Trademark Registration in India

A trademark can be a word, name, label, colour combination or numbers that are used by businesses to differentiate their goods or services from other same goods or services made in different businesses. For Nestle and Cadbury both are chocolates but have different marks.

Trademarks in India are classified by the Controller General of Patents Designs and Trademarks, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. Trademarks are registered under the Trademark Act, 1999 and give the trademark owner the authority to sue for losses when infringements of trademarks happen. Registered trademarks are intellectual property for business, they are used to safeguard the company’s investment in the brand or symbol. Trademarks are necessary to get registrable if it is unique for the products and services you give. The maximum of the businesses usually looks for registration of the logo or name only. If you have come up with a unique idea or logo, then the only alternative to save it as your own unique identity is to patent it. A registered trademark is your business’s intellectual property or intangible asset. It serves as a protecting cover of the company’s investment made in the logo or brand.

Once a trademark registration process is done, the R symbol can be used and the registration will become valid for 10 years. After 10 years the trademark can be renewed, you just have to apply for a trademark renewal application before the expiry date of your trademark.

TrademarkCart offers registration in various countries like the USA, Dubai, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, UK and many more. We offer a quality of trademark services like trademark filing, trademark search, trademark renewal, and patent registration, etc.

• First-to-Use System: This identifies the rights of the first person to use a mark for commercial purposes. The protection under this system is not very strong.

• Intent-to-Use System: The use of the mark under this application must be shown within 5 years of the application. This does hold a few privileges, though

In the United States, it is not registration, but the exact use of a designation as a mark that generates rights and priority over others. Thus, the rule is that ownership of a trademark goes to the” first-to-use”, not the “first-to-file”.

What Can Be Trademarked?

• Name

  A name including personal or surname of the applicant or predecessor in business or the signature of the person e.g, the name Dhirubai Ambani can be trademarked.

• Word

  A word which is not being directly descriptive of the character or quality of the goods / service. For example Google is a word which has been trademarked.

• Numbers

  Alphanumeric or Letters or numerals or any combination thereof. For example 555 brand.

• Images

  Image, symbol, monograms, 3-dimensional shapes, letters etc. For example the tick in Nike logo.

• Sound

  Sound marks in audio format. For ex the sound in the ad jingle.

Who Can Apply For Trademarked?

The person who can apply for trademark registration are :

• An Individual

  An individual doing and not doing any business is also likely to file a trademark application and get trademark registration for a word or symbol that is intended to be used by him/her in the future. When filing the trademark application as an individual, the full name of the applicant is needed.

• Joint Owners

  In case 2 persons come together and choose to file a trademark application, then the names of both the person must be specified on the trademark application.

• Proprietorship Firm

  In proprietorship firm filing a trademark application, the full name of the Proprietor must be specified in the application. A business name or proprietorship name is not adequate as the name of an individual. This is because a business name or proprietorship name is more like an alias for the actual person and proprietorship firms are not a separate legal entity. Still, if a proprietorship name or business name is included in the application in addition to the name of an individual applicant, those details will be taken separately.

• Partnership Firm

  In partnership firm filing for a trademark application, the names of all the partners are necessarily needed to be specified in an application filed by a partnership firm. Partnership firms are not viewed as a separate legal entity and hence, the names of all Partners must be specified in the trademark application.

• Limited Liability Partnership

  A Limited Liability Partnership making a trademark application, the application for registration must be done in the LLP name. An LLP being an incorporated body has its own identity. Thus the partner by themselves cannot be the applicant.

• Private Limited Company or OPC

  In a private limited company or one-person company making a trademark application, the application for registration must be done in the company name. A company is an established body that has its status other than its directors, therefore a director of the company cannot be the applicant, although the application can be signed and presented by the Director or any officer, authorized by the company.

• Foreign Company

  In the case of a foreign incorporated entity making a trademark application in India, the application for registration should be made in its corporate name, as registered under the foreign country. The nature of registration, country of incorporation and the law under which the company is registered, are to be considered. If the foreign company has no principal place of business in India, the applicant’s address for service in India must be specified in the application.

• Trusts or Society

  If a trademark application is done on behalf of a Trust or Society, the name of the Managing Trustee or Chairman or Secretary describing the Trust or Society should be specified.

Procedure For Trademark Registration

• Complete our trademark Form

  You need to fill our simple online trademark application form & submit documents.

• Conduct your trademark search

  To make sure that unique logo name filed is available or not, Trademark Search is executed by experts.

• Select Appropriate Class

  Depending on nature of your products, we shall suggest the appropriate class of the 45 classes.

• Trademark Application filed

  We create your Trademark application in 3 days and get your TM number.

• Trademark registration completed

  Your trademark is registered in 1.5 2 years if no competitor objects to your trademark application.

Advantages of Trademark Registration

• Global Filling of Trademark: A trademark that is registered and filed in India is allowed to be filed in other countries. Besides, foreigners can also get a trademark registered and filed in India.
• Legal Protection: A registered trademark owner has the legal right in case of violation i.e you dispute that your trademark is repeated by someone else, you sue them for copying your logo, brand, name or slogan.
• Protection from Infringement : Filing a trademark secures the trademarked object is not used without permission by any other company or Individual. But, if the trademark is used by a 3rd-party without the approval of the owner of the trademark, the owner can claim legal protection upon the act and even sue the person or the company who made the wrong usage of the trademark.
• Exclusive rights: The owner of a registered trademark will be capable to have exclusive rights over the trademark. The same trademark can be practiced by the owner for all the products that fall under the same classes. Having the sole rights on the product or services also allows the owner to stop any kind of illegal use of the trademarked thing.
• Differentiating products: Trademarking helps the consumers to find out about the products quickly. They can distinguish among the different kinds of products as the products tend to build an identity for themselves.
• Promotes Goods and Services: Registering a trademark establishes the face of the company or the goods and services. This helps to distinguish and promote brand creation. Most of the companies get their status by trademark so it meets a significant role in promoting and enhances the brand value.

Documents Required

• Copy of Logo

• Signed Form-48

• ID Proof

• Pan Card

• Address proof of Proprietor/Company

• Udyog Aadhaar Registration Certificate

Validity Time of Trademark Registration

Once a trademark application is registered, the applicant can start applying the TM symbol on products or services. All registered trademarks are valid for 10 years from the date of registration.

When the registered trademark validity times about to get expired apply for its renewal and get your time extended.

An expired trademark can be renewed by Form TM-13 (Restoration & Renewal) after 6 months and within 1year from the expiration of the last registration of the trademark.

At the end of the validity of a trademark, a trademark can be renewed simply by giving the Government fee for registration within 6 months by Form TM-12 Renewal of Registration from the date of expiry of the trademark.

Trademark Search

Trademark search must be fulfilled before filing a trademark application to find possible conflicts with existing trademark applications or registered trademarks. You can do a trademark search by giving the wordmark and the class under which the search is to be done. Trademark application is created under 45 different classes as per the NICE classification for trademark. All of the trademark class represents a different set of goods and services. In case you need to find the trademark class for a good or service, you can use our trademark class finder tool. We provide an easy way to complete a trademark search through this online tool.

Search you trademark in 3 simple steps

• Step 1

  Complete our trademark form.

• Step 2

  We will generate your Trademark application

• Step 3

  Final Wrap-Up of your Trademark Order..

Trademark Class

The Trademark Registry has listed goods and services under 45 classes. Your application must specify the classes of the goods/services. The trademark will be registered under those classes only.

• Class 1-Chemical, unprocessed plastics, chemical substances for preserving foodstuffs
• Class 2-Paints, varnishes, preservatives over rust, colorants and metals in foil and powder form
• Class 3-Bleaching preparations, substances for laundry use, cleaning, polishing, soaps, perfumery, essential oils, cosmetics, and hair creams
• Class 4-Industrial oils, greases, lubricants, binding compositions, fuels and candles
• Class 5 –Pharmaceutical, veterinary preparations, sanitary preparations, dietetic substances, and herbicides
• Class 6– Metals alloys, metal building elements, small items of metal hardware, pipes and tubes of metal
• Class 7-Machines tools, agricultural implements, and incubators for eggs
• Class 8-Cutlery, sidearm and razors
• Class 9-Scientific equipment, electric equipment, photographic equipment, measuring equipment, data processing equipment, and computers items
• Class 10- Surgical equipment, artificial limbs, orthopaedic items, and stitching materials
• Class 11– Equipment for lighting, steam generating, cooking, refrigerating, drying ventilating and water supply
• Class 12-Vehicles and equipment for locomotion by land, air or water
• Class 13-Firearms, ammunition, projectiles, explosives and fireworks
• Class 14-Precious metals, jewellery, precious stones, and chronometric instruments
• Class 15– Instruments for music
• Class 16-Paper, cardboard, printed matter, stationery, brushes, typewriters, office necessities and plastic materials for packaging
• Class 17-Rubber, asbestos, mica, plastics, packing of insulating materials and flexible pipes
• Class 18-Leather, trunks and traveling bags, umbrellas and walking sticks
• Class 19-Building materials and non-metallic rigid pipes for building
• Class 20- Furniture, mirrors, picture frames, cork, shell, and amber
• Class 21- Kitchen utensils, containers, combs, sponges, semi-worked glass, and glassware
• Class 22 Cordage, Ropes, Nets, Awnings, Sacks, Padding
• Class 23 Yarns, Threads products
• Class 24 Fabrics, Blankets, Covers, Textile products
• Class 25 Clothing, Footwear, and Headgear products
• Class 26 Sewing Notions, Fancy Goods, Lace and Embroidery products
• Class 27 Carpets, Linoleum, Wall and Floor Coverings (non-textile) products
• Class 28 Games, Toys, Sports Equipment
• Class 29 Foods – Dairy, Meat, Fish, Processed & Preserved Foods
• Class 30 Foods – Spices, Bakery Goods, Ice, Confectionery products
• Class 31 Fresh Fruit & Vegetables, Live Animals,
• Class 32 Beer, Ales, Soft Drinks, Carbonated Waters products
• Class 33 Wines, Spirits, Liqueurs products
• Class 34 Tobacco, Smokers Requisites products
• Class 35-Advertising, business management and administration, and office gatherings.
• Class 36-Insurance, financial affairs, and real estate affairs.
• Class 37-Building construction, repair, and installation services.
• Class 38-Telecommunications.
• Class 39- Transport, packaging, storage of goods and travel arrangement.
• Class 40- Material Treatments
• Class 41-Educating, giving of training, entertainment, sporting, and cultural activities.
• Class 42-Scientific services, design services, technical services, industrial analysis services, and research services and development of computer hardware or software.
• Class 43-Services for giving food and drink
• Class 44 –Medical services, hygienic and beauty care, agriculture, horticulture, and forestry services.
• Class 45-Legal services, security services, personal and social services .

Trademark Renewal

For applying for trademark registration won’t work for the long-term. The trademark continues to be valid for 10 years after that you need to file for Trademark Renewal. The renewal application form must be made and filed before the deadline to have the seamless security of the trademark without any risks of litigation. So, the suggested applying for registration 6 months before expiration.

• Protection from Frivolous Litigation

  It is likely to have seamless trademark security without any risks of litigation. Renewal of trademarks makes hard for someone to have rights over it other than the trademark owner.

• Expansion of Ownership Rights

  You can get protection from infringement of rights over the brand name. The sole rights over the trademark are maintained for 10 years after each renewal. So it gives permanent security of your brand and goodwill made by the brand.

• Brand Name Security

  Renewal of trademark guarantees consistent and unhindered protection of the brand name. Avoiding of renewal leads to a failure of legal protection in Brand name.

• Monetary Returns

  A trademark owner has the particular rights to allot or license the trademark to someone else in return for some monetary benefit. Thus, one can earn a profit from a registered trademark as well.

The application of renewal is done in form TM-12, executed by either the certified owner of the trademark or an agent approved by him. You need to take the help of an expert to register for the renewal of a trademark application to ensure that the mark is well protected. This is because you may require to expand the scope of protection. After all, if your brand has lasted 10 years, it’s possible that it will have discontinued the classes you had 1st registered it under.

Filing a trademark renewal application extends protection by another 10 years. The trademark registrations are relevant for another 10 years and renewed again before expiry.

FAQs on Trademark Registration