Sumitomo’s rose-scented tyres have earned a definitive space in Indian trademark history with the Trade Marks Registry’s acceptance of the country’s first “smell” mark. But this evolution in unconventional trademark protection also carries a malodourous whiff of domestic limitations on practical enforcement. Katherine Abraham reports

In a historic first for India, the Trade Marks Registry has approved a “smell” trademark. Sumitomo Rubber Industries, a Japanese company, has secured registration for its rose-scented tyres after a two-year delay that ended successfully, despite initial roadblocks.

Swati Sharma, the head of IP at Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas in New Delhi, who also represented the applicant, Sumitomo Rubber, told India Business Law Journal: “‘A rose by any other name would smell as sweet’, a popular adage by William Shakespeare, testifies to the ubiquity, historical significance and positive association and emotional impact that a smell of a rose reinforces, and its application to tyres is unique, arbitrary and clearly distinctive.”

Pravin Anand, managing partner at Anand and Anand in New Delhi, and amicus curiae (friend of the court) to the Trade Marks Registry, told IBLJ: “This development facilitates the progressive acceptance of non-traditional trademarks and supports the evolution of multisensory branding.”

But what made this application succeed where others have failed?

The case

In 2023, Sumitomo approached the Indian Trade Marks Office seeking registration of its “floral fragrance/smell reminiscent of roses as applied to tyres” under class 12, which covers vehicles and apparatus for the transport of people or goods by land, air or water. The application followed the Nice Classification, an international system used to categorise goods and services for trademark registration, and was filed on a “proposed to be used” basis.