{"id":8796,"date":"2021-10-06T06:29:18","date_gmt":"2021-10-06T06:29:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/?p=8796"},"modified":"2021-10-06T06:29:20","modified_gmt":"2021-10-06T06:29:20","slug":"trademark-for-abbreviations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/trademark-for-abbreviations\/","title":{"rendered":"Trademark for Abbreviations &#8211; Is it Possible?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Under some conditions, acronyms, initials, or abbreviations can be protected as Trademarks. As per a general rule, an abbreviation cannot be considered descriptive unless the wording it signifies is merely illustrative of the products or services, and the abbreviation is instantly understood by respective customers to be substantially synonymous with the simply expressive wording it stands for. In this blog, we are going to discuss Trademark for abbreviations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/trademark-registration\" class=\"text-primary\">Trademark <\/a><\/strong>is a name, logo, word, slogan, etc., which is used by a company to differentiate its products\/goods and services from other companies in the same market. Pictures and words are the most common form of Trademark; however other distinctive signs can be registered so long as they are able of being represented graphically. For instance, designs that have successfully been safeguarded as Trademarks (for example, Coca-Cola bottles) are colours, family names, even smells &amp; sound. <\/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-6a55a7ac3bd47\" 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-6a55a7ac3bd47\"  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\/trademark-for-abbreviations\/#What_is_an_Abbreviation\" title=\"What is an\nAbbreviation?\">What is an\nAbbreviation?<\/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\/trademark-for-abbreviations\/#Trademark_for_Abbreviations\" title=\"Trademark for\nAbbreviations\">Trademark for\nAbbreviations<\/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\/trademark-for-abbreviations\/#Trademark_for_Abbreviations_or_Acronyms_%E2%80%93_Can_it_be_violated\" title=\"Trademark for\nAbbreviations or Acronyms \u2013 Can it be violated\">Trademark for\nAbbreviations or Acronyms \u2013 Can it be violated<\/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\/trademark-for-abbreviations\/#What_are_the_Remedies_available_in_the_case_of_Infringement_of_Trademark_for_Abbreviations\" title=\"What are the Remedies available in the case of Infringement of Trademark for Abbreviations?\">What are the Remedies available in the case of Infringement of Trademark for Abbreviations?<\/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\/trademark-for-abbreviations\/#Case_Law_%E2%80%93Trademark_for_Abbreviations\" title=\"Case Law\n\u2013Trademark for Abbreviations\">Case Law\n\u2013Trademark for Abbreviations<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/trademark-for-abbreviations\/#Conclusion\" title=\"Conclusion\">Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_an_Abbreviation\"><\/span>What is an\nAbbreviation?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\nis a shortened form of a phrase or a word, and they are also known as acronyms;\nand acronyms are abbreviations of longer words with the starting letters or\ngroup of letters in a set phrase. For example, BMW which stands for Bayerische\nMotoren Werke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Trademark_for_Abbreviations\"><\/span>Trademark for\nAbbreviations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Section 2 (m) of the Trade Mark Act, 1999<\/em><\/strong> explains mark as any brand, device name, heading, signature, numeral, word, label, letter, packaging, the shape of products or combination of colours or combination of any kind. According to this definition, abbreviations or acronyms are a type of Trademark and hence must be safeguarded from <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/trademark-infringement\" class=\"text-primary\">Trademark Infringement<\/a><\/strong>, but there are some restrictions. Abbreviations cannot always be eligible for a Trademark. Trademark for abbreviations should fundamentally comply with some factors as mentioned below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>It should not be expressive of\nthe kind of packaging, product, etc.<\/li><li>It should be filed in a\nseparate application after the name registration.<\/li><li>The customers shouldn&#8217;t be able\nto connect it with the products of others, and hence the abbreviations must\nalso be highly different and not common.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Section\n9 of the Trademark Act, 1999<\/em><\/strong>, defines some absolute\ngrounds for the refusal of Trademark Registration, and they are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>If the indications or marks\nhave become usual in the present language or in the established trade routine;<\/li><li>If the mark lacks unique\ncharacter and cannot be differentiated from others\u2019 products or services;<\/li><li>If the Trademark includes marks\nor indications which explains the quality, values, intended purpose, kind, or\ngeographical origin or production time or other characteristics of the products\nor services.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If\nthe abbreviations or acronyms fall under any of the above grounds, then the\nTrademark for abbreviations or acronyms can be denied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Trademark_for_Abbreviations_or_Acronyms_%E2%80%93_Can_it_be_violated\"><\/span>Trademark for\nAbbreviations or Acronyms \u2013 Can it be violated<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According\nto Section 29 of the Trademark Act, 1999, a registered Trademark can be\nviolated by anyone who is neither a person nor a registered owner who has been\nallowed to make use of the Trademark &amp; to use it in due course of trade\nwill be held as a Trademark Infringement. Moreover, it will also be called an\ninfringement if a mark looks like the registered Trademark and resembles the\nproducts &amp; services covered by such registered Trademark. Finally, it would\nalso be held as a Trademark Infringement if an individual used a registered Trademark\nas their Tradename or part of their Trademark name or name of their business or\npart of the name of their business concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_the_Remedies_available_in_the_case_of_Infringement_of_Trademark_for_Abbreviations\"><\/span>What are the Remedies available in the case of Infringement of Trademark for Abbreviations?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"996\" height=\"229\" src=\"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Remedies-available-in-the-case-of-Infringement-of-Trademark-for-Abbreviations.png\" alt=\"Remedies available in the case of Infringement of Trademark for Abbreviations\" class=\"wp-image-8798\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Remedies-available-in-the-case-of-Infringement-of-Trademark-for-Abbreviations.png 996w, https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Remedies-available-in-the-case-of-Infringement-of-Trademark-for-Abbreviations-300x69.png 300w, https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Remedies-available-in-the-case-of-Infringement-of-Trademark-for-Abbreviations-768x177.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 996px) 100vw, 996px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong><em>Criminal Remedies<\/em><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>According to Section 103 of the Act, penalties for applying for wrong Trademarks, Trademark descriptions, etc. Suppose there is an infringement of the Trademark of any company or any individual. In that case, the accountable person will be subjected to imprisonment for six months or is accountable to pay a fine that may extend up to Rs. 50,000.<\/li><li>According to Section 105 of the Act, punishment for the second or subsequent offence under Section 103 &amp; Section 104 of the Trademark Act. In this Section, the guilty person will be subjected to imprisonment for at least one year and which may be extended for three years along with a fine which will not be less than Rs. one lakh and which may be extended to Rs. 2 lakhs.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong><em>Civil Remedies<\/em><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>The aggrieved party can claim damages or harms because the Trademark Infringement led them to endure losses in their business\/claim accounts of profit and the delivery of the violating goods for destruction.<\/li><li>To safeguard the IPR owner&#8217;s interest, the court can issue direct customs authorities and an injunction to withhold the violating shipment or restrict its disposal in another way.<\/li><li>Section 135 of the Act recognises the Anton Piller Order, which prevents the defendant from taking off assets from the jurisdiction of the court. In this Section, the court prevents the products or materials that are violating by ordering to seal the proposed products or materials.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Administrative Remedies:<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p> The different methods of executing administrative remedies are by correcting the Trademark, which look likes the Trademark that had been registered earlier. Another administrative remedy or cure that can be availed is to keep checking the trade activities of the goods that comprise the violated Trademark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Case_Law_%E2%80%93Trademark_for_Abbreviations\"><\/span>Case Law\n\u2013Trademark for Abbreviations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Following\nis a case law of Trademark for abbreviations:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Facts:\n<\/em><\/strong>In the case of Modi&nbsp; Hitech India Ltd. vs. Superon Schweisstechnik\nIndia (2018), the Delhi High Court spoke on the issue related to the Trademark\nfor abbreviations or abbreviations being used as&nbsp; Trademarks of the products being sold,\ntechniques being adopted or the materials being used. The candidate was\noperating a business related to the repair and recovery of welding electrodes.\nThe company&#8217;s Trademark was &#8220;SUPERON&#8221;, and they also used the word\n&#8220;VAC PAC&#8221;, which explained the electrodes that were vacuum packaged.\nThe defendant also used the word &#8220;VAC PAC&#8221;, which meant vacuum\npackages also along with their Trademark &#8220;GMM\/arc.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Conflict\nof the Parties: <\/em><\/strong>The petitioner argued that\n&#8220;VAC PAC&#8221; was a term created by them &amp; because of its maximum\nutilisation and over a long time, that term had gained a secondary meaning\nwhich caused the public to believe or trust that the products or goods having\nthe term or word &#8220;VAC PAC&#8221; was a part of the petitioner&#8217;s company,\nThe petitioner also argued that the Trademark has a unique and original set-up\nand lettering style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Court\u2019s\nFindings<\/em><\/strong>: The court ruled in the defendant&#8217;s\nfavour, and it examined that the term was an expressive and a sign of the\npackaging style used by the company.<\/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>After discussing Trademark for abbreviations, it is concluded that the abbreviations must stand by the situations such as not being expressive of the services that the company or an individual gives and having a meaning that is different from the generic expressive terms that they show. The abbreviations should be such that the clients or public must not confuse them to be synonyms with a specific product. If such conditions are fulfilled, then only abbreviations or acronyms can be safeguarded under the <strong>Trademark Act, 1999<\/strong><sup><a href=\"https:\/\/legislative.gov.in\/sites\/default\/files\/A1999-47_0.pdf\" class=\"text-primary\"><strong>[1]<\/strong><\/a><\/sup> and by the administrative &amp; civil remedies.<\/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\/analysis-of-cybersquatting-in-trademark-act\/\">A Complete Analysis of Cybersquatting in Trademark Act<\/a><\/mark><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Under some conditions, acronyms, initials, or abbreviations can be protected as Trademarks. As per a general rule, an abbreviation cannot be considered descriptive unless the wording it signifies is merely illustrative of the products or services, and the abbreviation is instantly understood by respective customers to be substantially synonymous with the simply expressive wording it [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":8797,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[72],"tags":[870],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8796"}],"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=8796"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8803,"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8796\/revisions\/8803"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaritadvisors.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}