Abstract 

In this fast-growing economy, changes are necessary and natural; new inventions and discoveries have replaced the old ones. Trademarks play an important role in the growth of multinational and other billion-dollar entities. Trademarks protect the uniqueness of an entity’s logos, designs, etc., from being stolen or used by others. But what are the facts behind trademarks and advertising, and how does it work? This blog explores how advertising and popularity leads to ‘genericide’, how it affects trademarks behind IPL logos and designs, and how traders protect their trademarks. 

Introduction 

“It cannot be stolen by thieves, nor can it be taken away by kings. 

 It cannot be divided among brothers;does not cause a load on your shoulders. 

 If spent, it indeed always keeps growing. 

 The wealth of knowledge is the most superior wealth of all!”¹ 

So, the rhythm of life goes with the rhythm of society, right? Every day we go through different kinds of products from toothpastes to housewares. Each product holds its own significance. Most people’s morning booster the ‘TEA’, a daily consumer can’t avoid that, but do we all select the same brands? Are we all brushing with the same brand’s toothpaste? The answers would be different. We consider the brand of things, while purchasing goods, right? But why we select goods based on specific name? or how we come to know, oh this is good, and this is not! Yes, there comes the importance of advertising and trademarks. Let’s go deep down into it, through this blog.  

What are Trademarks? 

We all have heard of the term ‘trademark’, but what does this term mean? A work which differs from other significant terms like ‘patent’, ‘copyright’, ‘geographical indication tag (GI tag)’, etc. According to section 2(1) (zb) of The Trademarks Act, 1999, “A trademarks means a mark capable of being represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those of others and may include shape of goods, their packaging and combination of colours.”. Simply saying it, the logos or identification symbols used by different companies to identify their products easily from the bunch of huge heaps of products. They may use different combination of colours, shapes or anything, which can represent those products. 

Beyond What We See 

So, when we choose a product, what we notice first? It’s brand name right? But how do we come to know about that product, the answer is, it’s through advertisements. Whenever we go through an ad, our subconscious mind grasps the product, and sticks into our mind firmly, quietly and unconsciously. Then, whenever we go for shopping, the brands automatically urge us to take that one, and yes, that’s how it works! When these trademarked companies start making profits, other companies start ‘counterfeiting’, which means they start imitating the product, use alike colours, shapes, sometimes names that looks like original one. But do you know one thing, The Trademarks Act, 1999 itself contains sections for all these fraud activities. Under Section 102, it defines the falsifying and falsely applying trademarks and section 103 provides the penalty for applying false trademarks, trade description, etc., and section 104 provides penalty for selling goods or providing services to which false mark or false trade description is applied. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, under section 2(4), also defines ‘counterfeit’. So, there are remedies too! as a citizen, we should be aware of it, if we start a company and start making products with trademarks, which runs in huge profit, can you tolerate, if someone counterfeit ours? it’s a big NO!    

How Many of You Love Cricket? 

My dad used to watch every IPL season. At first, I was curious, about why players were wearing different jerseys and playing for different logos. But gradually and eventually I started loving cricket, noticed the importance of logos of each team, why? Because through their difference in logos, jersey designs, colours, people can identify, which team the person belongs to. What if someone else come and take the same logos or jersey colours, the audience may get confused and it affects the original team, right? Yeah, your favourite IPL team too use trademarks to protect their logos and designs. 

The ‘Escalator’ Story 

While researching on trademarks and other intellectual property rights, I came across a story, which really made me go,‘Oh! Wow!’, Do you know what an Escalator is? Yeah, it’s something which is used for going up or down, an automatic moving stair, right? But actually, it’s not ‘escalator’, it is the ‘moving stairs. The term ‘Escalator’ was originally a trademarked name owned by the Otis Elevator Company. But, due to over popularity, this trademarked name changed to a common name, instead of using moving staircases, people started using ‘escalators’ for describing the ‘moving stairs. This shift from the usage of trademark to a common usage was legally recognized in 1950 court case, Haughton Elevator Co. v. Seeberger. This is known as ‘Genericide’. There is a proverb, which says: ‘Too much of a good thing is bad’, that is, even the nectar, if in excess, is poison.

What are They Doing for Protecting Trademarks? 

Keeping trademarks is not an easy thing, it needs money and timely renewal. And if a company is having the same trademark for 2 different class of products, each needs to be paid for, separately. If a person fails to renew it on time, he needs to pay extra fee for restoration. And, what if anyone else use the same logo or your specific trademark, it is the owner’s responsibility to keep an eye on it, and if any counterfeiting happens, he has to spend money for lawyers to attend the case. 

Conclusion 

So, in this rapid growing world, things are changing, with a blink of an eye. Trademarks become a part knowingly or unknowingly; it gets rooted in our minds through their advertisements. But the question still exists is, by restricting people from using trademarks that are already registered, is it restricting the freedom of expression? 

References 

Manupatra, “Intellectual Property Protection and IPL”, available at: https://manupatra.com/roundup/336/Articles/Intellectual%20Property%20Protection.pdf (last visited July 5, 2026).  

Jones IP Legal Service, “Genericide: The Story of Escalator”, April 24, 2024, available at: https://jonesiplaw.com/genericide-the-story-of-escalator/ (last visited July 5, 2026).  

LawBhoomi, “Intellectual Property Rights Notes”, April 11, 2026, available at: https://lawbhoomi.com/intellectual-property-rights-notes/ (last visited July 5, 2026).  

The Trademarks Act, 1999 (Act No. 47 of 1999).  

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act No. 45 of 2023).