Trademarks in respect of goods produced or manufactured by individuals by their own personal efforts and through invention by applying intellectual endeavour, become, in a way, personal possessions or personal property. As no person can be, in law, be dispossessed of his personal property, similarly no other person may be allowed to steal and make use of the trademark which has become, as aforesaid, the personal property of the inventor or the manufacturer.

In the absence of legal protection, clever but passive individuals may be tempted to make use of the trademarks produced or manufactured by one individual and pass their own goods or things under such trademarks which belong to some other person and thereby earn profits which legally should go to the true and original owner of such trademark. Obviously, a few will make their individual efforts to make any invention whatsoever if no restrictions are placed on the free use or application of the trademarks in respect of the goods produced or manufactured by another. No country can afford to overlook such a situation, for progress in the scientific, industrial and commercial fields depends entirely on the trust, security and guarantee that the credit and the resultant profit would go to the person who made the invention in respect of certain goods or class of goods.

In India, the TRADE AND MERCHANDISE MARKS ACT, 1958, makes ample provisions towards this purpose.

In case a person is using a trade mark of which he is not the owner, then he is infringing the trademark of the true owner. Even if the mark is deceptively similar to a registered mark, the use of such deceptively similar mark amounts to an act of infringement which is punishable in law. Thus, when an individual attempts to pass of goods with a mark owned by or belonging to another, such passing off would also be deemed to be infringement within the meaning of the Act.

Registration of the Mark provides protection to the Applicant/owner for the Mark and over any body copying or infringing the Mark.