A unique logo, name, combination of colors and slogan are the first thing most of the business man does. It identifies the source of goods, services and inspires trust and loyalty with a perceived level of quality. How about miss using these logos, names and slogans which you consider to be your business asset. To prevent such things you need to register all these or you have to own Trademark of it. Trademark is also known as brand name.
Registering a trademark means, you are registering your logo, name or slogan under the trademark act, 1999.
Who can apply for a trademark registration
Any person claiming to be the owner of a trademark used or proposed to be used can apply for registration in the prescribed form. The application should be in Hindi or English language. It should contain followings;
- Trademark
- Goods or services
- Name and address of the applicant and agent with power of attorney
- Period of use
Types of Trademark in India
You can take Trademark registration for followings;
- Name which is not unusual for trade to adopt as a mark
- Any invented word or arbitrary word
- Any letter, numerals or any combination of it
- Devices, including fancy devices or symbols
- Monograms
- Single colour or combination of any colour with a word or device
- Shape of goods or their packaging
- Sound marks in conventional notation or described in words by being graphically represented.
How to apply for Trademark registration
Application for Trademark can be done at any one of the five offices of the TradeMark Registry Located at Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmadabad based on your location. If you are located out of Chennai or Madurai or any other place coming under Chennai region then you need to get it registered with Chennai office. For new Trademark registration you need to apply in form no: TM-1.
Before your application for a registration, you need to search for the availability online. If it’s available for registration then you can apply or else you can not avail the same Trademark which others already own. If you are taking trademark registration for your business name then it should be distinctive and not similar to any existing business name in the market.
After applying for registration you will receive a TM number in support of your application. Based on the requirements and availability of Trademark an examination report will be issued.
In the next step your application will be published in the Indian Trademark journal. After such publication any person can complain/oppose to your application within 3 months of such publication.
In case no objection received then you can get your Trademark registered. If any objection received then Trademark registration will be over after completion of proceedings.
After getting registration your Trademark will be valid for 10 years. Then you can again renew it for a further period of 10 years on payment of renewal fees.
Fees for applying Trademark registration
| Particulars | Form No | Fees (Rs.) |
| Application Form for Registration | TM-1, TM-2. TM-3 etc based on the nature of your application | 2, 500 |
| Notice of opposition to TM application | TM-5 | 2, 500 |
| Renewal of registered Trademark | TM-12 | 5, 000 |
| Surcharge for late renewal | TM-10 | 3, 000 |
| Restoration of TM | TM-13 | 5, 000 |
| Application for rectification of a registered TM | TM-26 | 3, 000 |
After applying for trademark registration with the authority, you can superscript your name or product with the word “TM”. This will indicate that your application is under process for registration. After getting it registered, you can superscript your name or product with letter “R” within a circle.
To make your process easier and comfortable we suggest you to take assistance of a trademark agent or attorney.
Contact Details for further information
Website: http://www.ipindia.nic.in/
Offices
- Intellectual Property Office Boudhik Sampada Bhawan, Antop Hill, S. M. Road, MumbaiI – 400 037. Phone: 24101144, 24148165
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Intellectual Property Office
Intellectual Property Office Building, Plot No. 32, Sector 14, Dwarka, New Delhi-110075 Phone: 011-28032253,011-25300200
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Intellectual Property Office, Intellectual Property Office Building, G.S.T. Road, Guindy, Chennai-600032
Phone: 044-22502081-84
- Intellectual Property Office, Intellectual Property Office Building, CP-2 Sector V, Salt Lake City, Kolkata-700091 Phone: 033-23679101
- TradeMarks Registry, Ahmedabad 15/27, National Chambers, 1st floor, Ashram Road, Ahmedabad 380009 Phone: 079-26587193
