Trademark Registration Portal
What is Trademark?
Find out How to register a Trademark and What does a Trademark protect?
Trademark registration allows a Trademark to use symbols or words used to represent a business or the products offered by a business. The Symbols or words used by a business distinguish the goods or services provided by them from their competitors. After registering a trademark, any other organization cannot use it as long as it remains in use.
The Trademark applicant can start using the ™ Symbol with the brand once it is registered. The Trademark acts as an asset for the Company; to protect the brand, an application for trademark registration is a must. The process for trademark registration in India has various steps and requires follow-up with the Government. Hence, it is necessary to be under the guidance of an expert for obtaining the trademark registration quickly.
eAuditors has successfully helped over 50,000 trademark applications in India. We at eAuditors with a complete conglomeration of services to manage their brands.
Any person or legal entity can apply for Trademark Registration in India. Foreign nationals or Foreign entities can also apply for Trademark registration. Also, a Trademark application can be made by applicants they wish to use shortly.
RELATED GUIDES
- Trademark class finder
- Trademark search
- TM, R and C Symbols
- Documents required for registration
- Why register a trademark?
- Trademark registration process
- Types of trademark
- Trademark opposition procedure
- Trademark infringement
- Trademark vs copyright
How Run a Free Trademark Search to check if a name is trademarked?
eAuditors has made trademark search easy through the online tool. But again, this tool might not contain the most recent trademark application information. Hence, it is always better to conduct another online trademark search online on the Government website as a second opinion.
Types of Trademark
A trademark is a combination of characters and numbers used by a Company to claim its ownership and is designed to represent the products and services offered by them. Several trademarks can be registered as the product mark, service mark, collective mark, certification mark, shape mark, sound mark, pattern mark. However, the purpose of these trademarks is to become the identity that enables the customer to differentiate between the goods and services. Here are the different types of Trademark.
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Product Mark is used on goods or products rather than services. This Trademark is used to recognize the origin of the product, and it helps maintain the reputation of the business. The applications that are filed under class 1-34 can be termed as Product marks as they represent goods.
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The service mark is similar to the product mark but used to represent a service. The service distinguishes its Proprietor from the owners of the other services. Service mark applications can be filed under the class 35-45.
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A Collective mark is used to educate the public about certain distinguishing features of a product or service used to represent a collective. A group can use this mark as they are collectively protecting the same goods and services. An association or a public institution can be a mark holder. Usually, the standards of the products are fixed by the regulatory owning the mark. Others associated should adhere to specific standards while using this mark in the course of business. A famous collective mark in India is the Chartered Accountant designation.
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Certification mark denotes the products’ origin, material, quality, or other specific details which the Proprietor issues. The primary purpose of this certificate is to bring out the standard of the product to the customers. This Certification mark is also used to uplift the product’s standard among the customers by showing that they have undergone quality assurance tests. Packaged foods, toys, and electronics generally have Certification marks.
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Shape mark is used to protecting the shape of a product so that the customers find it related to a specific manufacturer and prefer to buy the product. The product’s particular shape can be registered once it is recognized to have a unique shape —for instance, Coco cola bottles or Fanta bottles.
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Pattern mark is specifically for those products that have design patterns that come out as the product’s identity. Patterns which are not remarkable is rejected as it does not serve any purpose. To register a pattern, it is necessary to show the uniqueness of that product.
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A sound mark is a sound that can be associated with a product or any service by a particular supplier. To be a registered sound mark, it is necessary that people easily identify the sound when they hear it. Sound marks are the sound mnemonic that appears at the beginning or the end of the commercial. Just like the famous mark of IPL.
Documents Required for Registering Trademark in India
Trademark filing is a simple, online process which can be completed within 24 hours. eauditors has helped file over fifty thousand trademark applications in India and has obtained registration for various leading brands.
There are a certain set of documents that need to be signed, scanned and sent to us. The list is given below.
Trademark Search
Trademark search will help gauge the availability of a mark and to find if any other similar or identical mark exists. The client can proceed depending on the availability of the mark.
45 classes
The World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) has organised all goods & services under 45 classes. The first 35 classes denote products and the rest services.
™ symbol
Businesses can start using the ™ symbol alongside their brand as soon as the trademark registration application is filed. This symbol is NOT indicative of registration.
® symbol
The ® mark can be used once the trademark application is approved & registration is complete. The entire process usually takes eight to ten months.
How Trademark Registration is Obtained
Trademark Registration process begins with a trademark search. We can help you conduct a trademark search using the tool below to find marks across classes. The government trademark search tool can also be used to find identical or similar trademarks under the same class. Once the search is complete, you will proceed with the trademark application based on the details of identical or similar trademark applications already filed with the government.
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Trademark application allotment
Once the trademark registration application is filed with the trademark registrar, a trademark application allotment number is provided within one or two working days. The application can then be tracked online through the online trademark search facility. On obtaining the allotment number, the owner of the trademark can affix the TM symbol next to the logo.
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Vienna codification
The Vienna codification established by the Vienna agreement (1973) is an international classification of the figurative elements of marks. Once the application is filed, the trademark registrar will apply the Vienna classification to the trademark based on the figurative elements of marks. While this work is in progress, the trademark application status usually reflects as “sent for Vienna codification”.
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Trademark Examination
Once the Vienna codification is complete, the trademark registration application will be allotted to an officer in the trademark registrar office. The trademark officer would then review the trademark application for correctness and issue a trademark examination report. The officer will either accept the application and allow for journal publication or object the same.
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Objection
If the trademark registration application is objected by the Trademark Officer, the trademark applicant has the right to appear before the officer and address the objections. If the officer is satisfied with the justifications of the trademark applicant, the trademark would be allowed for trademark journal publication. In case the officer is not satisfied with the justifications, the trademark applicant has the right to appeal the decision of the Trademark officer before the Intellectual Property Appellate Board.
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Journal Publication
Once the trademark registration application is accepted by the registrar, the proposed mark is published in the trademark journal. The trademark journal is published weekly and contains all the trademarks that have been accepted by the registrar. Once it is published, the public have an opportunity to object to a particular registration, if they believe their business will be damaged by that registration. If there are no objections filed within 90 days of that publication, the mark will typically be registered within 12 weeks’ time.
If the trademark registration application is opposed by a third-party, a hearing will be called for by the trademark hearing officer. Both the applicant and the opposing party have the chance to appear at the hearing and provide justifications for registration or rejection of the trademark application. Based on the hearings and the evidence presented, the hearing officer will determine if the application should be accepted or rejected. The decision of the hearing officer can also be challenged by escalating it to the Intellectual Property Appellate Board.
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Trademark Registration
If there are no objections or oppositions to the application, the trademark manuscript and trademark registration certificate will be prepared. Once the trademark registration certificate is issued, the mark is considered to be a registered trademark of the owner, granting the owner exclusive use of the mark. The symbol can now be placed next to the logo.