Trademark Registration Online In India

So you are starting your own business and want to do the trademark registration. Then you are at the right place as we will tell you the steps to do the trademark registration in India. This step by step guide will tell you everything about the Trademark registration and much more. Before starting about the topic, lets understand the basics of the Trademark to clear the confusions. There are many myths going around the trademark and more, we will clear all the myths.

Before going through the main topic, let’s understand what a Trademark actually is?

A Trademark is a unique symbol (which generally consist of the brand logo), or it is also a name (which is a brand name) which represents a business or the products. Once the Trademark for the Brand Name & the Brand Symbol has been registered, no-one can use that symbol or name as long as it remains in use by the business and proper paperwork and fees has been paid.

Trademark vs Copyright. What’s the difference?

A Copyright means to protect the rights & original works of people or artists. While on the other hand the Trademark means, that protects the name of the company, symbols and their slogans. Overall Trademark means, protecting brand identity.

Let’s Know the Process or Procedures of Registering a Trademark:

1. Selecting a Trademark

The first step on registering a trademark is to choose the trademark which represents your company or a business. Generally there are 45 classes under which the goods and services can be registered. Also remember, if you are operating a company or a business which offer goods then you will come under the 1-34 Classes. If your business provides services to the people, then you will come under 35-45 Classes.

2. Searching the Availability

To make sure that the brand name of the slogan of your brand have not been used by other businesses or the company you need to check the availability of the name. You can check it from the official website of the Controller General of Patent Design & Trade Marks.

3. Publish the Brand Name

After searching for the trademark, we can publish the brand name. It must be keep in mind that there should not be any opposition in 4 months after the publishing request. In case there is no opposition in 4 months I.e. 120 days of submitting the request, then the Trademark step will proceed further.

In case there is a trademark opposition before the 120 days, then the Registrar of Trademark will share the copy of notice which has been given by the opposition. One need to counter-reply to the notice of the opposition. If there’s no reply submitted by you, then the application of the trademark will be considered as rejected.

4. Start-up or SME?

If you are an Start-up or an SME, then you have to pay the amount of rs. 9000 for e-filling of trademark. However if that company/Partnership/Trust/LLP is registered as start up or in MSME then after attaching certificate company has to pay only rs 4500 as government fees. For individuals trademark applicant the government fees for applying trademark is only rs 4500.

There are types of trademarks which one can get registered. These are:

– The Word Marks

– Service Marks

– Logos & Symbols

– Shape of Goods

– Series Marks

– Collective Trademarks

– Certification Marks

– Geographical Indicators

– The Pattern Marks

– Sound Marks

– Colour Marks

– The Three Dimensional Marks

Benefits of Trademark Registration

The Legal Protection

After the successful trademark registration your brand will be classified as the Intellectual Property and are protected against the infringement. After you have been successfully registered with the Trademark, the symbol of “TM” can be used after your products. The symbol “R” can be used after you have successfully obtained the trademark.

Product Differentiation

You can also make difference, by getting the trademark as your products will get the differentiation from your competitors. It will also help to identify the products category. This will help to create a customer base for your brand.

Brand Recognition

The customers will identify your products or the service with the help of your trademarked brand name, logo or the slogan. The Trademark Registration assist the brand to make their brand recognized in general public. The brand recognition helps the business to get new customers and also helps retaining the loyal customers.

Goodwill

Once the Trademark has been registered, this increases the brand business value, goodwill and the net worth. Goodwill is the name of your company, the increase in Goodwill will increase the growth of your business and help to retain the loyal customers and getting new customers.

CONCLUSION

So this was all about the Trademark registration and the benefits of the Trademark Registration. Make sure to comments your thought on it and for more such articles, visit our website again.