Trademark Misuse through QR Codes: Emerging Legal Issues

ABSTRACT
The increasing use of Quick Response (QR) codes for commercial purposes have brought about new challenges concerning the misuse of QR codes and protection under the trademark law. They are used widely for product identification, payments and for engaging customers. However, their extensive use has resulted in malpractices such as squishing, brushing, payment fraud, identity theft and other forms of deception. The issue becomes more serious when QR code is associated with established trademarks causing confusion among the customers and harming the reputation of the trademark owner. This paper critically examines whether QR codes or their stylised versions can get trademark protection under the Trade Marks Act, 1999. It further goes deeper into the implications of the misuse of QR codes and concludes that a balanced approach of legal and technological mechanisms is the need of the hour for an effective way to prevent such misuse without restricting the legitimate use of QR codes.