No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else. We always hear such quotes like stand out from the crowd or else you will get lost in it. Trademark exactly does this for any organisation whether it is a word mark, symbol, logo or a motion mark. To safeguard their values, name and to make it distinctive from the other players in the market. Most importantly protecting the consumers against misleading practices and to avoid confusion among the public at large.

When we precisely talk about collective trademarks as the name suggests it is shared by a group of people and not by a single individual. Collective trademark means a trademark distinguishing the goods and services of members of an association not being a partnership which is the proprietor of the mark from those of others. With ordinary trademarks the owner protects and restricts the trademark to a particular product/service but the collective trademark is owned collectively by everyone. 

The most common examples of collective trademarks are- rotary club, lions club international , business networking organisation (BNI), Indian medical association, members of various institutes like Chartered Accountants of India  CA, CS, ICWA, CPA. etc.

Certification trademark is in relation with set parameters, accuracy and characteristics are authorized by a certifying authority. To assure consumers of the quality, process,manufacturer,geographic origin etc. 

For example- BIS hallmark (Bureau of Indian standards), AGMARK, ISI mark, FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) PETA certified products (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) most resonating is PUC (Non Polluting Vehicle mark is a mandatory certification) everyone owning a vehicle has to undergo the PUC test. International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a global network of the world’s leading standardisers.

Collective and certification trademarks are diverse in nature; one deals with the goods and services of members of an association of persons not being a partnership which is the proprietor of the mark from those of others. The second one promotes the origin, mode of manufacture, quality, accuracy and performance of the goods/services provided.

BY

KASTURI MORE

LLB 1st Year

YASHWANTRAO CHAVAN LAW COLLEGE, PUNE