REGISTRATION of TRADEMARK IN INDIA

REGISTRATION of TRADEMARK IN INDIA

You are entrepreneur and you are thinking that the logo or the company name you registered should be protected so that no one else have right to copy the logo design and start marketing their business under your name, here’s the chance/ opportunity to safeguard your brand name easily.

Be it a visual symbol, which may be a word, name, device, label or numerals used by a business, its called Trademark. To distinguish it goods or services from other similar goods or services originating from a different business, you need to safeguard it. Registration of Trademark can also be obtained for a business name, distinctive catch phrases, taglines or captions. The Trademarks Act, 1999 provides protection to the owner of a trademark and imposes criminal liabilities for the infringement of the trademark owner’s rights.

To enjoy protection, the owner of a trademark must apply for registration with the Trademark Registrar of the Registry of Trademarks, India. But before we proceed ahead to understand the concept of Trademark in India, it is important to note that the name/ logo/ wordmark should be unique and meaningful, so that the chances to obtain it gets higher.

Keep in mind that the class you select for Trademark registration should be appropriate. To know the classes, see below;

What can be registered as trademark?

Any word, name, device, label, numerals or a combination of colors that can be represented graphically (in a paper) can be registered as a trademark. The trademark to be registered must also be distinctive for the services or goods for which it is proposed to be registered.

Who can apply for trademark registration?

Any person claiming to be the owner of the trademark used or proposed to be used can apply for trademark registration. The person can be an individual, company, NGO, etc.,

Duration For Trademark Application Process

About 12 to 18 months depending on various factors. Sometimes it can be longer if there are objections from the Registry or from third parties to be overcome.

Trademark Registration Tenure

It lasts 10 years and can be renewed for further period of 10 years. If you do not pay your renewal fee by the next renewal date, your mark will expire.

Use Public Search: 

It is recommended to conduct a Trademark availability search in order to check if any similar Trademark has been filed in India, which may oppose your registration. The cost of the search is generally quite insignificant in comparison to the costs of re-branding if there is difficulty in using the Trademark because it infringes the right of others.

http://ipindiaservices.gov.in/tmrpublicsearch/frmmain.aspx

Click the above link to check the availability. It is also recommended that you perform google search extensively to check whether the name you desire to register is already registered outside India.

Filing:

A trademark application can be filed for single or multi class.

Examination:

The Trademark office will examine the registerability of the application which includes distinctiveness, existing similarity with prior registrations, and completion of supporting documents, if accepted, the Trademark Office will issue an acceptance order and the Trademark is ordered for publication. 

Publication: 

Trademark applications accepted by the Registrar are published in Trademark Journal. Any interested party may file a notice of opposition to the registration of the mark within 3 months from the date of last publication.

Fees:

To apply for Trademark under one class, the government fees is Rs. 4000 INR one wordmark one class.

Documents/ Information required:

Name of the Applicant(s) (In case the Applicant is different from the company, mention both)
Designation of the Applicant: (Director/Proprietor/Partner etc.) Note: (N/A in case the applicant is Company, Partnership, Society, LLP) In case of two or more partners/directors, form should be filled in by each person separately.
Nationality:
Full Address of Applicant (Registered and Corporate Address in case of company): (District, State & Pin code are required)
Telephone No:
Fax No:
Email ID:
Description of the Business done and goods and services: (Eg. Manufacturer & Supplier of Laptops, Service Provider in the field of Law, Trader of agricultural products, Exporter of furniture etc.)
Name of Authorized Signatory (In case the applicant is not an individual)
Mark in Text (In case of Logo/Label please enclose soft copy or 10 hard copies)
Date from which Brand/Mark/Logo is being used: (DD/MM/YYYY) (Proof is required during the proceedings)
Is the mark registered in any other country than India? (If yes, please mention where and since when)
DOB of the Applicant

Also, it is required to submit the hard copy of Logo if you are safeguarding the logo design of your company

You can also download TM Manual from http://www.ipindia.nic.in/

To know more, call us at +9198719034449 or drop email at csnehaseth@gmail.com