Trademark Registration

Before you file

• A trademark can be a word, name, logo, slogan, label, combination of colours, shape or even a sound, as long as it can identify your goods or services and be shown graphically.
• The mark must be distinctive. Purely descriptive words like Fresh Bread for a bakery, common surnames, place names or words that only praise the product are hard to register on their own.
• It should not be identical or confusingly similar to an earlier mark already filed or registered for similar goods or services. A search helps find such conflicts before filing.
• Goods and services are divided into 45 classes. Each class needs its own application or its own fee, so choosing the correct classes matters.
• The applicant can be an individual, a proprietor, a partnership firm, an LLP, a company or a trust. For a proprietorship, the application is filed in the owner's personal name.
• You can file for a mark you already use, giving the date of first use with proof, or for a mark you propose to use in future.

What affects the total cost

• Government fee per class: the Registry charges a fee for each class. Individuals, startups recognised by DPIIT and small enterprises with Udyam registration pay a lower fee than other applicants.
• Number of classes: a bakery that also runs a cafe may need one class for its products and another for its restaurant service, which doubles the official fee.
• Word mark and logo: filing the name and the logo separately gives wider protection but means two applications.
• Examination objections: replying to an examination report, and attending a hearing if one is fixed, is extra work.
• Opposition: if a third party opposes your mark after publication, the opposition proceedings involve further filings and fees.

How long it takes

The search and filing usually take one to three days, and you get the application number on the same day as filing. The Registry then examines the application and issues an examination report, often within a few months. If there is an objection, a reply is due within one month. Once accepted, the mark is published in the Trade Marks Journal, and anyone can oppose it within four months of publication. If no one opposes, the registration certificate is issued. Without objections the whole process can be under a year, but objections, hearings and oppositions can stretch it well beyond that.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Choosing a generic or descriptive name and then facing an objection that the mark lacks distinctiveness.
• Skipping the search and finding out after months that a similar mark already exists in the same class.
• Filing in the wrong class or describing goods too narrowly, leaving the actual business unprotected.
• Filing in a partner's or employee's personal name when the brand belongs to the company or firm.
• Missing the deadline to reply to the examination report or to attend the hearing, which can lead to the application being treated as abandoned.

What you get at the end

You receive the registration certificate from the Trade Marks Registry, which you can also download from the IP India portal. You can then use the R symbol with your mark for the registered goods or services. Registration lasts ten years from the application date and can be renewed every ten years. Keep watching the Trade Marks Journal for similar marks, record any change in your address or ownership, and keep proof of use.

In Delhi NCR

• The Trade Marks Registry has an office in Delhi, which handles applications from applicants whose principal place of business is in Delhi and several northern states, including Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
• All filing, replies and most hearings now happen online through the IP India portal, so you do not need to visit the Registry office.
• The Delhi High Court has an Intellectual Property Division that hears trademark infringement and passing off cases, which many NCR businesses use to protect their brands.
• If you plan to use a Udyam certificate to pay the lower government fee, keep the Udyam registration in the same name as the trademark applicant.
• If you are outside NCR, the team can guide you online, since trademark filing in India is fully online from anywhere.