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CS Professional · Intellectual Property Rights - Law and Practice · Trademarks

Rohan Appliances applies to register, as a trade mark, the three-dimensional shape of an electric kettle whose form is dictated solely by the need to hold and heat water efficiently to obtain a technical result. The shape is the only element of the mark. Under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, the application is liable to be:

The application is liable to be refused. A mark consisting exclusively of the shape of goods that is necessary to obtain a technical result falls within the shape-based absolute grounds and cannot be registered, regardless of any opposition by a rival.

  1. AAccepted, because shapes of goods are always registrable
  2. BRefused, because a mark consisting exclusively of a shape necessary to obtain a technical result cannot be registeredCorrect
  3. CAccepted, because the nature of goods is a ground for acceptance
  4. DRefused only if a rival opposes it as proprietor of an earlier mark

Explanation

Section 9(3)(b) bars marks consisting exclusively of the shape of goods necessary to obtain a technical result. This is an absolute ground. Option D confuses it with section 11(5), which concerns grounds under 11(2) and 11(3) requiring opposition by the earlier proprietor.

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