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Until a few years ago, trademark registries around the world were reluctant to register names as trademarks, due to the fact that the person trying to register their name was not the exclusive owner of the name.
With celebrity cult still prevalent in India and also across the world, there has been an increasing practice of using a celebrity’s name in corrupt/dishonest business. This practice of bad faith is widespread due to the reason that the name of a celebrity when used in connection with a business, the same increases the visibility of the goods sold or services rendered and also creates an impression in the minds of consumers that this famous person has endorsed these goods or services.
Due to the prevailing bad practices, more and more celebrities are becoming aware of their rights and the commercial value attached to their names and hence, there has been an increasing demand for their names to be registered as trademarks of various goods and/or services.
Date
In the 1980s, Madonna became one of the first celebrities to consult trademark law to protect her image rights. Later in 1998, another notable trademark case was a battle between the ownership of Elvis Presley and “The Velvet Elvis” (Now called “The Velvet Melvin”) Houston dive bar. While the traditional understanding of the doctrine of trademarks applies more smoothly to tangible goods or services, many current celebrities have begun to follow in the footsteps of Madonna and Elvis in striving to protect their identity and ideal.
in many ways,’subjective marks“1Acting like brands under modern creed. Self-marks represent a particular resource in the public’s mind, albeit associated with a known personality rather than traditional goods or services.2 The use of the celebrity name attracts the attention of the public, arouses their curiosity and arouses interest in products and services. No wonder companies and manufacturers are not shy about using celebrities to launch and market their products. Using a celebrity’s name in an advertisement can help breathe life into a product.3A famous example is Kim Kardashian West, a famous TV star, model, and spokeswoman, who owns several registered trademarks with variations of her name. In the USPTO, trademark registration (self-marks) bears: “Kim Kardashian West“With registration No. 4,978,865 in connection with services under Class 35-” Advertising services, that is, the promotion of brands, goods and services of others; and authentication services, ie promoting the goods and services of others. “And”Kim Kardashian West“With registration number 4989420 under Class 41 in relation to services which are”Entertainment, which is the personal appearance of celebrities, actresses, and models.“
Trademark Registration Act in India
There are no specific provisions in the Trademarks Act 1999 that allow or prohibit the registration of celebrity names as trademarks in India. according to Section 2 (zb) of the Trademarks Act 1999 (hereinafter referred to as “the Law”) A “trademark” is defined as a mark that can be represented graphically and is able to distinguish one person’s goods or services from those of others and may include the shape of the goods, their packaging, and color combinations. Article 14 of the law However, it has been instrumental in regulating the unsupervised use of celebrity names, i.e. preventing/restricting the registration of trademarks that erroneously refer to contact with a living person, or a person whose death occurred within 20 years prior to the filing date of the trademark application where The registrar may require the written consent of that living person or of a legal representative (in the event of the person’s death).
Over the years, the reputation/goodwill associated with a celebrity’s name has been recognized by Indian courts. In case
DM Entertainment vs. Children’s Gift House and OrsAnd4 Famous Indian artist and composer Daler Mehndi has filed a lawsuit against the defendant for registering the domain name “dalermehndi.net”. The Honorable High Court of Delhi in this case prevented the defendant from using the trademark “DALER MEHNDI” in their domain name, thus acknowledging the fact that the performer’s name is of good repute.
List of Indian Celebrities Who Have a Registered Trademark of Their Name [nonexhaustive
list]
Defensive scoring frustrated
The Trademark Law of India is very clear in that it provides protection only when the mark is used on goods or services and not only to protect the value of the trademark to any person, which means that the protection is limited to the goods or services for which the said mark is applied. However, there has been a growing tendency in India to protect the self-mark in as many categories as possible with the aim of protecting the reputation of the celebrity rather than using it on actual goods or services which are contrary to the practice elsewhere. For example, SRK has applied to register his name ‘SHAH RUKH KHAN’ as well as his initials ‘SRK’ as a trademark under almost all 45 categories in India. Such defensive recording is highly objectionable and is in fact not permitted by law. A trademark can still be opposed, cancelled, or removed from the registry on the basis of non-use, hence it is always advisable to acquire the trademark only in relation to the goods/services for which the mark is used or is proposed to be used.
Conclusion
The idea behind trademarking a celebrity’s name is to prevent the name from being misused by unscrupulous companies. This not only allows a celebrity to protect his/her name from being arbitrarily associated with a large number of products, but also ensures that the celebrity gets paid every time he lends his/her name to a product. However, it seems that celebrities in India have received the wrong note. This is because the growing trend in India appears to be moving more towards defensive scoring, which is far from the trend that other countries around the world are following. However, we hope that India’s practice of registering a celebrity’s name as a trademark will eventually catch up with the ever-evolving trademark law worldwide.
Notes
1. “Self tags” are branded personal identifiers that can be protected as trademarks. [coined by William
McGeveran]
2. House. , William McGovern, Selfmarks, 56 Hous. Rev. 333 (2018).
3. Dr.. Rangana Virao, “The State of Celebrity Marks in India,” 2016.
4. CS (OS) No. 893/2002 before the High Court of Delhi in New Delhi ruled on 29/4/2010.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the topic. It is recommended to take the advice of specialists in such circumstances.
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