Logo use for E-commerce

They may call that infringment of copy rights...nede to be careful these days..

* infringment of trademark rights

It is better to seek a written permission so as to avoid any problem latter..

Authorised permission is a must

Hi,

The main purpose of a trademark is to help the consumer recognize the source of a particular good or service. The source, in turn, helps people determine the quality as that is what consumers usually base their purchase decisions on. This is why a trademark is of extreme importance in the economy.

The brand value of the trademark owner is represented by a Trade Mark. Trade Marks prevents dishonest individuals/groups from taking undue advantage of a person’s work and traversing credit away from the actual user/creator and hence are an integral part of the use of goods and utilization of services.

Trademark infringement in India is defined under Section 29 of the Trademarks Act, 1999. If a third party/person uses a trademark that is identical or deceptively similar to a registered trademark without authorization, it is known as infringement.

Supreme court in the case of S.M. Dyechem Ltd. Vs Cadbury Ltd held that "a plaintiff in a suit on basis of infringement has to provide not only that his trademark is infringed by a person who is not a registered proprietor of the mark or a registered user thereof but that the said person is using a mark in the course of his trade, which is identical with or deceptively similar to the trademark of the plaintiff, in such a manner as to render the use of the mark likely to be mistaken as the registered trademark."

However, the court does look at certain conditions when it may not be considered as infringement like:

1. Neither the purpose nor the effect of the use of the trademark is to signify any connection with the registered good/service,
2. Fair Use

Infringement of trademark usually causes a loss of finances and goodwill to the owner of the infringed mark. Infringement of a trademark is a cognizable offence and criminal proceedings can be initiated against the infringers or court order (injunction) that the defendant stops using the accused mark.

So it is better you create/ design your own logo which will not only prevent you from infringing someone else’s Trade Mark but also reap benefits for Trade Marking your logo.  

I hope this solves your query.

Regards,

Archit