25. Prohibition of registration of geographical indication as trade mark.—Notwithstanding
anything contained in the Trade Marks Act, 1999 (47 of 1999), the Registrar of Trade Marks referred to in
section 3 of that Act, shall, suo motu or at the request of an interested party, refuse or invalidate the
registration of a trade mark which—
(a) contains or consists of a geographical indication with respect to the goods or class or classes
of goods not originating in the territory of a country, or a region or locality in that territory which such
geographical indication indicates, if use of such geographical indications in the trade mark for such
goods, is of such a nature as to confuse or mislead the persons as to the true place of origin of such
goods or class or classes of goods;
(b) contains or consists of a geographical indication identifying goods or class or classes of goods
notified under sub-section (2) of section 22.
1. Subs. by Act 33 of 2021, s. 22, for “and before the Appellate Board” (w.e.f. 4-4-2021)
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26. Protection to certain trade marks.—(1) Where a trade mark contains or consists of a
geographical indication and has been applied for or registered in good faith under the law relating to trade
marks for the time being in force, or where rights to such trade mark have been acquired through use in
good faith either—
(a) before the commencement of this Act; or
(b) before the date of filing the application for registration of such geographical indication under
this Act,
nothing contained in this Act shall prejudice the registrability or the validity of the registration of such
trade mark under the law relating to the trade marks for the time being in force, or the right to use such
trade mark, on the ground that such trade mark is identical with or similar to such geographical indication.
(2) Nothing contained in this Act shall apply in respect of a geographical indication with respect to
goods or class or classes of goods for which such geographical indication is identical with the term
customary in common language as the common name of such goods in any part of India on or before the
1st day of January, 1995.
(3) Nothing contained in this Act shall in any way prejudice the right of any person to use, in the
course of trade, that person’s name or the name of that person’s predecessor in business, except where
such name is used in such a manner as to confuse or mislead the people.
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Trade Marks Act, 1999 (47 of 1999) or in this Act, no
action in connection with the use or registration of a trade mark shall be taken after the expiry of five
years from the date on which such use or registration infringes any geographical indication registered
under this Act has become known to the registered proprietor or authorised user registered in respect of
such geographical indication under this Act or after the date of registration of the trade mark under the
said Trade Marks Act subject to the condition that the trade mark has been published under the provisions
of the said Trade Marks Act, 1999 or the rules made thereunder by that date, if such date is earlier than the
date on which such infringement became known to such proprietor or authorised user and such
geographical indication is not used or registered in bad faith.