Section 13 of TMA : Section 13: Prohibition Of Registration Of Names Of Chemical Elements Or International Non-Proprietary Names

Explanation using Example

Let's consider a hypothetical scenario. Suppose a pharmaceutical company, named "PharmaX", develops a new drug with a specific chemical compound, let's say "Carbon Dioxide". PharmaX decides to name their new product as "Carbon Dioxide" and attempts to register it as a trademark. According to Section 13 of The Trade Marks Act, 1999:

1. "Carbon Dioxide" is a commonly used and accepted name for a single chemical compound, hence it cannot be registered as a trademark.
2. Similarly, if PharmaX developed a drug and tried to register it under the name "Paracetamol" which is an international non-proprietary name declared by the World Health Organisation, they would again be in violation of the law, as it is deceptively similar to such name.

In both cases, if such a registration was allowed, it would be deemed as an entry made in the register without sufficient cause or an entry wrongly remaining on the register. Therefore, PharmaX would need to come up with a unique name that does not violate these criteria for their new drug.