FAQs on Trademark registration in India

If you have any doubts regarding Trademark then this article based on FAQs on Trademark Registration in India will clear all your doubts.

What is Trademark?

The term 'Trademark' refers to the brand or logo which represents the business. It is a visual symbol of a signature, name, device, label, numerals or combination of colors used by the owner of the trademark for goods or services or any other articles of commerce. Moreover, it is meant to differentiate among the similar products or services originated from the different business. A trademark can be a word, wrapper, packaging labels or a tagline or a combination of these. For example Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Read more: Cost of Trademark Registration

Who can apply for the Trademark?

Any Individual, Company, Proprietor or legal entity who can claim to be an owner of the Trademark can apply for it. The trademark Registration formalities can be done in 18 to 24 months after that you can start using the 'TM' symbol. Once your trademark registry is done and registration certificate is issued then you may use ® (registered symbol) next to your trademark. The validity of a registered trademark is for 10 years from the date of filing and that can be renewed from time to time. Read more: Trademark application status

What are the types of Trademark?

There are several types of Trademark which are given below:

• A name of a person or surname or predecessor in business or the signature of the person.
• The coined word or an invented word or any dictionary words that are not being directly descriptive of the character.
• Alphanumeric or letter or any combination thereof.
• Image, symbol, monograms, 3-dimensional shapes etc
• Sound marks in audio format

Read more: Advantages of Trademark

What are the functions of Trademark?

Following are the functions of Trademark:

1. It identifies the product or the services and its sources.
2. It provides a guarantee for its quality
3. It helps in advertising the products and services.

Read more: Classes of Trademark Goods and Services

What are the documents required for Trademark Registration?

Following are the documents which are required for the Trademark registration:

• Copy of Trademark or logo
• Applicant details like name, address, and nationality and for the company it requires the state of incorporation
• Goods or services to register
• Date of first use of the trademark in India.
• Power of attorney which is to be signed by the applicant.

What are the steps for registering Trademark in India?

Following are the steps through which you can register your Trademark:

• Select a trademark agent and authorize it.
• Select attorney to represent you.
• The trademark attorney conducts a search.
• It depends upon the results of the search whether the trademark attorney will be draft your trademark or not. Just in case, someone already has the same trademark then you can change yours.
• The trademark attorney will file your trademark application with the trademark office and send you the receipt.
• Within a few days, the trademark attorney will send you the Original Representation Sheet of your trademark as it has been filed with the trademark office.

No matter what the place is, it takes anywhere around 18 months to 2 years for the Trademark Office to decide whether the trademark should be granted or not. In case, if there are any objections from anywhere then it may take longer. Besides, your trademark is Published in the Trademark Journal. Read more: Trademark Registration Steps

Is the registration of Trademark Compulsory?

It is not compulsory to register a Trademark. However, the registration is the evidence of the proprietorship of the Trademark. The point to be noted that there will be no suit instituted for infringement of an unregistered trademark. For further more details regarding Trademark filing, Trademark Law, How to check trademark filing status, you can visit our website: Legal Raasta You can also make use of our FREE Trademark Search Tool to check for violations Give us a ring on 8750008585 and you can send your query on Email: [email protected]

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"Perform a free Trademark Search before applying for it."