Trademark Registration for Brands in India – Online Procedure
Updated on: Aug 21st, 2022
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7 min read
Trademark Registration Simplified
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Trademark Registration
(Business)
- Ideal for Private Limited Company and Partnership Firm
- Online Filing of trademark application
- Drafting of Form TM-A
- Advice on trademark classification
- Name search and approval
- Regular updates until registration
- Excludes the reply to Trademark Objections
Trademark Registration
(MSME)
- Ideal for Medium and Small enterprises
- MSME registeration also covered
- Online Filing of trademark application
- Drafting of Form TM-A
- Advise on trademark classification
- Documented Follow-up
- Business hours Support
- Excludes the reply to Trademark Objections
In simple words, trademarks are special unique signs that are used to identify goods or services from a certain company. They can be designs, pictures, signs or even expressions. It is important because it differentiates your products from the competitions. It can be associated with your brand or product. Trademarks are classified as intellectual property and therefore is protected from infringement. Trademarks and its rights are protected by the Trademark Act, 1999
To get the protection of trademark rights one has to register the trademark. It is important to register your trademark because it prevents others from copying your mark and misrepresenting other products with your mark. Trademarks help the customers to recognise the brand and the brand value in one look such as the logo of a tick sign for Nike or a jumping wildcat for Puma etc.
Unlike patents, trademark does not have a definite limitation period. Where a patent expires in 20 years a trademark registration expires after 10 years of its registration, but unlike patents, a trademark can be renewed again for another 10 years. This process can be indefinitely done, meaning as long as you keep renewing the trademark it will not expire and will continue to be under the protection of the Act.
- Trademarking a Brand Name
- Trademark Registry
- Who Can Apply For a Trademark?
- How to Register a Trademark
- Online Trademark Registration Procedure
- Status of application
- Registration
- Trademark Registration Fees
- Top 8 Things You Need to Know Regarding Trademark Registration
- Benefits of Trademark Registration in India
- Frequently Asked Questions
1. Trademarking a Brand Name
By trademarking your company’s name, you are protecting the brand, its reputation, and your ideas, all of which you undoubtedly invested a great deal of blood, sweat, and tear working on. And while the trademarking process itself will take time in all areas considered, nothing would be worse than not protecting your brand and potentially be faced with an infringement lawsuit from a larger company.
The process of brand trademark registration in India is now possible and convenient such that you can trademark any one of the below things or even a combination of the following:
– Letter
– Word
– Number
– Phrase
– Graphics
– Logo
–
Sound Mark
– Smell or a mix of colors
2. Trademark Registry
The trademark registry was established in 1940 then came the Trademark Act which was passed in 1999. Currently, the trademark registry works as the operation or functional body of the Act. Or it can also be said to be working side by side. As a functioning body, the trademark registry implements all the rules and regulation of the trademark law in India.
The Head Office of the trademark registry is in Mumbai and it has branch offices in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Kolkata. When registering a trademark, it is registered under the Trademark Act, 1999 and then the registry of trademarks registers it. In this process, the registry will check whether the registering mark meets all the conditions of the Act before registering it.
3. Who Can Apply For a Trademark?
In the Trademark Registration form, the person whose name is mentioned as the applicant will be declared as the owner of the trademark once the trademark is successfully registered. Any individual, a company and an LLP can be an applicant and may file the application for the registration of the particular trademark.
4. How to Register a Trademark
Registration of a trademark is done by the registry of the trademarks. When you plan on registering a trademark there are a few steps involved.
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Choosing a trademark:
Remember to choose a unique and distinctive mark which will represent your company. The other important point is identifying which class you belong to. Currently, there are 45 classes of goods and services under which the trademark can be registered. Classes 1-34 are for goods and classes 35-45 are for service. You can find the class list here
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Mark search:
Once you have chosen your mark it is advisable to conduct a search to check whether your chosen mark is similar to an already registered mark. You can either do this yourself by going to the online website of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks. On the website, you can find an option to do a public search. Once you click on this option you need to choose your class and search the online database.
The other option is to get legal services, although you will have to pay for it is the safer option. Overall legal services will cost lesser in case your trademark is objected against. Not only will they do the search, they will also help you with the whole process. -
Filing application:
You can file one application for multiple classes or series trademark, or collective trademark. For this, you have to fill in form TM-A. This form allows you to register the trademark beyond one class. Filing of this form has two separate cost brackets:
-
Rupees 9,000 or rupees 10,000
If you are not a start-up, small enterprise or an individual you will fall under this bracket. You have to pay rupees 9,000 for e-filing of the from or rupees 10,000 if you file the form in person with the Office of Trade Marks..
-
Rupees 4,500 or rupees 5,000
If you are an individual, small enterprise or a start-up then you fall under this bracket. Rupees 4,500 is the charge for e-filing of the form or rupees 5,000 if you file the form physically.
While filling the form make sure not to make any mistakes, this may lead to delays or even rejection of the application. You have to fill in all the details and also add a picture of the trademark with the dimensions of 9 by 5 cms. You may be required to attach five duplicates of the same. The full file must be then submitted with two duplicates when filing.
You can file it online or by yourself or by an agent, whichever is convenient for you. Confirmation of filing will be done immediately if done online, if done physically it may take up to 15-20 days.
5. Online Trademark Registration Procedure
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Step 1: Surf internet for a brand name that is “wacky-enough”
This is simply a short and best way for any newcomer to get a catchy, trendy, and an interesting brand name. Picking up a brand name that is wacky and quirky is definitely a wise move since most of the generic names would already be in someone’s hands. Moreover, zeroing in on a particular name requires a quick research process to ensure yourself that you are not picking a brand name that is already in use. The best part here is that you can invent or coin some words with a mix of generic words to create a unique brand name for yourself.
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Step 2: Preparing a trademark application
The following supporting documents together with the application have to be submitted for online trademark registration:-
– Business Registration Proof: On the basis of your registered business (for eg: sole proprietorship and so on), an identity proof of the company’s directors and an address proof have to be submitted. In case of sole proprietorship business, id proof of the proprietor viz. PAN card, Aadhar card could be submitted. Whereas, in the case of companies, the address proof of the company needs to be submitted.
-Soft copy of the trademark.
– The proof of claim (which is applicable) of the proposed mark can be used in another country.
– Power of attorney to be signed by the applicant.
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Step 3: Filing the application of brand name registration
Manual Filing and e-filing are the two different ways for filing the registration application (form TM-A). If you choose ‘manual filing’ then you have to personally move and handover your application for the registration to the Registrar Office of Trade Marks situated in the major cities of India like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, and Chennai. After that, you have to wait for at least 15 -20 days to receive the receipt of the acknowledgment.But in the case of an e-filing system, you will receive your receipt of acknowledgment instantly on the government website. Once after receiving your acknowledgment, you are eligible to use your TradeMark (TM) symbol beside your brand name!
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Step 4: Examining the process of the brand name application
Once the application is dispatched, the Registrar of Trademark will check out whether you have followed certain terms and that your brand name complies with, the existing law. Moreover, there should not be any similarity or identical with any existing or pending brands for the registration. This is the reason why we preferred you to choose a quirky brand name!
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Step 5: Publication of your brand in the Indian Trade Mark Journals
After the process of examination, the Registrar of Trademark will publish your brand name in the Indian trademark journal. This is certainly the most important part of the trademark registration and there should not be any opposition within 3 months, i.e. 90 days (or 120 days in some cases), from the date of publication. When there is no opposition, the Registrar of Trademark will proceed towards issuance of Trademark Registration Certificate.
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Step 6: Trademark Opposition
If there is any opposition by a third party within 3 months of the trademark publication in the trademarks journal, the Registrar of Trademarks will give you a copy of the notice of the opposition. You need to reply to the opposition notice by filing a counter-statement within months. If you do not submit the counter statement within 2 months, the trademark application will be considered to have been abandoned and rejected.
However, if there is no opposition within 3 months, this step will not apply to you, and your brand name is proceeding towards acceptance for the issuance of Trademark Registration Certificate. -
Step 7: Hearing on Trademark Opposition
This step will not apply to you, if there is no trademark opposition.
However, if your trademark is opposed by a third party and you send your counter-statement within 2 months, the Registrar of Trademarks will send your copy of the counter-statement to the third party opposing trademark registration.
Evidence must be submitted by you and the third party in support of your case
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