Trademark Registration Process in India

Trademark registration process in India is time-consuming and in an unorganized manner. Trademarks are regulated by the Trademarks Act, 1999.

Three types of registrations are available: general registration, additional registration and registration on reciprocal basis. Applicants seeking registration of a trademark (officially known as registration) can pay prescribed fees and submit the required registration forms by the stipulated time. In addition to application fees, the registration application fee is 1.5% of the net profits, if any, for five years. However, no registration is necessary for the term of the trademark registration.

In case of trademark registrations registered on reciprocal basis, the filing fee is 1.5% of the net profits. Approved trademark applications are registered at the trademark office under Section 4, 5 of the Trademark Act, 1999.

Prior registration is important to protect a trademark in India. One should register trademarks for their name/brand. The approval of trademark registrations is valid for ten years from the date of filing the application. After the expiry of the ten-year registration term, a subsequent registration application to protect the trademark may be filed.

The application for trademarks filed at any of the three trademark registration offices is also accepted by the third party registrar for registration of trademarks. The application must be filed within 60 days from the time of issuing the certificate of trademark approval by the third party registrar.

Payment of requisite fees is mandatory before filing the application. After filing the application, the applicant is required to make two copies of the application and enclose the fee of ₹5000. The applicant is required to file the application in the trademark registration office of India and follow the prescribed procedure.

A trademark application may be rejected by the trademark registrar, if it is found that the description or trademark or classification of the applicant may be incorrect or misleading. A certification issued by the trademark registration office to the third party registrar is deemed as approval of the trademark.

How to register a trademark: Registration process:

When registering a trademark at the trademark office, the applicant is required to deposit the application fee, document fee and other requisite documents. The application must be supported by documents of registration, trademark application registration and renewal, trademark registration consent and trademark registration authority application.

Payment of mandatory fee and documents costs ₹5000 for filing the application.

The applicant is required to take the certificate of registration issued by the trademark registration authority from the third party registrar. The certificate must be filed within 30 days after receipt of the certificate. In the case of registration of trademark on reciprocal basis, the certificate issued by the third party registrar will be treated as approval and the same will not be regarded as registration at the trademark office.

Possible defects in the registration:

In case of defects in the registration of trademark, the trademark is liable to be cancelled. The defects must be rectified within 60 days from the day of filing the application. The defects are as follows:

Absence of registration certificate issued by the trademark authority;

1. Use of wrong description/brand/terms of mark;

2. Use of improper spelling or words;

3. Use of bogus description or description not approved by the trademark authority.

If the application for registration of a trademark is rejected, the trademark holder can file an appeal in the trademark office. However, this right is not available if the application is rejected by the third party registrar. In such cases, the rejection of application may be considered as approval of the mark.

An official statement of the registrar should be filed by the trademark holder. The appeal has to be filed by an official officer of the trademark authority. A detailed statement on the nature of defect must be provided with a report of inspection conducted by the authority in order to substantiate the defect.

Post-application action

When the applicant is notified about the rejection of registration of a trademark, he/she can use the specified period to appeal to the trademark authority. In such cases, the remedy provided by the trademark authority can be utilized.

In case of rejection of application by the trademark authority, the applicant can take an appeal in the trademark court.