TRADE MARKS ORDINANCE
16. Registration subject to disclaimer
(1) If a trade mark contains any part not separately registered by the proprietor as a trade mark or if—
- (a) in the case of a trade mark relating to goods it contains matter common to the trade or otherwise of a non-distinctive character; or
- (b) in the case of a trade mark relating to services it contains matter common to the provision of services of that description or otherwise of a non-distinctive character,
the Registrar or the Court, in deciding whether such trade mark shall be entered or shall remain on the register, may require, as a condition of its being on the register—
- (i) that the proprietor shall disclaim any right to the exclusive use of any part of the trade mark, or of all or any portion of any such matter, to the exclusive use of which the tribunal holds him not to be entitled; or
- (ii) that he shall make such other disclaimer as the tribunal may consider necessary for the purpose of defining his rights under such registration.
(2) No disclaimer on the register shall affect any rights of the proprietor of a trade mark except such as arise out of the registration of the trade mark in respect of which the disclaimer is made.
19. Jointly owned trade marks relating to goods
Where the relations between 2 or more persons interested in a trade mark relating to goods are such that no one of them is entitled as between himself and the other or others of them to use it except—
- (a) on behalf of both or all of them; or
- (b) in relation to an article with which both or all of them are connected in the course of trade,
those persons may be registered as joint proprietors of the trade mark, and this Ordinance shall have effect in relation to any rights to the use of the trade mark vested in those persons as if those rights had been vested in a single person.
19A. Jointly owned trade marks relating to services
Where the relations between 2 or more persons interested in a trade mark relating to services are such that no one of them is entitled as between himself and the other or others of them to use it except—
- (a) on behalf of both or all of them; or
- (b) in relation to services with the provision of which both or all of them are connected in the course of business,
those persons may be registered as joint proprietors of the trade mark, and this Ordinance shall have effect in relation to any rights to the use of the trade mark vested in those persons as if those rights had been vested in a single person.
22. Concurrent use
In case of honest concurrent use, or of other special circumstances which in the opinion of the Court or of the Registrar make it proper to do so, the Court or the Registrar may permit the registration by more than one proprietor, in respect of—
- (a) the same goods or services;
- (b) the same description of goods or services; or
- (c) goods and services or descriptions of goods and services which are associated with each other,
of trade marks that are identical or nearly resemble each other, subject to such conditions and limitations, if any, as the Court or the Registrar, as the case may be, may think it right to impose.
