It was in the mid 1980s that the Indian Trademark Law started to
undergo significant changes. These changes were of several kinds
and can be summarized as follows:-
a) The concept of trans border reputation which expanded the
number of ways in which trademark rights can be created;
b) Better protection of well-known trade marks as a result of
trans border reputation, particularly the expansion of the concept
to goods different from those dealt in by the proprietor;
c) The coverage of newer torts without a formal legislation;
and
d) The expansion of remedies from purely statutory to more
socially acceptable ones.
A. TRANS BORDER REPUTATION
Before the mid 1980s, i.e. before Scotch Whisky Association
vs Jagatjit Industries case, Indian courts recognized only two
sources for the creation of trademark rights, registration and use.
This led to a classical problem. How would you protect a well-known
foreign trademark which had neither been used on a commercial
