Trademarks are a key component of any successful business marketing strategy as they allow companies to identify, promote and license their goods or services in the marketplace and to distinguish them from those of their competitors, and cement customer loyalty.

A trademark symbolises the promise of a quality product and in today’s global and increasingly electronic marketplace, a trademark is often the only way for customers to identify a company’s products and services.

The international trademark system is governed by two treaties, namely, the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (1891) and the Madrid Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (1989).

Considered an important development in the Indian as well as international trademark registration procedure, the Madrid regime would enable an applicant in India to apply online and get trademark protection in the 90 member-nations.

He said the four trademark registries in India — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata a” can now start receiving the applications for international trademarks as per Madrid Protocol from July 8. as The Intellectual Property Rights Attorneys Association will continue to spread awareness about the Madrid Protocol and its procedures and implications in India,a he said and thanked the Indian Intellectual Property Office for ushering in meaningful changes in the trademark law.

he bench also directed the registrar of trademarks to remove the already registered trademark of the Indian company from the trademark register. “The respondent (GNN) has cleverly structured the impugned mark ‘GNN’ with a view to coming close to the ‘CNN’ trademark,” the order said

“The objective of maintaining a trademark register is that the public should know whose goods they are buying and with whom particular goods are associated,” the order added.