Abstract
Trademark law is primarily viewed as a consumer protection law. Proprietary and consumer interests are not always balanced. This is especially the case with the doctrine of exhaustion of rights in trademarks, where the trademark owner loses control over the further distribution of their trademarked product once sold. Existing statutory exceptions to this doctrine allow the proprietor to take action against resellers only when the product has been impaired or changed. The exceptions do not account for harm or damage to the reputation and goodwill associated with a trademark as a ground to override exhaustion. This article analyzes legislative and judicial decisions regarding exceptions to exhaustion under Indian trademark law, with a comparative examination of rulings from U.S. and EU jurisdictions. The article then highlights the theoretical differences between trademark and copyright law, exploring moral rights in copyright law and the anti-dilution theory of trademarks. In doing so, we examine the feasibility of expanding exceptions to the doctrine of exhaustion to include proprietary concerns as well as consumer and market considerations.
Included in
Comparative and Foreign Law Commons, Intellectual Property Law Commons, International Law Commons