How to Register a Trademark in India?
Quick guide and complete process on – How to register a trademark in India.
Friends, if you want to know about the process of Trademark registration, then this article is going to be very useful for you.
Process to Register a Trademark in India
Trademark Registration in India is regulated and govern by the Trade Marks Act, 1999. The Act sets up an office called the Trade Marks Registry.
Under the Trade Marks Act, there is a provision of Trademarks Register which is maintained by The Trade Marks Registry.
In this article we have discussed about the process steps to register a trademark in India, meaning and importance of trademark.
After reading this article, you will know, how to trademark and protect your business or brand from misuse and infringement.
What is Trademark?
A trademark is a visual symbol like a word signature, name, device, label, numerals or a combination of colours, specific text font which is used by the owner of the trademark for goods or services or other articles of commerce in order to distinguish it from the other similar goods or services which are originating from different businesses.
A trademark can also be a word mark, symbol, logo, brand name, packaging wrapper & labels, tagline or a combination of these.
It is used to distinguish the owners’ products or services from those of its competitors.
Thus, the reasons as to why should a brand owner or a startup consider trademark registration for his business.
Advantage of Trademark Registration
- Even the biggest businesses or brand such as Coca-Cola, Siemens, and Apple protect their business by the means of trademark.
- The trademark would thus be an important asset for your business and it also contributes to the goodwill which is generated.
- With the registered trademark one can also stop others from using the trademarked business name / logo etc with the regards to the goods or services it is registered
- Trademark can also be however considered just like any other form of asset like real estate, as it can thus be sold, licensed or assigned
- It also guarantees the identity of the origin of the goods and services.
- Trademarked products or services increase their demand in the markets
- Serves as a badge of loyalty, trust and also of affiliation.
- It may also enable the consumer in order to make a life style or a fashion statement.
Thus the purpose of this article is to make the reader aware the importance of trademark and as to how is he suppose to register a trademark in India.
Let us first proceed with the fact as to who all can apply for a trademark.
Eligibility
Any person which thus includes an individual, company, proprietor or a legal entity which is however claiming to be owner of the trademark can apply.
The application for a trademark can thus be filed within a few days and one can however start using “TM” symbol.
And the time which is however required for trademark registry in order to complete the formalities is 10 to 18 months.
One may however use the ® (Registered symbol) next to the trademark once the trademark is registered and the registration certificate is issued.
Validity of Trademark Registration
A Trademark once registered is however valid for 10 years from the date of filing. It can thus be renewed time to time (Trademark Renewal).
Before writing the detailed process, we are just going to tell you about the steps which you need to follow to get your trademark registered. These include:
- Firstly, You are supposed to select and authorize a trademark agent or an attorney in order to represent you.
- The trademark attorney then conducts a trademark public search.
- Based on the results of the search, the trademark attorney will then draft your trademark application.
- In case someone already has the same or a similar trademark, then you may be required to change your trademark.
- The trademark attorney will then file the trademark application with the Trademark Office in Offline or Online mode. You will get TM application filing acknowledgement receipt.
- After a few days, the trademark attorney will then send the businessman, the Original Representation Sheet of the trademark as it has been filed with the Trademark Office.
Now, we would tell about the procedure which is to be followed while registering a trademark:
Trademark Registration Process
Step 1:
Trademark Search India
In first step, we will do trademark public search.This search is thus to check whether the business name, brand or logo is thus similar to other already registered trademarks.
The time which is taken for the purpose of trademark research is however about 4 hours but we do it upfront for our clients.
Generally, the trademark agent or the attorney do extensive search with the Trademark Office or on Trademark database online, in order to check if there are any similar trademarks which are however already registered under that particular trademark class.
There are thus two kinds of search: online and offline. It is thus recommended that one must get both the searches done. Once it is found to be unique one can however proceed to the next step:
Step 2:
Prepare the trademark application
The time which is required for the purpose of creating the trademark application is 1-2 days. (We file TM Application same day)
Based on the trademark search report, the trademark attorney will then draft your trademark application, provided that the business name / logo is found to be unique.
If someone already has the same or a similar trademark, then the businessman will be required in order to change his.
If the applicant is of opinion that the trademark is however rightfully his and he is using it since a long time even before any other party trademark registration.
One can however start using ™ symbol as soon as he files the form of the trademark application.
Step 3:
Trademark registration
For the purpose of trademark registration , the time which is taken is generally 6 to 12 months. (Registration in 3 months on fast track mode if your logo or brand name is unique.)
For this purpose, The Trade marks office would however first check the application in order to see if it’s already been taken. If it has, a trademark objection will be raised in that case.
- In case there is no objection, an advertisement in the Trade Marks Journal will be published.
- If there is no opposition from the other businesses in the next four months, then the trademark is thus registered around six months later.
Documents Required for Trademark Registration
Last but not the least, the documents that are thus required in order to register the trademark are:-
- Trademark or the logo copy
- Applicant details like the name, address and nationality and for the company: the state of incorporation
- Goods or the services in order to register
- Date of the first use of the trademark in India, if it is thus used by the applicant prior to applying.
- Power of attorney (POA) which is to be signed by the applicant
Recommended Read to know in detail the documents needed to register a trademark in India.
How long does it take for trademark registration?
Final registration of any trademark usually takes anywhere between 6 months to 12 months. Trademark Office decides whether or not to grant the businessman the trademark; if there are objections from the trademark office or either from anyone else, it may thus take longer.
Also, the trademark is thus published in the Trademark Journal.
Thus by following the above mentioned steps and procedure, one can get his trademark registered.
Register Your Trademark through BIZINDIGO
You can easily register your trademark, brand or logo through BIZINDIGO online hassle free process. We offers comprehensive trademark registration services which includes such as:-
- Discussion & Advice on the Class of trademark
- Search on Trademark free of cost
- Drafting of the Authorisation letter
- Preparation of the TM Application
- Filing of the TM Application
- Status updates of the Regular Application
Now, Register Your Trademark and protect your business or brand from any misuse or infringement.