The Privacy-Enforcement Paradox: Navigating Pharmaceutical Trademark Protection Under India's DPDP Act, 2023
- IJLLR Journal
- 2 hours ago
- 1 min read
Pratima Verma, LL.M (Criminal Law), Amity Law School, Lucknow, Amity University, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow Campus
Dr. Taru Mishra, Assistant Professor of Law, Amity Law School, Lucknow, Amity University, Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow Campus
ABSTRACT
The trajectory of Indian trademark law within the pharmaceutical industry represents a complex balance between enforcing private intellectual property rights and safeguarding public health. This paper traces the legislative and judicial evolution of pharmaceutical trademarks from the pre-independence common-law era, through the paradigm-shifting Trade Marks Act of 1999, up to the contemporary digital landscape. It highlights how Indian courts have progressively established a "strict scrutiny" doctrine and an "imperfect memory" test—most notably in the landmark Cadila judgment which lower the threshold for proving deceptive similarity due to the potentially life- threatening consequences of medication errors. The analysis explores critical statutory developments, including the expanded protection of non- conventional marks such as shape and colour trade dress, the prohibition against monopolizing International Non-Proprietary Names (INNs), and the strategic reliance on trademarks following the denial of patent monopolies as seen in the Novartis case. Furthermore, the paper investigates modern challenges introduced by the digital era, such as intermediary liability for e- pharmacies under the IT Act, "algorithmic passing off," and the privacy- enforcement paradox created by the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023. Ultimately, the study concludes that while the Indian legal framework robustly prioritizes consumer safety, it must continuously evolve alongside technological advancements like AI and blockchain to maintain supply chain integrity and effectively combat digital infringement.
Keywords: Pharmaceutical Trademarks, Indian Trademark Law, Public Health, Deceptive Similarity, Algorithmic Passing Off.
