Aspects to consider for the work of commercial brands in relation to entertainment and media

Trademark introduction

Trademark is a phrase, word, design or symbol that differentiates and identifies the origin of one party's products from those of others on the market. Protect a brand by making sure no one can take away the goodwill that adds value to the brand. Trademark registration was defined in Section 2 (zb) of the Trademark Law 1999, as a trademark that can be represented graphically and can differentiate the goods / services of one party from those of others and can contain the shape of the goods. its packaging and color scheme. It is essential to register your trademark online in India.

In this blog we will talk about the role of brands in entertainment and media. It's an industry where the name is everything and the title can make or break the song or movie. The burgeoning media industry has made the role of a brand even more crucial. The brand protects the artist's reputation and good will.

Trademark law in the film and music industry

The importance of a distinguishable brand in the film and music industry cannot be undermined. The name of the band or artist is one of the characteristics, if not the most important, in a musician's career, as it offers a sui generis identity to the creator of the song. It is this identity that mainly characterizes the artist in people's minds. The association of a song with the title of a song or the name of a particular brand is what provides real value to that band or artist. The same goes for movie titles and can even be protected. Movie titles can be registered with various companies or associations, such as Indian Motion Picture Film Producers Association or Motion Picture Film & TV Producer Association etc.

Such provisions have no legality, but the courts can take into account the registration thus made while discovering the first user or adopter of the title. Film titles are protected by class 41 of the fourth list of the trademark law, 2001, which contains the registration of services classified as entertainment.

The Indian Film Title and Trademark Protection Act

The Indian film industry is one of the largest and most important film producers in the world. Bollywood produces nearly 1,200 films a year, more than any other film industry in the world, and generates box office revenues of nearly $ 1.8 billion a year. The Indian government awarded the status of the Indian film industry in 2001. It led to its rapid evolution with the entry of many foreign actors and investors including Viacom Motion Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Brothers, etc. This change is huge; However, intellectual property issues have also increased, mainly related to disputes over the use of deceptively identical titles or other forms of unauthorized adoption of film titles, trademark and copyright infringement, and omission.

Protection of "song titles" under the Trademark Act, 1999

The song owner can claim the copyright of a song title only if the title is a substantial part of the work itself in India. Since the title establishes the link to the original work, it can also be registered under the Trademark Act 1999. Registration of the song title is rare in India. "Why this Koaveri by" by Dhanush was the first song recorded under the trademark law, 1999 in India in 2011.

However, the question was opposed and Sony Music Entertainment Private Limited did not receive any protection. Registering trademarks in grades nine and forty-one would help a trademark owner protect the title and use it to make CDs, cassettes, etc. Due to the lack of precedent and clarity regarding registering song titles as trademarks, there are many issues that the law is ambiguous about. Another problem with song title registration in the entertainment industry is that trademark expiration occurs if the trademark is not used for five years.

Scope of trade dress protection in the Indian context

A commercial image means the visual appearance of a product that contains its shape, packaging, color scheme, etc., which can be registered and protected for use by competitors in their businesses and services. Its purpose is to protect consumers from identical-looking products, made to mislead consumers into believing they are buying.The trade dress was not established in the trademark law of 1999. However, section 2 of the law provides a legal framework to safeguard the trade dress by broadening the definition of trademarks to contain the shape of the products, the packaging and the combination of colors .

Application of the doctrine of confusion of initial interests in the trademark of a film title

Consumers are likely to be perplexed if two other identical goods / services use the brand of a similar nature. Media and entertainment companies take advantage of this and design a brand that resembles the famous brand to exploit its image. It is known as initial interest confusion. This doctrine is relevant when it comes to movie titles, as Article 29 of the Trademark Law 1999 mentions that a trademark is infringed if the misleading similarity between two trademarks gives rise to the likelihood of confusion as to the source of the trademark.

96, Sukhdev Vihar, New Delhi – 110025

+91-11-41085620

+91-11-46714072

support@trademarkclick.com

Search This Blog

National Wizz