India – Delhi High Court Holds That “Distinctiveness”, Not “Uniqueness” Is The Test For Trademark Registration Under Section 9(1)(A).

The appellant also relied on judicial precedents and cited several existing registrations containing the word “OFFER” with prefixes or suffixes. Issues Before the CourtThe principal issues before the Court were:Whether the Registrar had correctly applied Section 9(1)(a) while refusing registration of the mark “OFFER”. Whether the distinctiveness of a trademark must be assessed with reference to the goods for which registration is sought. The appellant had filed detailed replies, relied upon judicial precedents and produced examples of previously registered trademarks containing the word “OFFER”. The Court also disagreed with the Registrar’s reasoning that the word “OFFER” necessarily denotes a discount.