Legal Matters

This column has been contributed by vakilsearch ( >www.vakilsearch.com ), an online legal guidance and legal solutions provider. These questions have been asked on vakilsearch.com. It can be reached at >admin@vakilsearch.com .

What does it cost to get trademark protection for a product? While I have applied for trademark protection, is there any way of preventing a competitor from using my logo or making one confusingly similar to mine?

The trademark fees, levied by the Government are Rs 3,500 per class, and a lawyer will typically charge Rs 1,000-4,000 per class as legal fees. Registering a trademark will, therefore, cost you Rs 5,000-7,500 per class, multiplied by the number of classes you want to register your trademark in. (A class is a category of product or service.). The lawyer will then check if the trademark you want is available. The search can be carried out both online and offline, though to be on the safer side, please ask your lawyer to carry out both, the online as well as the offline search.

As for the second part of your question, you can do quite a few things to protect your intellectual property.

Firstly, ask your lawyer to check the ‘Register of Trademarks' regularly. This is a sure way to find out if someone is trying to register a mark identical or ‘deceptively similar' to yours. Although every good intellectual property lawyer should do this as a matter of course, make sure your lawyer does this for you.

Additionally, register your domain name. If you want to register the trademark ‘Zuperclean' for soap, immediately block the domain name ‘zuperclean.com', ‘zuperclean.in' and ‘zuperclean.net'. If someone has registered that domain name or a similar domain name, it might lead you to an infringer of your trademark.

Thirdly, begin using the ™ symbol next to your name. A user is entitled to add that suffix even before a trademark is registered, and it is one way of declaring that you have a commercial interest in that logo / name.

Remember that after registration, you can use the ® symbol next to your name / logo. Using the ® symbol without having a registered trademark is an offence, so be careful to use only the ™ symbol right now.

Finally, please note that even after you register a mark for your product, say a soap, another company can use it for paint, automobiles or even legal services (essentially, for any Class other than soap).

To be on the safer side therefore, register your mark in all the areas (classes) where you currently operate or wish to diversify into in the future. The more areas you are registered in, the more protection you will get.

We are in the process of setting up a manufacturing plant and we are going to install cables and conductors (insulating conductors) to draw power from the sub-station. We will be using the cables both inside and outside the factory. Are we entitled to get CENVAT credit for the amount charged in the supplier's bill?

According to Rule 3 of the CENVAT Credit Rules, CENVAT credit can be taken on duty paid on any input or capital good “received in the factory of manufacture of final product”.

“Capital goods” is defined under Rule 2(a) and includes various items. One of the items included is all goods that fall under Chapter 85 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985.

Chapter 85 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 includes electrical cables and conductors. The only requirement is that the capital goods must be “received” within the factory; they can be used outside the factory as well.

Therefore, it seems clear that the credit of excise duty paid on these goods can be availed of.

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