The Trade Marks Act governs registration and protection of trademarks in India, giving businesses exclusive rights to use their brand names, logos and marks, and providing legal remedies against infringement and passing off.
Section 18 allows any person claiming to be the proprietor of a trademark to apply for registration, and once registered under Section 28, the owner gets exclusive right to use the mark for the goods/services it covers, renewable every 10 years indefinitely under Section 25.
Section 29 defines infringement as unauthorised use of an identical or deceptively similar mark, entitling the registered owner to injunctions, damages, and account of profits through civil suits. Even unregistered trademarks can be protected through a passing-off action under common law, though registration provides much stronger statutory protection.
The Act also recognises well-known trademarks with cross-category protection, and criminal remedies under Sections 103-104 allow for imprisonment up to 3 years and fine for counterfeiting and falsely applying a trademark, giving brand owners both civil and criminal enforcement options.