Trade Marks Act, 1996

Limits on effect of registered trade mark.

15.—(1) A registered trade mark shall not be infringed by the use of another registered trade mark in relation to goods or services for which the latter is registered, but subject to section 52 (6).

(2) A registered trade mark shall not be infringed by—

(a) the use by a person of his own name or address;

(b) the use of indications concerning the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, geographical origin, the time of production of goods or of rendering of the service or other characteristics of goods or services; or

(c) the use of the trade mark where it is necessary to indicate the intended purpose of a product or service, in particular, as accessories or spare parts:

Provided that such use is in accordance with honest practices in industrial and commercial matters.

(3) A registered trade mark shall not be infringed by the use in the course of trade in a particular locality of an earlier right which applies only in that locality.

(4) For the purpose of subsection (3) an “earlier right” means an unregistered trade mark or other sign continuously used in relation to goods or services by, or by a predecessor in title of, a person from a date prior to whichever is the earlier of—

(a) the use of the first-mentioned trade mark in relation to those goods or services by the proprietor or a predecessor in title of the proprietor; and

(b) the registration of the first-mentioned trade mark in respect of those goods or services in the name of the proprietor or a predecessor in title of the proprietor;

and an earlier right shall be regarded as applying in a locality if, or to the extent that, its use in that locality is protected by any rule of law, in particular the law of passing off.