Trademark Protection In The Digital Age: Legal Challenges And Enforcement Mechanisms On Social Media Platforms
- IJLLR Journal
- 9 hours ago
- 2 min read
Adv Aiswarya C K, Bharata Mata School of Legal Studies, Aluva
Adv Susmitha M, Bharata Mata School of Legal Studies, Aluva
Adv Abhirami P, Bharata Mata School of Legal Studies, Aluva
ABSTRACT
The increasing commercial significance of social media platforms has transformed the manner in which trademarks are created, promoted, and exploited, while simultaneously intensifying the risks of infringement in digital spaces. Social media platforms now function as active sites of trade, branding, and consumer interaction, giving rise to new forms of trademark misuse such as impersonation accounts, counterfeit sales, misleading advertisements, unauthorized use of trademarks in usernames and hashtags, and algorithm-driven brand misrepresentation. Legal regimes governing trademark protection, originally designed for physical and territorially bound markets, face significant limitations when applied to fast-paced, borderless, and user-generated digital environments.
This paper undertakes a doctrinal analysis of the Indian legal framework governing trademark protection on social media platforms, with particular emphasis on intermediary liability, platform accountability, and judicial interpretation. It examines the scope and application of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (as amended), along with key judicial decisions addressing online trademark infringement. The analysis highlights persistent regulatory and enforcement gaps, including ambiguity in intermediary due diligence obligations, the absence of standardized trademark-specific takedown mechanisms, limited deterrence against repeat infringers, and jurisdictional challenges in cross-border enforcement. The paper argues that while Indian courts have progressively adapted traditional trademark doctrines to digital realities, clearer legislative guidance and enhanced platform responsibility are necessary to ensure effective trademark protection in the social media ecosystem.
Keywords: Trademark infringement, social media platforms, intermediary liability, digital trade, Indian trademark law
