A trademark is a symbol, name, word, device or any combination which is adopted by a company to distinguish their products from the rest. It is often referred to as brand name. The Trade Marks Act, 1999 and Trade Marks Rules, 2002 governs the laws with respects trademarks.
The first official trademark law was passed in 1940. However due to its limitations and non-use, it was replaced by the Trade and Merchandise Act, 1958. In 1994, India became part of the TRIPS Agreements which set basic standards for intellectual property rights. To meet these basic standards, a number of amendments were introduced to the trademark laws in India. These amendments were made by replacing the former act with the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and the Trade Marks Rules, 2002.