Sri Lanka Consolidated Acts

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Code Of Intellectual Property Act (No. 52 of 1979) - Sect 99

Marks inadmissible on objective grounds

99.
(1) A mark shall not be registered-
(a) which consists of shapes or forms imposed by the inherent nature of the goods or. services or by their. industrial function;
(b) which consists exclusively of a sign or indication which may serve, in the course of trade, to designate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, place of origin or time of production, or of supply, of the goods or services concerned ;
(c) which consists exclusively of a sign or indication which has become, in the current language or in the bona fide and established practices of the trade of Sri Lanka, a customary designation of the goods or services concerned;
(d) which, for other reasons, is incapable of distinguishing the goods or services of one enterprise from those of other enterprises ;
(e) which consists of any scandalous design or is contrary to morality or public order or which, in the opinion of the Registrar or the Court, is likely to offend the religious or racial susceptibilities of any community ;
(f) which is likely to mislead trade circles or the public as to the nature the source, the manufacturing process, the characteristics, or the suitability for their purpose, of the goods or services concerned;
(g) which does not represent in a special or particular manner the name of an individual or enterprise ;
(h) which is, according to its ordinary signification, a geographical name or surname ;
(i) which reproduces or imitates armorial bearings, flags or other emblems, initials, names or abbreviated names of any State or any inter-governmental international organization or any organization created by international convention, unless authorized by the competent authority of that State or international organization ;
(j) which reproduces or imitates official signs or hall- marks of a State, unless authorized by the competent authority of that State;
(k) which resembles in such a way as to be likely to , mislead the public, a mark or a collective mark the registration of which has expired and has not been renewed or where its renunciation, removal or nullity has been recorded in the register during a period of two years preceding the filing of the mark in question;
(l) which consists of any other words or definitions as may be prescribed.
(2) The Registrar shall in applying the provisions of paragraphs (b),- (c),.(d), (f), (g) and (h), of subsection (1), have regard to all the factual circumstances and, in particular the length of time the mark has been in use in Sri Lanka or in other countries and the fact that the mark is held to be distinctive in other countries or in trade circles.


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