CHAPTER XIII. -  OFFENCES, PENALTIES AND PROCEDURE

 

98. Meaning of applying a trade description.-(1) A person shall be deemed to apply a trade description to goods or services who-

(a)        applies a trade description to the goods themselves or uses it in relation to goods or services;

(b)        applies a trade description to any package in or with which the goods are sold, or exposed for sale, or had in possession for sale or for any purpose of trade or manufacture;

(c)        places, encloses or annexes any goods which are sold or exposed for sale, or had in possession for sale or for any purpose of trade or manufacture in or with any package or other thing to which a trade description has been applied;

(d)        uses a trade description in any manner reasonably likely to lead to the belief that the goods or services in connection with which it is used are designated or described by that trade description; or

(e)        in relation to the goods or services uses a trade description in any sign, advertisement, invoice, catalogue, business letter, price list or other commercial documents, and goods are delivered or services are rendered to a person in pursuance of a request or order made by reference to the trade description as so used.

 

(2) A trade description shall be deemed to be applied to goods whether it is woven in, impressed on, otherwise worked into, or annexed or affixed to, the goods or to any packaging or other thing.

 

99. Penalty for applying false trade description, etc.- Any person who-

(a)               applies any false trade description to goods or services;

(b)               applies to any goods to which an indication of the country or place in which they were made or produced or the name and address of manufacturer or person for whom the goods are manufactured is required to be applied under section 126, a false indication of such country, place, name or address;

(c)                tampers with, alters or effaces an indication of origin which has been applied to any goods to which it is required to be applied under section 126; or

(d)               causes any of the aforementioned things to be done,

shall, unless he proves that he acted without intent to defraud, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than three months but which may extend to two years, or with fine which shall not be less than fifty thousand rupees, or with both.

 

100. Enhanced penalty on second or subsequent convictions.-Whoever having already been convicted of an offence under section 99 is again convicted of any such offence shall be punished for the second and every subsequent offence with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to three years, or with fine which shall not be less than one hundred thousand rupees, or with both.

 

101. Penalty for falsification of entries in Register.-Any person who makes, or causes to be made, a false entry in the Register, or a writing falsely purporting to be a copy of an entry in the Register, or produces or tenders, or causes to be produced or tendered, in evidence any such writing, knowing the entry or writing to be false, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three months but which may extend to two years, or with fine which shall not be less than fifty thousand rupees, or with both.

 

102. Penalty for falsely representing a trade mark as registered.- (1) No person shall make any representation‑

(a)        with respect to a mark not being a registered trade mark, to the effect that it is a registered trade mark;

(b)        with respect to a part of a registered trade mark not being a part separately registered as a trade mark, to the effect that it is separately registered as a trade mark;

(c)        to the effect that a registered trade mark is registered in respect of any goods or services in respect of which it is not, in fact, registered; or

(d)        to the effect that the registration of a trade mark gives an exclusive right to the use thereof in any circumstances in which, having regard to limitations entered on the Register, the registration does not, in fact, give that right.

 

(2) If any person contravenes any of the provisions of sub‑section (1), he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one month but which may extend to six months, or with fine which shall not be less then twenty thousand rupees, or with both.

 

(3) For the purposes of this section, the use in Pakistan in relation to a trade mark of the word "registered", or of any other expression referring whether expressly or impliedly to registration, shall be deemed to import a reference to registration in the Register, except‑

(a)               where that word or other expression is used in direct association with other words delineated in characters at least as large as those in which that word or other expression is delineated and indicating that the reference is to registration as a trade mark under the laws of a country other than Pakistan, being a country under the laws of which the registration referred to is, in fact, in force;

(b)        where that other expression is of itself such as to indicate that the reference is to such registration as is mentioned in clause (a); or

(c)        where that word is used in relation to a mark registered as a trade mark under the laws of a country other than Pakistan and in relation solely to goods or services to be exported to that country.

 

(4) The Registrar may, either suo moto or upon a complaint in writing made to him, call upon any person who is allegedly contravening any of the provisions of  clauses (a) to (d) of sub-section (1) to show cause as to why action should not be taken against him:

 

Provided that power of the Registrar shall be limited to the imposition of fine as provided under sub-section (2) or, if pending, to refusal of application for registration of the trade mark, or if the trade mark is registered, to invalidation of the registration, or any combination thereof, as the case may be.

 

103. Restraint of use of Government Arms and State emblems.- If a person, without due authority, uses in connection with any trade, business, calling or profession‑

(a)        the flag of Pakistan in such manner as to be misleading;

(b)        Government Arms or arms so closely resembling the same as to be calculated to deceive, in such manner as to be calculated to lead to the belief that he is duly authorised so to use the Government Arms;

(c)        name, title and semblance of Quaid‑i‑Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah or Allama Dr. Mohammad Iqbal or any variations thereof, or any device, emblem or title in such manner as to be calculated to lead to the belief that he is employed by, or supplies goods to, or is connected with, the Federal Government or any Provincial Government or any department of any such Government; or

(d)        the emblem, the official seal and the name or any abbreviation of the name of the United Nations or any subsidiary body set up by the United Nations or of the World Health Organization or of the World Intellectual Property Organization or of the World Trade Organization in such manner as is to be calculated to lead to the belief that he is duly authorized by the competent authorities of these organizations to use the emblem, seal or name,

he may, at the suit of the Registrar or of any person who is authorized to use such Arms, device, emblem or title, be restrained by injunction from continuing so to use the same:

 

Provided that noting in this section shall be construed as affecting the right, if any, of the proprietor of a trade mark containing such Arms, device, emblem or title to continue to use such trade mark.

 

104.  Offences by companies.-  (1) If the person committing an offence under this Ordinance is a company, the company as well as every person in charge of, and responsible to, the company for the conduct of its business at the time of the commission of the offence shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly:

 

Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any such person liable to any punishment if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.

 

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an offence has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or that the commission of the offence is attributable to any neglect on the part of any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

 

Explanation. - For the purposes of this section-

(a)        "company" means any body corporate and includes a partnership, firm or other association of individuals; and

(b)        "director" in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.

 

105.  Powers to award compensation for offenses.- (1) In any prosecution under this Ordinance, the competent Court may, when passing a sentence of fine, direct that an amount not exceeding fifty per cent of the fine imposed by it but commensurate with the loss suffered by the party shall be paid as compensation to the person whose right has been infringed or to the heirs or legal representatives of such person.

 

(2) The payment of any compensation to any person under sub-section (1), shall be without prejudice to his right to any claim in a suit or other proceedings which may be instituted, or may be pending in a Court, in relation to the same matter.

 

106. Punishment of abetment in Pakistan of acts done out of Pakistan.- If any person, being within Pakistan, abets the commission, without Pakistan of any act which, if committed in Pakistan, would, under this Ordinance, be an offence, he may be tried for such abetment in any place in Pakistan in which he may be found and be punished therefor with the punishment to which he would be liable if he had himself committed in that place the act which he abetted.

 

107. Penalty for improperly describing a place of business as connected with the Trade Marks Registry.- If any person uses his place of business, or on any document issued by him, or otherwise, words which would reasonably lead to the belief that his place of business is, or is officially connected with, the Trade Marks Registry, he shall be guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.