Securing Non-Traditional Trademarks In India: Challenges, Milestones, And Future Prospects

In an era of immersive branding, where jingles, hues, and design placements resonate more than words or logos, the scope of what constitutes a "trademark" is evolving rapidly. Traditionally, trademarks in India have been restricted to visual identifiers, such as names, logos, symbols, or combinations thereof. However, sensory marketing has triggered a legal rethink, nudging jurisdictions like India to engage with non-traditional trademarks — notably, sound and color marks.

Under Section 2(1)(zb)¹ of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, a "trademark" is defined as a mark capable of being represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those of others and may include shape of goods, their packaging and combination of colors".