Trademark Registration

In India, trademark registration may be sought for any word, title, symbol, heading, label, name, signature, numeral, or any combination thereof. Additionally, slogans, taglines, or punch lines that effectively describe a product or service are also eligible for trademark protection.

The types of trademark applications that can be filed are:

- Word Mark: This type of application is made with just the word that needs to be trademarked. No logo or slogan is provided with it. It focuses only and only on the word that carries the entire Goodwill of the product or business it is being used for. This type of application gives the highest form of security for the Trademark. It gives rights to its applicant to the extent of stopping anybody else from using the mark with or without any other type of logo or design for it.

- Logo Mark: When the application is accompanied with a Logo, it becomes a Logo Mark. This mark associates the brand name with the Logo and gives protection only in each other’s association. What this means is, the applicant can only stop anybody else from using the Brand name, if that other person is using the brand name with the logo that is attached with this application. If the other person is using it with any other logo, the applicant won’t be able to take any action against them. Nonetheless, this type of application gets registered faster than a word mark application as it has limited rights of protection.

- Sound Mark: Applicants can protect a sound mark to be used as their Trademark via this type of application. Special tunes or sound mnemonics that are used in audio and video advertisements by companies for their products and services can be secured here. These sounds and tunes create a long lasting impression in the listeners and thus associate a form of goodwill for the company’s product and service. This helps them secure their goodwill that is created by these sounds and tunes.

- Trade Dress Mark: The design and content that you see on the packages of products available in the market are secured via this type of application. The package design creates a distinctive identity for the product in the eyes of the customers. Securing this helps the product owners protect the association that the design and packaging has created with its customers.

- Color Mark: Colors have a stronger impact in the memory of humans than text. Hence products and services that us a particular color in their logo or designs, have their customers associate them with the color that they use. The right to use this color for themselves only can be secured by this type of trademark application.

There are numerous products and services that are provided in the market. For the purpose of trademark application filing, these are categorised into a total of 45 Classes. The Classes 1 to 34 Cover all the Products, whereas the classes 35 to 45 cover all the services. It is important that you choose the right class that defines your product or service completely and correctly. You can refer to the website - https://euipo.europa.eu/ec2/- for the same, or contact us and get your free trademark search report along with class identification.

Once a Trademark is registered; the Company or Individual obtains rights over its usage in the Market. This secures its identity from being copied or infringed by anybody else in the same field of business. It also gives exclusive right to the owner to use the name for his own company, products or services, or sell it to any prospective buyer. It protects the goodwill associated with the brand name of the organization, its products or services and helps secure it from rival competitors trying to cash on it by using malpractices.

The Application is made with the Office of Registrar, Controller General of Patents Designs and Trademarks, Trademark Registry of India. There are a total of 5 offices in India, each located in Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Kolkata covering the four sections of India geographically. Your application is submitted in the office covering your jurisdiction geographically.

It is valid for 10 years from the date of application. Don’t worry! You don’t have to reapply for the entire registration process every 10 years. You can get it renewed 6 months before expiry by just paying the nominal renewal fees. You even get a reminder from the Registry itself telling you to renew it. If you keep renewing it you can keep the trademark with you for a lifetime.

Your brand name is applied for trademark registration within 24 hours from the time of receiving all of the required documents and payment. You can start using the TM symbol alongside your brand name now. After about 12-18 Months, it gets registered and a certificate is issued to your address. You can start using the registered trademark symbol after receiving the certificate. If your name has been given "Positive" in our free search report, don’t worry!

Your application will get through to registration smoothly. If you are in a hurry there is a provision to expedite the registration process by paying some extra fees at the Registry. Our executives will guide you further if you are interested!

As per the Trademarks Act 1999, if you are using a certain brand name for many years, you can still be granted a Registration keeping in mind the goodwill attached with your name over the years. The best way is to apply right away and put forth your points in the process.

A Trademark is the word which is used to describe the identity of a product, service of company in the market. Securing this is known as Trademark Registration. Whereas, a copyright refers to securing the right to copy and sell any artwork created by the author or artist, for him to be able to gain monetary benefit from his creation.

As per trademark law, the best way to get a full protection is to apply for a Word mark i.e. without a logo. We only suggest you apply without a logo, as once the words are secured you may use any logo describing it.

Udyog Aadhar can help in bringing the trademark application government fees down drastically. If the applicant is a company but does not have an Udyog Aadhar Registration, then the applicable government fees are Rs 9,000/-. But if it possesses one, then the applicable government fees are Rs 4,500/-.

Yes! You can definitely file a trademark application on your own. You need a class 3 Digital Signature Certificate for the same. You can then visit the registrar’s website - https://ipindia.gov.in/ - and follow the process described on it.

The answer to this is NO! Because you will need to spend on obtaining the class 3 Digital Signature Certificate. This fee is much more than paying our professional fee of Rs 2,000/- only for filing of the application. Also, if your application goes through any other stages like Objection or Opposition, you will have to spend around Rs 2,500/- extra just to get an Attorney allotted for the application that you filed on your own. Hence, it is suggested strongly to file for the same either via us, or any other attorney you find for the same.