TYPES OF TRADEMARKS AND THEIR COMPARISON

A trademark is a symbol that can differentiate between the products or services of one owner and those of other owners. Trademarks are protected by rights regarding intellectual property. Trademark rights can be obtained at the national/regional level by registration, by filing an application for registration with the national/regional trademark office and by paying the fees necessary. Trademark registration shall, in practice, confer an exclusive right to the use of a registered trademark. This means that a trademark can be used exclusively by its owner or allowed for use in exchange for payment by another party. Registration offers legal certainty and enhances the role of the right holder in cases of litigation, for example.

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A word or a mixture of words, letters, and numerals can perfectly represent a trademark. Trademarks, however, can also consist of sketches, symbols, three‐dimensional characteristics such as the form and packaging of products, invisible signs such as sounds or fragrances, or colour shades used as identifying characteristics. One can have the following broad categories of trademarks. They are:

1. PRODUCT MARK: A product mark of a product is similar to a trademark. The main difference is that it only applies to products or goods and not to services. It defines a product's origins and helps in the separation of products of a manufacturer from others. Overall, a trademark is an important way of maintaining a company's goodwill and reputation. It is possible to file an application for a trademark within a few days and use the 'TM' symbol. In general, the time needed for registration of a trademark to complete the formalities is about 18 to 24 months. If the trademark is licenced and the registration certificate is issued, ﴾Registered Symbol﴿ can be used next to the trademark. When a trademark has been registered, it will be valid for 10 years from the date of registration and can be renewed from time to time. A famous example of it is the symbol of Nestle or Amul.

2. COLLECTIVE MARK: These are the trademarks used by a group of companies and can be protected by the group jointly. For the purpose of informing the public of a particular feature of the product for which the collective mark is used, collective marks are used. The owner of such marks may be an organisation or public body, or they may be cooperative. Collective marks are also used for the promotion of particular goods which have certain features specific to the manufacturer in a given field. Thus, a mutual trademark may be used by more than one trader, because the trader belongs to the group. It is the responsibility of a trader associated with a particular collective mark to ensure that its members follow certain conditions laid down in the rules relating to the use of the collective mark. Therefore, the object of the collective mark is to inform the public about certain aspects of the product for which the collective mark is used. Reliance and Tata Sons are examples of Collective Mark.

3. SHAPE MARK: Under the Indian Trademarks Act of 1999, a trademark can also include the shape of products and their packaging, given that the shape can be clearly depicted graphically. This helps to differentiate between items marked under such a trademark and those of another manufacturer. The new Trade Marks Ordinance continues to require such marks to be licenced. If the shape of products can be registered for packaging with any distinctive element. Ornamental Lamps, for example. In some cases, a trademark may be the (three-dimensional) shape of a product or packaging (for example a specially designed bottle of perfume). In a nutshell, after the technical development of graphics, Shape Mark has facilitated product promotion and emerged into the trademark type. Any graphical representation that makes a difference between the goods can be marked with form.

4. SOUND MARK: Often, the sound that plays in the commercial becomes so well known that they instinctively understand what product/service it relates to when people hear it. The sound can be considered to be a trademark and is liable for registration. A sound mark is a mark where a distinctive sound is meant to uniquely identify the origin of a product or service. A certain tone, such as the MGM roar of a lion, is associated with a company or its products or services in the case of sound labels. The sound logo, technically referred to as the audio mnemonic, along with the brand music, is one of the sound branding instruments. A sound logo is a distinctive short melody that is frequently put in a commercial at the beginning or end. It can be perceived as the auditory equivalent of a visual logo. A combination of both forms of the logo is often used to implement the identity of a brand.

5. PATTERN MARK: These are marks consisting of a pattern capable of marking goods or services as having originated in an undertaking and thereby separating them from those of other undertakings. These products/services may be registered as Pattern Marks. The method for determining the uniqueness of design marks is similar to that of other types of marks.  Descriptive or indistinctive pattern marks are objectionable because they fail to function as a trade source marker. These products/services would not be approved for registration without evidence of uniqueness. In circumstances where a pattern mark has been identified in the minds of the public with the goods or services of a particular undertaking, the acquired distinctive character is acquired and the pattern mark may be registered. Therefore, Pattern Trademark is a trademark under which the pattern will differentiate the product from other products.

6. CERTIFICATION MARK: It is a sign indicating that the goods/services are certified in terms of origin, content, quality, precision or other characteristics by the proprietor of the sign. This differs from a typical trademark whose purpose is to differentiate from a specific business the goods/services that come from it. In short, in order to define the standard, certification marks are used. They guarantee customers that certain specified requirements are met by the product. The presence of a certification mark on a product indicates that the specified quality tests have been passed by the product. To ensure the desired quality of the product/service, they guarantee the customers that the producers have gone through an audit process. For example, food products, toys, cosmetics, electrical goods, etc., are labelled in such a way that the protection and quality of the product are defined.

7. SERVICE MARK: A service mark is the same as a trademark but defines and differentiates the source of service instead of a single product. For instance, a company such as Yahoo can brand those goods with a trademark, but use a service mark on the internet search service it provides. 'SM' stands for it. A service mark is nothing but a mark that distinguishes between the services of one owner and the services of another. Service marks do not represent goods, but the services that the company offers. Companies that provide services such as assembly of computer hardware and software, restaurant and hotel services, courier and transportation, beauty and health care, advertising, publishing, etc. are now in a position to protect others from misuse of their names and marks. The rules governing service marks are essentially identical to those of any other trademark.

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BY -ADITI GOEL