Statement by India on Agenda Item 6 on the protection of country names against registration and use as trademarks at the Thirty-ninth Session of the Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) [April 23 to April 26, 2018] delivered by Sh. Mohammed Habibulla, Assistant Registrar of Trade Marks, Government of India on 24th April 2018 in WIPO HQ, Geneva.
Thank You Mr Chair,
The Delegation of India thanks to the WIPO Secretariat for the presentation on the revised document SCT/37/3.
2. The present document provides an analysis of the submissions on the priority areas of convergence, the text of which is reproduced at the beginning of each subsection for ease of reference. As part of this analysis, the document attempts to describe any trends, specific ideas or additional concepts emerging from the comments and observations, as well as to provide an overview of the extent of support for each area of convergence. The analysis does not currently cover Possible Areas of Convergence No. 3 (non-registrable if considered misleading, deceptive or false) and No. 4 (consideration of other elements of the mark), which were not considered as a priority by the SCT. These may be included in the analysis should the SCT decide to do so in due course.
3. Although presently there is no specific provision in the Indian Trade Marks Act to prohibit registration of a trademark exclusively on the basis that the mark is a name or emblem of a country (in terms of Article 6ter of the Paris Convention), the Indian office however refuses the registration of such marks on the basis of geographical names. It is proposed to amend the Trade Marks Act 1999 to accommodate prohibition of registration based on Article 6ter of the Paris Convention.
Thank You.
