Composite Trademark

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Composite Trademarks and their relevancy

Composite trademarks are the marks which contains more than one mark, which may be a combination of color with brand name or logo with Brand Name. A single application is required to be made for the registration of the Brand Name and the Logo together as the composite application.  

Benefits of Composite Mark:

1.      Cost efficient as in one application two or mark can be applied jointly.

2.      Time efficient as the registration of one application contains two different mark.

Disadvantages of Composite Mark:

Composite Mark, if we look at the provisions under Section 17 of the Trademarks Act, 1999, it clearly provides that if a mark includes more than one mark then the Applicant cannot claim the ownership over a particular part of the mark.

The thought of registration of two marks through one Application sounds better but does not impart the ultimate protection to the Owner. A composite mark is registered as whole and the owner cannot claim the proprietorship over the individual substances contained in the mark.

In a judgment delivered in case of Carlsberg India Pvt. Ltd. vs. Radico Khaitan Ltd. by Delhi High Court it was observed that:

“that a registered proprietor of a composite mark cannot seek exclusivity with respect to individual components of the trademark. Therefore, by logical extension, it is not open to Radico, which is the registered proprietor of the composite mark “8 PM” to seek protection for infringement of its trademark by a third party who merely uses the numeral “8”, since no exclusivity can be claimed in a single numeral.”

Hence, the composite application of mark may save the cost but for the point of monopoly and protection over the mark the Composite Mark cannot be termed as the best.