hello all,
our firm has brands that are recognised since last 50 years. sadly we didnt renew them after 2000. so they have all lasped. now a company and my customers together have formed a syndicate since the last 18 months, wherein they are buying our brands (exactly copied to the tee), and are hampering our reputation.
i have some questions:
1. the fim started as a partnership firm (registered) in 1960. we did not have any brands at that point. then some brands were applied for and we got registered brands. then other tardemarks were made popular and in that way trademarks were granted to each individual in the firm over several years of creating teh brands. So who owns the brands. The individuals? bcos in the initial certificate each person's name is written.
2. now fast forward to 2002-2003, these brands have all expired, and the aprtner of the firm decide to do business in their individual capacity. so one partner opens a firm AAA... another opens BBB. the original firm is not dissolved though. it still exists in 2017. but there is no activity in it. the individuals have opened proprietorship firms of their own.
question: so do these same individuals who created the brands in the first company still own the brands? right? ofcourse they have expired. but each individual has the right on the marks, am i correct? is there need of transmission or flow of rights, even if the first firm is not dissolved.?
3. fast forward to 2015. so partner who started AAA passed away. he had right over all brands and he was selling goods with the marks and brands. so no issues there.
BBB (second partner of first firm) is also using brands and marks. so both indivuals (owners of the marks) are doing business.
question: so now since 2015, since AAA passed away, there is a company (XYZ) making identical products using the same names marks exactly as ours and selling them as AAA goods. how can this not be an offence? not only is he damaging our company's reputation and destroying the goodwill of our brands and also taking away our sales and profits, but he is also causing losses to the country by using fraudulent names and not being punished fo it?
this is hampering completely our marks reputation.
can we, BBB carry out PASSING OFF on this XYZ?
considering that brands have expired, but BBB propritor was the creator and originator of all marks in teh first firm?
Please rpely.
thanks
