."

Choose the correct option :

A.National Sewing Thread Co. Ltd. Vs James Chadwick and Bros AIR 1953 SC 357
B.Nestle India Ltd. Vs Mood Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. (2010) 42 PTC 514 (Del) (DB)
C.Shree Nath Heritage Liquor Pvt. Ltd. & Ors Vs Allied Blender and Distillers Pvt. Ltd. (2015) 221 DLT 359.
D.M/s Nandhini Deluxe Vs M/s Karnataka Co-operative Milk Producers Federation Ltd. Civil Appeal Nos. 2937-2942 of 2018.

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2019, SET Exam - 2019,

Answer: D

The case is Nandhini Deluxe v Karnataka Co-operative Milk Producers Federation.

In this 2018 case the Karnataka milk federation, owner of the mark NANDINI for milk products, opposed the registration of NANDHINI by a restaurant chain for food items in the same classes. The Supreme Court allowed registration and observed that the proprietor of a trade mark cannot enjoy a monopoly over the entire class of goods, particularly when it does not use the mark for certain goods in that class.

National Sewing Thread (1953) concerned passing off of the EAGLE mark, and the two Delhi High Court decisions are not the Apex Court ruling quoted.

Discuss in Forum

While determining the cases of deceptive similarity in contesting claim of trademarks, the court while deciding the issue of "identity", "similarity", "Like to cause confusion" from the perspective of which one of the following fictitious characters ?

A.An average man of ordinary intelligence with imperfect recollection
B.The person ordinarily skilled in Art
C.Lay observer
D.A reasonable and prudence man

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2020, SET Exam - 2020,

Answer: A

The court judges from the perspective of an average man of ordinary intelligence with imperfect recollection.

In trade mark cases, Indian courts, as in Amritdhara Pharmacy v. Satya Deo Gupta (1962) and Corn Products v. Shangrila Food Products (1959), ask whether the marks would be likely to deceive or confuse an ordinary purchaser of average intelligence and imperfect recollection, who does not compare the two marks side by side but carries a general impression of one.

The person skilled in the art is the patent law standard, the lay observer is used in copyright comparisons, and the reasonable and prudent man belongs to negligence.

Discuss in Forum

Which one of the following is not the absolute grounds for refusal of registration of trademark u/s 9 of the Trademarks Act, 1999 ?

A.The trademarks which are devoid of any distinctive character, that is to say, not capable of distinguishing the goods or services
B.The trademarks which consist exclusively of marks or indications which may serve in trade to designate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, values etc or other characteristics of goods or services
C.The trademarks which consist exclusively of marks or indications which have become customary in the current language or in the bonafied and established practices of the trade
D.The trademark which is already registered under the Copyright Act, 1957, or related with or may have conflict with the patented product under the Patents Act, 1970 or in conflict with Design Act, 1999

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2021, SET Exam - 2021,

Answer: D

The one that is not an absolute ground is conflict with rights under the Copyright, Patents or Designs Acts.

Section 9 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 sets out absolute grounds for refusal, which turn on the mark itself: marks devoid of distinctive character; marks consisting exclusively of indications designating kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value or other characteristics; marks that have become customary in current language or established trade practices; and marks that deceive, hurt religious feelings or are obscene.

Options A, B and C are these. Conflict with earlier rights of others, such as a copyright, is a relative ground under Section 11, where an earlier right can be enforced against the mark, so it is not an absolute ground.

Discuss in Forum

Which one of the category of intellectual property rights is subject to a specific period of validity and protection will remain valid unless the registration is cancelled :

A.The Copyrights Act, 1957
B.The Patents Act, 1970
C.The Geographic Indications of Goods Act, 1999
D.The Design Act, 2000

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2021, SET Exam - 2021,

Answer: C

The key's answer is The Geographic Indications of Goods Act, 1999.

Under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, registration of a GI is valid for ten years, and it may be renewed for further periods of ten years each without limit. So protection has a specific period of validity yet continues as long as it is renewed and not removed from the register.

A patent lasts twenty years and then expires. A design is registered for ten years, extendable once by five, after which it falls into the public domain. Copyright arises without registration and lasts for a fixed term (life of the author plus sixty years for most works).

Discuss in Forum

Which one of the following is not the grounds for refusal to register the trademarks u/s 11 of the Trademarks Act, 1999 ?

A.If the trademark is, because of its identity with an earlier trademark and similarity of goods or services covered by the trademark, there exists a likelihood of confusion on the part of public
B.If the trademark is, because of its similarity to an earlier trademark and similarity of goods or services covered by the trademark, there exists a likelihood of confusion on the part of public
C.If the trademark is, to the extend that, its use in India is liable to be prevented by virtue of any law in particular that law of passing off protecting an unregistered trademark used in the course of trade, or by virtue of Law of Copyright
D.If the trademark is to the extend that its use in India is liable to cause serious prejudice to public policy, may hamper the economic policy of government or cause serious prejudice to public sentiment

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2023, SET Exam - 2023,

Answer: D

The one that is not a ground under section 11 is the public policy, economic policy and public sentiment ground.

Section 11 sets out the relative grounds for refusal, which depend on earlier rights. Section 11(1)(a) bars a mark identical to an earlier mark for similar goods, and 11(1)(b) a similar mark for identical or similar goods, where confusion is likely (options A and B). Section 11(3) bars a mark whose use may be prevented by the law of passing off or by copyright law (option C).

Option D's grounds of prejudice to public policy, economic policy or public sentiment are not among them; the absolute grounds in section 9 deal with deception, religious susceptibilities and scandalous or obscene matter, which are different again.

Discuss in Forum

An office known as Trade Marks Registry has been established under Section........of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 to provide for registration and better protection of trademarks for goods and services.

A.Section 5(2)
B.Section 6(1)
C.Section 5(1)
D.Section 7(1)

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2024, SET Exam - 2024,

Answer: C

The Registry is established under Section 5(1).

Section 5(1) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 provides that there shall be a Trade Marks Registry for the purposes of the Act, and that the Registry established under the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 shall be the Trade Marks Registry under the new Act.

Section 5(2) deals with the head office of the Registry and section 5(3) with branch offices. Section 6 concerns the register of trade marks, and section 7 the classification of goods and services.

Discuss in Forum

Infringement of Registered Trademark dealt under section ..... of Trademark Act, 1999.

A.Section 22
B.Section 24
C.Section 29
D.Section 30

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2025, SET Exam - 2025,

Answer: C

Infringement is dealt with in Section 29 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999.

Section 29 sets out when a registered trade mark is infringed, for example by use of an identical or deceptively similar mark in the course of trade for identical or similar goods or services, or by taking unfair advantage of a mark with a reputation.

Section 30 sets limits on the effect of registration (acts that are not infringement). Sections 22 and 24 deal with other matters of registration, not infringement.

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