Trademark REGISTRATION
STARTING AT RS 1,499/- (EXCLUDING GOVT. FEES)
Takes 1-2 Days
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WHY TRADEMARK REGISTRATION?
In this competitive environment Trademark Registration has become a must requirement for all businesses. Trademark Registration is also referred by people as Brand Registration/ TM Registration/ Word Mark Registration/ Logo Registration. In simple terms Trademark can also be called a Brand. Trademark means a mark capable of being represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those of others in the market. It may include the shape of goods, their packaging and combination of colors. Purpose behind trademarks is to allow people to indicate the source of the goods or services and to distinguish them from those of others in the industry.
Trademark registration can be obtained for a business name, distinctive catch phrases, taglines, captions and logos whatever helps your business or product standout from those of others in the market. A Trademark is one of the most important business asset you’ll ever own. It distinguishes your company and its products in the marketplace. The marketplace is crowded and it’s hard to distinguish your business from your competitors. While it is not required by law, it is always a good idea to register the name of your business as a trademark.
Registration gives the trademark owner the exclusive right to use the mark with respect to his/her goods or services. In the event that another business tries to use the same or similar name, you will have legal recourse to stop it. It also allows the trademark owner to prevent others from using an identical or similar mark that can be confusing for the general public. If your brand name is your company name it is always suggested to file a trademark for the same as the registration under the Companies Act will not provide the trademark protection. A Trademark Registration is highly recommended as a businessman would never want someone else to get the registration of their own brand and put them out of the competition.
TRADEMARK REGISTRATION PROCESS
Trademark Search & Filing
Before filing an application, a trademark search in the relevant class is highly recommended, as this will give an indication of any existing trademarks which have been applied for/or are registered. The cost of conducting a trademark search is quite insignificant in comparison to the efforts and costs involved in branding. Once the search is made in the relevant class and the search report is positive, the next step will be drafting & filing the trademark application. Upon filing the trademark application the department issues a trademark filing receipt bearing the application number for the concerned application. This trademark application number is helpful in tracking the status of the application in future.
EXAMINATION BY REGISTRAR
Once the application is successfully filed & application number is allotted, the application is then formally examined by the Indian Trade Marks Office, to find any similarity with existing marks. If an objection to registration is raised, an official examination report will be issued. To overcome the objection, it is necessary to file a written response or presenting evidence of acquired distinctiveness and in most cases, a hearing with the examiner is posted. Following examination, the trade mark application is considered registerable, the trademark will be published in the Trade Marks Journal. If the Registrar is not satisfied with the reply to the Examination Report he may issue an order for hearing. After the trademark clears this stage the same is published in the Trademarks Journal. An application is examined within 2 months of the date of application.
ADVERTISEMENT & REGISTRATION
After an application is examined and passed all objections. The Registrar will Accept and Advertise the trademark in the Trade Marks Journal. A trademark is published in the journal to intimate the general public about such application and give a final chance to oppose the registration. The application is kept open for oppositions for a period of 4 months. If there are no oppositions within 4 months from the date of advertisement in the Trade Marks Journal, then a trademark registration certificate will be issued and registration is conclusive. A trademark registration is valid for a period of 10 years from the date of the application which can be renewed from time to time on the payment of the required fees.
WHO CAN APPLY FOR TRADEMARK REGISTRATION ?
Individual
Joint Owners
Limited Liability Partnership
Partnership
Company
Trust or Society
When To Use TM
The “TM” symbol stands for Trade Mark. It gives an indication to the general public that the owner of the mark has filed a Trademark application with the department. “TM” symbol can be affixed on the top right corner of the mark till the Trademark is registered with the department.
WHEN TO USE TM AND R ?
When To Use R
“®” symbol gives an indication to the general public that the Trademark has been registered with the department and is not available for use by anyone except the owner of the Trademark.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF TRADEMARK REGISTRATIONS
Word Mark
A word mark is a Trademark where the owner has exclusive rights to the word as a whole and he can represent the word in any font, format or any other manner. All the appearances and use of the word are protected by the Trademark Registration. Upon a word mark registration the same can be used in any manner for all the goods and services covered under it. Where the concentration of the business owner is to protect the name of the business or product from any type of infringement it is always suggested to go ahead with the word mark registration.
Device Mark/Logo
A Device Mark/ Logo on the other hand gives the trademark owner the right to a particular combination of images, design and words taken together. Therefore, the protection given to the words encompassed in a Device Mark/Logo is limited in comparison with the word mark since the rights in a logo are entitled only to the logo as a whole and not to a specific word. If you have designed a unique and attractive logo and that is how you want your customers to notice you then a Device Mark/Logo Registration is the best option. Some of the famous companies who have their logos as one of their trademarks are Adidas, Nike, Reebok, Audi, Mercedes, Apple and many more.
Sound Mark
Sound marks can be registered in India if such sound helps to identify the origin of goods or services. The sound should be unique and able to create a recall value for products and services so that the customers are able to associate such sound with your goods/services. Some example of registered sound marks in India are Yahoo, Nokia, Britannia etc.
Color
If a combination or pattern of colors help to identify the origin of goods or services, then the same can be registered as a trademark. It is one of the toughest categories of trademark registrations and till date there are only 9 businesses which have successfully been able to register their color trademark. Some examples of registered color marks in India are Cadbury- Royal Purple, Barbie-Pink etc.
Shape of Goods
The shape of a product or the container in which it is served may help to identify the origin of goods or services. If the shape of goods or container has acquired distinctiveness due to its widespread use the same can be filed under Trademark. A popular example of such trademark registration is the Coca-Cola Bottle.
Three Dimensional Mark
Three Dimensional marks which are unique and can help to identify the origin of goods and services can be registered as a trademark. The mark or shape has to be significantly different from what is already available in the market so that a three dimensional mark can be registered.
documents required for Trademark REGISTRATION
Simple Proforma
Fill this simple form provided to you to get started. Documentation arrangement hassle made simple.
Agent Authorization
Provide Authorization to our Agent for filing the application on your behalf so that you can sit back and relax and let us handle all the formalities.
User Affidavit
If you have been using the trademark in the past and want your application to be accompanied with a prior date of use then a user affidavit is required to be submitted along with the application.
OUR AWESOME CLIENTS
How We Work
Consult Our Experts
Once you fill in the above details, our expert will call you to understand your requirements in a better way and to brief you about the entire registration process and suggest you the course of action. Upon confirmation of our engagement by you, we will dedicate you a relationship manager who will take care of all your needs.
Send Documents Via Email
We at The Consultant Guru, work towards minimizing the hassles of the client, keeping this moto in mind our executives will give you a single check list of documents needed so that we don’t bother you time and again for documents. In case you are short of a few documents, our consultants help you to provide us the maximum possible alternative documents.
Payments & Filings
We believe in the moto of “Pay as we work”. This requires you pay us step by step in 2 tranches instead of giving the whole sum in one shot. The Consultant Guru facilitate payments through secure online payment gateway. After successfully providing the set of documents and partial payment, our experts will start working and provide with regular updates. You will only be required to pay the final sum upon receiving the Certificate of Registration.
Frequently asked questions
A trademark is a symbol, word, or words legally registered or established by use as representing a company or product.
A trademark provides protection to the owner of the mark by ensuring the exclusive right to use it to identify goods or services, or to authorize another to use it in return for payment. The period of protection varies, but a trademark can be renewed indefinitely beyond the time limit on payment of additional fees. Trademark protection is enforced by the courts, which in most systems have the authority to block trademark infringement
Trademark registration is territorial in nature. Thus, filing application for TM registration in India will not accord protection in Australia, America or any other country. In order to protect your trademark in other countries which seems relevant from the business point of view, a separate application need to be filed in each country where you wish to protect/register your trademark.
Certainly you can file trademark application yourself if you have the knowledge of drafting a trademark application and the skills to give strong contentions at the time of objections and all the time to track your application and pay visits to the department. To file an application online, you either should be a lawyer or a certified trademark agent. Even a Chartered Account unless certified by the Controller General cannot file a Trademark Application.
It is one of the initial stages of the trademark registration process. As a part of the trademark registration process, any trademark comprising a wordmark is assigned a status of “Marked For Examination” by the Indian Trade Mark Registry.
A trademark can be a word, symbol, logo, brand name, wrapper, packaging labels, tagline or a combination of these and are used by manufacturers or merchants or service providers to identify their own goods and/or services. It is used to distinguish the owners’ goods or services from those of its competitors and is something that will be distinctive of just one trader. Properly used and promoted, a Trademark may become the most valuable asset of a business.
It is advisable to obtain trademark registration for the business name/trade name under the Trademarks Act. Registration of a company or business name under the Companies Act does not in itself give protection against others who might commence using identical or similar marks.
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