{"id":10669,"date":"2022-02-28T07:09:37","date_gmt":"2022-02-28T07:09:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/?p=10669"},"modified":"2022-02-28T07:11:14","modified_gmt":"2022-02-28T07:11:14","slug":"protection-of-trade-dress-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/protection-of-trade-dress-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"An Overview of Protection of Trade Dress in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Trade\nDress means a visual appearance of products which comprises packaging, shape\n&amp; combination of colours which can be protected. Trade Dress helps the\ncustomers to recognise the product and differentiate it from other products and\nit also helps illiterate customers to differentiate the product based on their\npacking. However, various parties have tried to copy these unique packaging in\ntheir own product with the malafide intention of misusing the goodwill &amp;\nstatus of the already established brand. In this blog, we discuss the\nprotection of Trade Dress in India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_65 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a558675c1b7d\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a558675c1b7d\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/protection-of-trade-dress-in-india\/#What_is_the_Objective_behind_the_Protection_of_Trade_Dress_in_India\" title=\"What is the\nObjective behind the Protection of Trade Dress in India?\">What is the\nObjective behind the Protection of Trade Dress in India?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/protection-of-trade-dress-in-india\/#Fundamentals_of_Trade_Dress\" title=\"Fundamentals\nof Trade Dress\">Fundamentals\nof Trade Dress<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/protection-of-trade-dress-in-india\/#Why_is_it_necessary_to_get_Protection_of_Trade_Dress\" title=\"Why is it\nnecessary to get Protection of Trade Dress?\">Why is it\nnecessary to get Protection of Trade Dress?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/protection-of-trade-dress-in-india\/#Protection_of_Trade_Dress_in_India_%E2%80%93_Scope\" title=\"Protection of\nTrade Dress in India &#8211; Scope\">Protection of\nTrade Dress in India &#8211; Scope<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/protection-of-trade-dress-in-india\/#Conclusion\" title=\"Conclusion \">Conclusion <\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_the_Objective_behind_the_Protection_of_Trade_Dress_in_India\"><\/span>What is the\nObjective behind the Protection of Trade Dress in India?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nprotection of Trade Dress is meant to safeguard the customers from packaging or\nvisual appearance of the product that are designed to take other products. It\nprevents customers from buying a product with the belief that it belongs to\nothers. The primary objective is to safeguard the products &amp; services from\ncopying. It should be unique from others in the market. It shouldn\u2019t create\nconfusion among the minds of the customers so that there shouldn\u2019t be any unfair\nuse of that product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Fundamentals_of_Trade_Dress\"><\/span>Fundamentals\nof Trade Dress<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>It comprises colour, shape,\nproduct configuration, size, etc.;<\/li><li>Product packaging is likely to\nbe distinctive;<\/li><li>The product&#8217;s colour also gives\na unique identity.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_is_it_necessary_to_get_Protection_of_Trade_Dress\"><\/span>Why is it\nnecessary to get Protection of Trade Dress?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Customers\nbuy products because they want or love them and it\u2019s the visual appearance of\nthe product that guides the customers to purchase their preferred product. Even\neducated customers find difficulties in distinguishing two identical products.\nBecause of such reasons, Trade Dress should be protected. Trade Dress should be\nprotected to prevent consumers from confusion while they are shopping and also\nto protect the interests of genuine manufacturers. The product should be\ndistinct from other products in the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Protection_of_Trade_Dress_in_India_%E2%80%93_Scope\"><\/span>Protection of\nTrade Dress in India &#8211; Scope<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In India, there is no particular definition of Trade Dress under <strong><em>the Trademark Act, 1999<\/em><\/strong><sup><a href=\"https:\/\/www.indiacode.nic.in\/handle\/123456789\/1993?locale=en\" class=\"text-primary\"><strong>[1]<\/strong><\/a><\/sup>. However, due to the development in IP Laws, a new amendment recognised Trade Dress via a new Trademark definition under <strong><em>Section 2 of the Trade Marks Act<\/em><\/strong>. Trade Dress is regulated by the laws of unfair competition. Both Federal &amp; State Laws prohibit businesses from imitation or duplicity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Section\n2 states that a graphical representation and the complete product appearance\nwhich differentiate the products &amp; services of one individual from other\nindividuals like their packaging, shape of products, and combination of\ncolours. Section 2 of the Act also states the term package and mark. Package\nincludes any container, bottle, box, vessel, etc. Mark comprises a brand,\nsignature, device, etc., shape of products, combination of colours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before\n2003, Indian courts started knowing the concept of Trade Dress. The new meaning\nof Trademark under Indian Law includes all the elements of the Trade Dress\nunder the US Laws. As a concept, Trade Dress may comprise the cover page design\nof a magazine, the visual look of a lamp, the design of sports shoes, etc. But,\na generic idea and a creative concept cannot be treated as a Trade Dress.\nIndian courts have given common law remedies for the protection of Trade Dress\nin India \u2013 Passing Off (Enforcement against an illegal use).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nshape of goods registration of the Trademark is stated in the provision of <strong><em>Section\n9(3) of the Trademark Act<\/em><\/strong>. This section states that a mark shall only\nbe registered if it doesn\u2019t include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>A shape of products which comes\nfrom nature;<\/li><li>A shape that gives significant\nvalue to the products.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This illustrates the Doctrine of Functionality (it prevents a party from getting Trade Dress in the functional feature of a good\/product), which is identified under Indian Trademark Law. Uniqueness is also a main aspect under the Trade Dress as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/trademark-registration\" class=\"text-primary\"><strong>Trademark<\/strong><\/a>, which means a Trade Dress should be unique i.e., easily identified by the customers. Protection of Trade Dress is given to both registered and unregistered Trademark; this is also the same as to Trademark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Numerous\ntimes courts have given their decision based on the Trade Dress factor of a\nproduct. The precedents of the Indian Judiciary have also established Trade\nDress, a vital aspect of IP protection. Indian Judiciary has recognised\nfeatures like the product shape, product packaging, and combination of colours\nas Trade Dress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One\nof the first matters which gave protection to Trade Dress was Anchor Health and\nBeauty Care vs Colgate Palmolive Company; the issue before the court was\nregarding the red &amp; white colour combination used for the purposes of the product\npackaging, which was likely to deceive the customers. The court in this matter\nemphasises the fact that for the purposes of determining any infringement, the\noverall similarity of the packaging should be taken into consideration and not\nthe dissimilarity. It was also set up that the presence of any actual confusion\nis not necessary as the mere likelihood of confusion of enough for proceeding\nwith the action of passing-off. This case set up the groundwork for the\nprotection of Trade Dress in India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span>Conclusion <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The concept of Trade Dress in India is evolving with time and the courts have played an essential role in the development or advancement of the laws relating to Trade Dress. Protection of Trade Dress is authoritative as it aids in providing unique characteristics to the products in the market, which helps the end customer in recognising them &amp; differentiating them from the other products in the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-left\"><b>Read our Article<\/b>:<mark style=\"background: #fffd03 !important;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/whats-the-procedure-for-filing-a-trademark-application-in-france\/\">What\u2019s the Procedure for Filing a Trademark Application in France?\n<\/a><\/mark><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trade Dress means a visual appearance of products which comprises packaging, shape &amp; combination of colours which can be protected. Trade Dress helps the customers to recognise the product and differentiate it from other products and it also helps illiterate customers to differentiate the product based on their packing. However, various parties have tried to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":10672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[72],"tags":[993],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10669"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10669"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10669\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10685,"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10669\/revisions\/10685"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}