Trademark is not registrable. To register the trademark, it should be unique and should not be similar to any other trade mark registered for the same or similar goods or used by a competitor. Therefore, in choosing the trademark, the mark has to persuade the requirement of distinctiveness contained in the Act. This is easy and every applicant has to search indices kept for public inspection at the Trademarks office with or without assistance from the practitioners of trademark law.
According to Section 27 of the 1999 Act, no person shall be entitled to institute any proceeding to prevent, or to recover damages for the infringement of an unregistered trademark. The Act shall be deemed to affect rights of action against any person for passing off goods or services as the goods of another person or as services provided by another person, or the remedies in that respect.
According to Section 28 of the abovementioned act a valid registration confers upon the registered proprietor of the trademark, an exclusive right to use the trademark. If the person who is not a registered proprietor of a trademark or a person using by way of permitted use, uses in the course of trade, a mark which is identical or deceptively similar to the trademark in relation to the goods or services in respect to which the trademark is registered, there is said to be infringement of trademark. If there is infringement of trademark, the proprietor becomes entitled to obtain any amount of damages as provided under the various provisions of the 1999 Act.
