Trade mark assignment takes effect from the deed date, not the registration date, preserving exemption eligibility.

Brand name assignment under a written deed takes effect from the date fixed by the parties, not from the later date of registration. Section 2(i)(a) of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 treats assignment as an act done in writing by the parties, so the operative transfer arises from the consensual deed itself. Registration merely records an assignment already made and does not postpone its effective date. For a registered trade mark, Section 37 also permits assignment with or without goodwill. On that basis, the assignment was effective from 16-8-1993 and the denial of exemption could not be sustained.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was disentitled to exemption under Notification No. 1/93 on the ground that the brand name assignment became effective only from the date of registration, or whether the assignment operated from the date fixed in the deed between the parties.

Analysis: Section 2(i)(a) of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 recognises assignment as an act done in writing by the parties concerned, so the assignment is rooted in the consensual deed itself. Registration only records the assignment already made under the deed and does not postpone its operative date. For a registered trade mark, Section 37 of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 permits assignment with or without goodwill, and the effective date is therefore the date stipulated in the agreement rather than the later date of registration certificate.

Conclusion: The assignment in favour of the assessee became effective from 16-8-1993, and the contrary view was rejected. The demand based on denial of exemption could not be sustained, and the assessee succeeded.

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