Trademark Protection- A Conceptual Analysis

Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind: inventions; literary and artistic works; and symbols, names and images used in commerce. Intellectual property is derived from the term “industrial property” which includes trademarks, designs, service marks, inventions, commercial names and designations and protection against unfair competition. The Paris Convention defined the term “INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY” for the first time. The Paris Convention provides for protection of industrial property like patents, trademarks, service marks, industrial designs, and the repression of unfair competition. Intellectual property rights refer to the general term for the assignment of property rights through patents, copyrights and trademarks. These property rights allow the holder to exercise a monopoly on the use of the item for a specified period. By restricting imitation and duplication, monopoly power is conferred, but the social costs of monopoly power may be offset by the social benefits of higher levels of creative activity encouraged by the monopoly earnings. Intellectual property rights are intangible in nature, different from the objects they are embodied in. Intellectual property right is a means of just enrichment of the owner. This study specifically talks about trademark as intellectual property right and explain the concept of trademark in detail.