Section 479 IPC: Property Mark - Definition and Meaning
Section 479 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 defined a "property mark". It was a definition provision forming part of the IPC framework dealing with false property marks, counterfeiting of property marks, instruments used for counterfeiting, and goods bearing counterfeit property marks.
Section 479 IPC - definition of property mark
Property mark.
A mark used for denoting that movable property belongs to a particular person is called a property mark.
What is a property mark?
The definition contains three central elements. There must be a mark; the mark must be used in relation to movable property; and its function must be to denote that the property belongs to a particular person.
Section 479 itself was definitional. It did not prescribe a punishment. Its significance was that the expression "property mark" was used in the succeeding IPC provisions dealing with false or counterfeit property marks.
Meaning of movable property under IPC
Section 22 IPC defined "movable property" as including corporeal property of every description except land and things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth. Read with Section 479, the property mark therefore concerned a mark denoting ownership of movable property.
Property mark and ownership identification
The statutory purpose of a property mark was identification of ownership. The relevant mark indicated that specified movable property belonged to a particular person. This concept provided the foundation for determining when a mark was falsely used or counterfeited under the related IPC provisions.
Related property mark provisions under IPC
| IPC provision | Subject |
|---|---|
| Section 479 | Definition of property mark |
| Section 480 | Repealed provision relating to false trade mark |
| Section 481 | Defines using a false property mark |
| Section 482 | Punishment for using a false property mark |
| Section 483 | Counterfeiting a property mark used by another |
| Section 484 | Counterfeiting a mark used by a public servant |
| Section 485 | Making or possessing an instrument for counterfeiting a property mark |
| Section 486 | Selling goods marked with a counterfeit property mark |
Difference between a property mark and a false property mark
Section 479 merely defined a genuine property mark by its ownership-identifying function. Section 481 addressed false use: broadly, marking movable property or goods, or using a marked case, package or other receptacle, in a manner reasonably calculated to cause it to be believed that the property or goods belonged to a person to whom they did not belong.
Does Section 479 IPC prescribe punishment?
No. Section 479 was a definition provision and contained no independent punishment. Criminal liability and punishment arose under the related provisions where the statutory requirements for false use, counterfeiting, possession of counterfeiting instruments, sale of marked goods or other prohibited conduct were satisfied.
Historical context
The former Section 478 relating to trade marks and Section 480 relating to using a false trade mark were repealed by the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 with effect from 25 November 1959. The IPC provisions concerning property marks, including Section 479, continued to operate in the pre-BNS IPC framework.
Key point
Section 479 supplied the basic statutory definition: a property mark identified movable property as belonging to a particular person. That definition was essential to the operation of the succeeding IPC provisions dealing with false and counterfeit property marks.