Register Your Trademark Online: Easy. Simple. Affordable

For registering a trademark, there is a simplified process that you must follow i.e. Trademark search, filling the application form on govt. portal, examination and publication. There are 2 ways to register a Trademark in India which is Physical filing of trademark and Online Trademark Registration. Online Trademark registration is substantially more convenient and overall the more sensible method in modern times. For complete details, check out this blog and understand how you can easily register your trademark.

Online Registration of Trademark

1. The new Trademark Rules, 2017 provide for 10% discount on the official fee for applications filed online from the fee of physical filings.
2. It also helps in keeping paperless records of your trademarks portfolio.
3. Another huge benefit is avoiding delays which may be attributed to the physical filing of an application. The application number and filing confirmation are instantly generated.
4. On a cost-benefit analysis registering your trademark has the advantage of protecting the goodwill of your business.

Process of Online Registration of Trademarks

The first step in Trademark Registration in India is to register on the Trademark Office Portal.

1. Post registration the Applicant can login using the User ID or the digital signature.
2. For e-filing of Trademarks, you require a valid class 3 digital signature certificate
3. The Applicant can file a trademark application using either the new applications link for domestic applications or the IAOI (International Applications Originating from India) for Madrid Trademark.
4. You need to click save button after filling the details to generate a temporary application number.
5. The next step is to sign the application using the digital signature.
6. Make the trademark fee using online. A payment acknowledgement is generated immediately.
7. The permanent application number is generated one day after the realization of the payment.

Trademark Search: A TM search reveals the presence of similar or identical trademarks and helps a person in choosing a unique trademark.

After you are sure that your chosen brand name or logo is not listed in the Trademark Registry India, you can opt for registering the same. The first step is to file a trademark application form at the Trademark Office, India. Nowadays, filing is mostly done online. Once the application is filed, an official receipt is immediately issued for future reference.

You can make an application for Trademark Registration on Form TM-1 with the prescribed fee at one of the five offices of the Trade Marks Registry located at Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad. This will depend on the place where you reside or have your main place of business.

Responding to objections from the trademark office

An examination report is filed within three months of application. You get a response to your registration either by an affidavit, a hearing or by an interview. Your application is looked at to ascertain if it does not conflict with existing registered or pending trademarks. Based on this, an examination report is issued.

As you defeat objections raised by the registrar, your application is then published in the Indian Trade Marks Journal, with an endorsement stating either that it has been accepted or that it is being published before acceptance.

Advertisement in the Trademark Journal

After the application has been accepted, it will be published in the Trademark Journal. The advertisement will include all details of the acceptance including representation of the mark, date of filing, particulars of the applicant, and conditions or limitations if any. The opposition has to be done within three months of the date of the advertisement. The opposition must be in the prescribed form, in triplicate, and with the prescribed fee.

Handling opposition by third parties

Once the trademark has been published in the trademark journal the public has a right to file Trademark opposition (if they will be aggrieved by the registration) within 4 months. The opposition proceeding may extend the registration timeline up to 4 years. Again, Most of these objections can be avoided when the same is foreseen at the time of classification and trademark search by your service provider. This not only saves costs but a lot of time in the process of getting your trademark registered in India. However, if any objection is received, you need to file a reply to Trademark Objections.

Trademark Registration

Within the term of three months publication in the Trademarks Journal, if not opposed by a third party, the trademark will proceed for registration and the trademark authority will proceed to give a registration certificate.

Trademark Renewal

Trademark renewal can be done perpetually after every 10 years upon payment of statutory costs. Hence, your logo or brand name registration can be protected perpetually as long as you are vigilant about the same. Unless it is renewed it will be removed from the Register of Trademarks

Trademark Fee Involved

1. Trademark Application- Rs 9,000
2. Expediting registration [Optional]- Rs 40,000
3. Trademark Application for Startups- Rs 4500
4. Amendment to the application [for example change of address]- Rs 900
5. Notice of opposition- Rs 2,700
6. Response to a notice of opposition- Rs 2700
7. Request for extension time- Rs 900
8. Trademark Renewal- Rs 9000
9. Renewal within 6 months after the expiration of the last registration of the trademark- Rs 4500
10. Restoring a trademark that has been removed from the register- Rs 900