THE TRADE MARKS ACT, 1940, CHAPTER IV

CHAPTER IV

EFFECT OF REGISTRATION

No action for infringement of unregistered trade mark20. (1) No person shall be entitled to institute any proceeding to prevent, or to recover damages for, the infringement of an unregistered trade mark unless such trade mark has been continuously in use since before the 25th day of February, 1937, by such person or by a predecessor in title of his and unless an application for its registration, made within five years from the commencement of this Act, has been refused; and the Registrar shall, on application in the prescribed manner, grant a certificate that such application has been refused.

(2) Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to affect rights of action against any person for passing off goods as the goods of another person or the remedies in respect thereof.

Right conferred by registration21. 9[* * *] Subject to the provisions of sections 22, 25 and 26, the registration of a person in the register as proprietor of a trade mark in respect of any goods shall give to that person the exclusive right to the use of the trade mark in relation to those goods and, without prejudice to the generality of the fore¬going provision, that right shall be deemed to be infringed by any person who, not being the proprietor of the trade mark or a registered user thereof using by way of the permitted use, uses a mark identical with it or so nearly resembling it as to be likely to deceive or cause confusion, in the course of trade, in relation to any goods in respect of which it is registered, and in such manner as to render the use of the mark likely to be taken either-

(a) as being used as a trade mark; or

(b) to import a reference to some person having the right either as a proprietor or as registered user to use the trade mark or to goods with which such a person as aforesaid is connected in the course of trade.

(2) [Omitted by section 3 and the Second Schedule of the Bangladesh Laws (Revision And Declaration) Act, 1973 (Act No. VIII of 1973).]

No infringement in certain circumstances22. (1) The right to the use of a trade mark given under section 21 by registration shall be subject to any conditions or limitations entered on the register, and shall not be deemed to be infringed by the use of any such mark as aforesaid in any mode, in relation to goods to be sold or otherwise traded in, in any place, or in relation to goods to be exported to any market, or in any other circumstances, to which, having regard to any such limitations the registration does not extend.

(2) The said right to the use of a trade mark shall not be deemed to be infringed by the use of any such mark as aforesaid by any person-

(a) in relation to goods connected in the course of trade with the proprietor or a registered user of the trade mark if, as to those goods or a bulk of which they form part, the proprietor or the registered user conforming to the permitted use has applied the trade mark and has not subsequently removed or obliterated it, or has at any time expressly or impliedly consented to the use of the trade mark; or

(b) in relation to goods adapted to form part of, or to be accessory to, other goods in relation to which the trade mark has been used without infringement of the right given as aforesaid or might for the time being be so used, if the use of the mark is reasonably necessary in order to indicate that the goods are so adapted and neither the purpose nor the effect of the use of the mark is to indicate otherwise than in accordance with the fact a connection in the course of trade between any person and the goods.

(3) The use of a registered trade mark, being one of two or more trade marks registered under this Act 10[* * *] which are identical or nearly resemble each other, in exercise of the right to the use of that trade mark given by registration as aforesaid, shall not be deemed to be an infringement of the right so given to the use of any other of those trade marks.

Registration to be prima facie evidence of validity23. In all legal proceedings relating to a trade mark registered under this Act 11[* * *] the fact that a person is registered as proprietor thereof shall be prima facie evidence of the validity of the original registration of the trade mark and of all subsequent assignments and transmissions thereof.

Registration to be conclusive as to validity after seven years24. In all legal proceedings relating to a registered trade mark, the original registration of the trade mark shall after the expiration of seven years from the date of such original registration be taken to be valid in all respects unless such registration was obtained by fraud, or unless the trade mark offends against the provisions of section 8.

Saving for vested rights25. Nothing in this Act, shall entitle the proprietor or a registered user of a registered trade mark to interfere with or restrain the use by any person of a trade mark identical with or nearly resembling it in relation to goods in relation to which that person or a predecessor in title of his has continuously used that trade mark from a date prior-

(a) to the use of the first mentioned trade mark in relation to those goods by the proprietor or a predecessor in title of his, or

(b) to the registration of the first mentioned trade mark in respect of those goods in the name of the proprietor or a predecessor in title of his,

whichever is the earlier, or to object (on such use being proved) to registration of that identical or nearly resembling trade mark in respect of those goods under sub section (2) of section 10.

Saving for use of name, address, or description of goods26. No registration of a trade mark shall interfere with any bona fide use by a person of his own name or that of his place of business, or of the name, or of the name of the place of business, of any of his predecessors in business, or the use by any person of any bona fide description of the character or quality of his goods, not being a description that would be likely to be taken as importing any such reference as is mentioned in clause (b) of section 21 or in clause (b) of section 57.

Words used as name or description of an article or substance27. (1) The registration of a trade mark shall not be deemed to have become invalid by reason only of any use after the date of the registration of any words which the trade mark contains or of which it consists as the name or description of an article or substance:

Provided that, if it is proved either-

(a) that there is a well known and established use of the said words as the name or description of the article or substance by a person or persons carrying on a trade therein, not being use in relation to goods connected in the course of trade with the proprietor or a registered user of the trade mark or (in the case of a certification trade mark) goods certified by the proprietor; or

(b) that the article or substance has been manufactured under a patent in force at or granted after the commencement of this section, that a period of two years or more after the cesser of the patent has elapsed, and that the said words are the only practicable name or description of the article or substance,-

the provisions of sub section (2) shall apply.

(2) Where the facts mentioned in clause (a) or clause (b) of the proviso to sub section (1) are proved with respect to any words, then-

(a) for the purposes of any proceedings under section 46-

(i) if the trade mark consists solely of such words, the registration of the trade mark, so far as regards registration in respect of the article or substance in question or of any goods of the same description, shall be deemed to be an entry wrongly remaining on the register;

(ii) if the trade mark contains such words and other matter, the tribunal, in deciding whether the trade mark shall remain on the register, so far as regards registration in respect of the article or substance in question and of any goods of the same description, may, in case of a decision in favour of its remaining on the register, require as a condition thereof that the proprietor shall disclaim any right to the exclusive use in relation to that article or substance and any goods of the same description, of such words, provided that no disclaimer shall affect any rights of the proprietor of a trade mark except such as arise out of the registration of the trade mark in respect of which the disclaimer is made;

(b) for the purposes of any other legal proceedings relating to the trade mark,-

(i) if the trade mark consists solely of such words, all rights of the proprietor under this Act or any other law to the exclusive use of the trade mark in relation to the article or substance in question or to any goods of the same description, or

(ii) if the trade mark contains such words and other matter, all such rights of the proprietor to the exclusive use of such words, in such relation as aforesaid,

shall be deemed to have ceased on the date at which the use men¬tioned in clause (a) of the proviso to sub section (1) first became well known and established, or at the expiration of the period of two years mentioned in clause (b) of the said proviso.