TRADEMARK
REGISTRATION IN INDIA – AN OVERVIEW
A trademark can be defined as the unique
identity that makes your company, product, or service stand out from the rest.
A brand registration in India is your business’s intellectual property/
intangible asset. Trademark registration in India protects the investment made
into creating trust and loyalty among your customers.
Trademark registration in India provides
the right to sue against others who try to copy your trademark and prevents
others from using a similar trademark to the one registered by you.
Many aspects of your brand image can be
registered as a trademark. The aspect you need to consider to register a
trademark online is which aspect of your brand stands out to your customers.
Pick that aspect(s) for applying for a trademark in India.
a.
Product Name: You can register a particular product’s name as a trademark.
Apple’s iPod is a product name trademark.
b.
Business Name: Registering a company name as a trademark is the most common
route businesses take. Ex: Bajaj.
c.
Person’s Name/Surname: If your name
plays an important part in generating revenue, then you can even trademark your
name! Ex: Shah Rukh Khan has trademarked his name.
d.
Abbreviations: Abbreviations of a company or brand name can also be a
trademark. Ex: BMW.
It is highly recommended to trademark a logo
because it visually represents your brand. Your customers can recollect a logo
faster than a name. A great example of a brand registration in India is the
‘swoosh’ of Nike.
If you have a tagline for your brand, you can
go ahead and trademark that as well. A tagline tells your customers what you
stand for as a business. For example, KFC ‘It's finger lick in' good’.
a. Color
Mark: You can register a trademark online for a color or a
combination of colors. (Ex: Cadbury has trademarked the color royal blue)
b.
Sound Mark: Musical notes or sounds can be trademarked via online
trademark registration if we can prove that it's distinctive. Nokia has
trademarked its tune.
c.
Scent Mark: Even scents can be trademarked in online trademark
registration.
v Trademark
registration is important and necessary for a business because:
v It
showcases your unique identity
v It
helps you build trust and loyalty among your customers
v It
offers legal protection for your brand’s identity
v It
is an asset in itself
v It
prevents unauthorized usage of your brand’s identity.
There are 45 trademark classes and all the
goods and services are categorized across these classes. You need to be very
careful while picking the classes as it will determine the validity of your
trademark registration for your business’ products/services. If your business
operates across different goods/services that fall under different classes, you
have to ensure that you can apply for a trademark online under all the
applicable classes.
Some
of the popular trademark classes in India are:
v Class 9: which
includes computer software and electronics,
v Class 25: which
includes clothing,
v Class 35: which
includes business management and advertising, and
v Class 41: which
includes education and entertainment
If you are operating within these trademark
classes, the competition for a trademark might be higher. However, that
shouldn’t matter as long as your mark is unique.
Once you give us the basic
information about what you want to apply trademark online and the industry you
operate in, our experts will do a thorough search across the trademark
database. This is to check whether the mark you want to register is available
or not. Once you decide on an available trademark, we move to step 2.
The next task is to select
the appropriate class(es) for your business. You need not worry too much
though. Our experts will guide you in selecting the right classes to cover all
aspects of your business. Simultaneously, you can start uploading all the
required documents (list given below) to apply trademark online in your
dashboard.
Once you upload all the
documents, our team will proceed to verify them. Then the trademark application
form will be filled on your behalf and submitted along with the documents. Our
team will ensure that your application is accurate and error-free.
We will keep you updated
throughout the We will keep you updated throughout the process and watch out
for any notifications from the Trademark Registry until the registration is
complete. process and watch out for any notifications from the Trademark
Registry until the brand registration is complete.
Congratulations! You can now start using the
symbol ™ as the application has been submitted!
Sometimes the examiner might
have some questions about your application. This is sent to you as a trademark
objection notice and you need to respond to it within 30 days. Our experts can
craft a strong objection response and guide you in submitting the right
documents and proofs.
There is also a chance for a
third party to oppose your application. In that case, you have to submit a
counter-statement to the Registrar within 2 months stating why the opposition
isn’t valid. Based on your response the Registrar may either dismiss the
opposition or call for a hearing.
In some cases, the trademark
examiner might see certain problems or issues with the registration of a
trademark. These issues can be either the filing of an incorrect trademark
application form online, incorrect name/details, the usage of deceptive or
offensive terms, insufficient information on goods or services, or the
existence of an identical or deceptively similar mark.
When an objection is raised,
the status on the register will show as ‘Objected’, following which an expertly
drafted response will need to be filed after an analysis of the objection
itself and with any supporting documents and proofs. Objection response is your
opportunity to strengthen the claim over your mark and create urgency.
If the response is accepted,
the application will be processed further for brand registration and
advertisement in the Trademark Journal. If it is not accepted, or if there are
additional clarifications sought by the examiner, there could be a trademark
hearing scheduled and this will be communicated to you by a notice.
The process typically takes
2-4 months from when the objection is first raised. Once completed, the chances
for approval, while not guaranteed, are much higher.
On the other hand, A trademark opposition is a legal proceeding in
which one party attempts to put a stop to a trademark application from being
granted. A trademark opposition is filed by third parties who feel your
trademark could in some way impact them or their own trademark, in writing, in
the form of a notice, with the trademark examiner. If the examiner sees any
merit to the opposition, they are to forward the notice to the applicant, who
is required to send in a counter statement to the Registrar within 2 months.
If the Registrar feels the counter statement addresses the
opposition substantially, they may dismiss the opposition. Alternatively, if
the registrar feels there is more to be weighed, they may call for a hearing
with both parties appearing before them and presenting their cases. After the
hearing, the Registrar will rule on the validity of either the application or
the opposition. This ruling can be appealed before the Intellectual Property
Appellate Board within 3 months of it being made public.
v Initially, you
have to provide us with the following details:
v Applicant’s
name
v Business
type
v Business
objectives
v Brand/logo/slogan
name
v Registration
address
v The documents
required are:
v Signed
Form-48
v Identification
proof of the signatory
v Address
proof of the signatory
v Business
proof (depends on the type of business)
v Udyog
Aadhar / MSME
registration certificate (optional).