E-Commerce And The Rise Of Trademark Infringement: Legal Frameworks And Enforcement Challenges In India
- IJLLR Journal
- 8 minutes ago
- 1 min read
Shreyash Soumya Kafley, LLM, Alliance School of Law, Alliance University, Bengaluru, Karnataka
ABSTRACT
Trademark protection is an essential ingredient of brand identity and consumer trust, associating goods and services with their sources. The legal structure for trademarks in India comprises of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 which protects rights of the trademark holders and relief against infringement for the same along with Information Technology Act, 2000 and Consumer Protection Act, 2019 that govern certain aspects of E-commerce as well as provisions related to consumer rights. However, the growth of e-commerce is making trademark regulation more problematic as it enables counterfeiting, cybersquatting and other types of brand misrepresentation. This paper addresses a few of the legal and practical obstacles that digital commerce presents to trademark enforcement in India, including intermediary liability and cross-border jurisdictional problems which are regular barriers to brand owners in protecting their Intellectual Property. This paper, with the help of some landmark case laws, highlights the role played by judiciary in defining the duties of e-commerce intermediaries and also tries to discuss about some deficiencies found in existing legislations. With these issues in mind, it gives guidance for enhancing trademark enforcement online such as reforms to intermediary liability, expedited dispute resolution processes, and efforts to raise awareness of trademark rights among consumers. These measures strive towards a proportionate and flexible trademark protection framework in line with the evolving face of e- commerce in India.
Keywords: Intellectual Property Rights, Trademark, Infringement, E- Commerce, Consumer Protection, Digital Market
