4 Copyright Tips for Students

We are living in an information age where there is plenty of information available from various sources, physical and digital. Anyone can get good information on various topics, tweak it a little and use the same for his own, videos, presentations, speeches and showcase it as one’s own original work. This is the situation where the importance of copyright is understood. When a student is copying someone else’s work and considering it as his own, he is infringing the patent rights of some other person. 

Hence if a student wants his work to remain unique and prevent someone from copy his work, he can go for the copyright registration in Ahmedabad. 

Following are the tips for the students for accessing the material available from other sources:

1. Use only the open online material

The students should use the online material which is open and should not enter any page where they are prompted as copyright. For an example, if a student wishes to add Shakespeare's work in his research or thesis, the student should provide the reference of the work in such a way that it does not look like infringement. The students should pay attention to their own skill and try to improve their skills instead of copying others’ work.

2. Taking permission before using any other’s work

There are times when a copyrighted work needs to be used for the authenticity of one’s own research. In such cases, it is important to ask for permission before using the work. Even if the owner of the work is not online at your time of using the material, you can just email him/her or text him if the number is available. Once you have obtained the approval, the hindrances will all be cleared and you can present your original work too. 

3. Fair Dealing

Section 52 of the Indian Copyright Act deals with the fair dealing and fair use of the copyright materials. These are actually, exceptions to what one would call as infringement of the copyright. For example, if a student wishes to use a long video clip that is under a copyright, for his learning project, it will not be called infringement. Thus, if the intention of using the material is fair, it is not a copyright violation. 

4. Not sharing material

The student should keep in mind not to share the already copied material from the internet. For example, if a person has downloaded a video from the YouTube, which is already an infringement as per the rules and regulations, the person should neither share it or distribute it, especially for the profit purposes. If it is done, the person needs to bear the consequences. 

The aim of patent and copyrights are to protect the creators of the original work. When a student follows the above mentioned tips, it will be easier for him to use the material and not being caught as well.  

Collective Trademark in India

A collective trademark is a blend of numbers, letters, names, words etc. a collective trademark is owned by an organisation or an association and not just a single individual or a company. For example, a trademark for the textile association of Ahmedabad. A collective trademark registration in Ahmedabad helps in recognizing the value of the items and its geographical source.

The features of a collective trademark are:

1. The collective trademark tells people about the value of a product or service based upon the collective network of organisations.
2. The products are promoted based on a geographic origin. The products not only get domestic recognition but they get international recognition as well. 
3. As other trademarks, a collective trademark helps in differentiating one product from another. 

Types of a Collective Trademark:

1. The marks that are used by the members individually.
2. The marks used by those registered under an association or cooperation.

The collective trademarks have been defined under section 2(1)(g) of the Trade Marks Act,1999. The definition says that it is a trademark used by individuals for their goods and services, out of a formal relationship between them. For example, a trademark of the Dairy association of Ahmedabad.

Regulations under rule 128:

1. The name of all the organisations and their office addresses. 
2. The object and aim of the association.
3. Each detail of the members.
4. The entire conditions of membership and relation of each member with the group.
5. The conditions that will govern the use of the trademark by the members.
6. The procedures to deal with appeals against the wrong use of collective trademarks. 

Draft Regulations:

1. The names of the persons authorised to use the collective trademark.
2. The condition of the membership.
3. Conditions of non-use of the Mark
4. Sanctions for the misuse of the collective trademark

Section 62 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 deals with the registration of the collective trademarks.

Two essential components of collective trademark registration:

1. A collective trademark need not comply with all the rules of the trademark registration if it is likely to deceive the public
2. If the collective trademark may be taken as something else then the registrar will require something unique in the application that will differentiate the collective trademark in the market. 

The section 64 and section 65 deals with the prerequisites for registering a collective trademark and further filing the application of the same in the court.

What cannot be trademarked in India?

 

Trademarks are generally used to differentiate your products and services from others. In this cut-throat competition, it is important to carve out a niche for the items you deal in and hence, trademarks carry a huge value as far as the day-to-day business activities are concerned.

According to the NASSCOM Start-Up Ecosystem Report, India is the third largest country for startups base. In the strife to survive within such intense competition, it is important to take help from trademarking. The concept of trademark registration in Ahmedabad is not new and in the ancient times, the craftsmen too used to put their carved signature on the items they made. With globalization, the rules and regulations of trademarks have more formalised.

When the Trademarks Act was first laid in 1940, it was inept to cater to the needs and requirements of the market. Later, the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 was finalised which was then succeeded by the Trade Marks Act, 1999. The last Act was quite a comprehensive one and it helped the traders and merchants to get the right trademarks for their goods and services.

Getting a trademark precede certain rules. Here is the list of things that cannot be considered as a trademark:

Names/Surnames

The names or surnames cannot be considered as a trademark unless they are of some distinctive nature. Moreover, if the names and surnames are used dishonestly, they can never be accepted as trademarks.

Numbers

Unless the numbers have some specific purpose or they carry certain distinction, they cannot be called trademarks. In some specific cases, the courts have clearly stated that the numbers do not have any particular nature and hence, they cannot be given the status of a trademark.

Color

The Trade Mark Act has never refused to use colors in the trademarks but on the other hand, the Indian courts were never inclined towards adding hues to the trademarks.

Geographical Location

The geographical locations cannot be used as trademarks. The name of any hills station or any other place cannot be used as a trademark for a company.

Sound

The melodic notes are given the status of a trademark but voices like pooch woofing cannot be termed as a trademark.

Smell

It is very difficult to differentiate between any two smells. Moreover, the smell cannot go through the registration procedures of the trademark and hence, no smell can be considered as trademarks in India.