4 Reasons Why Trademark Is Important For Your Business

Trademark is a visual symbol, which may be a word, name, device, label or numerals used by a business to distinguish it goods or services from other similar goods or services originating from a different business.

A registered trademark is an intangible asset for a business which is used to protect the company’s investment in the brand or symbol. A trademark is registrable if it is distinctive for the goods and services you offer.

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Proposed trademarks that are similar or identical to an existing registered trademark cannot be registered. Also, trademarks are not registrable if it is offensive, generic, deceptive, not distinctive, contains specially protected emblems etc.

Trademarks in India are registered by the Controller General of Patents Designs and Trademarks, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. Trademarks are registered under the Trademark Act, 1999 and provide the trademark owner the right to sue for damages when infringements of trademarks occur.

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Trademark registration in India really NECESSARY???

So….You own a business or want to own a business, and you are wondering if Trademark registration in India is really necessary? Is it just good to have or a must have for a business ? 

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How much time and effort you invested in your business?
Did you work had to make your business a respectable and trust worthy name in minds of your clients?

• How would you feel, if someone else is misusing your business name?
• Or at some fine day you found out that the name that you are using for your business is actually registered with some other company
• Even worst… You work on your business for so many years to build brand and loyalty in clients mind and you found out you are infringing a already registered trademark of someone and you can not use that name for your business here after !!! Such a loss of time, efforts and costs…

Would you like to avoid such devastating scenarios that can hurt your businesses image and all the hard work you put going waste? Then you need to look at protecting your business name, identity, brand, logo, image etc. This is achieved by registering Trademark for your business.

A registered trademark is an important asset for any business used to protect the company’s investment in the symbol or brand.

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Who can apply for the Trademark?

Any person which can be individual, company, proprietor or legal entity claiming to be owner of the trademark can apply. 

The application for trademark can be filed within few days and you can start using “TM” symbol. And the time required for trademark registry to complete formalities is 8 to 24 months. You may use the ® (Registered symbol) next to your trademark once your trademark is registered and registration certificate is issued. Once registered a trademark is valid for 10 years from the date of filing, which can be renewed time to time.

1. Different types of trademark:-

• A name including personal or surname of the applicant or predecessor in business or the signature of the person
• A coined word or an invented word or any arbitrary dictionary word or words, not being directly descriptive of the character or quality of the goods / service.
• Alphanumeric or Letters or numerals or any combination thereof.
• Image, symbol, monograms, 3 dimensional shapes, letters etc.
• Sound marks in audio format

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2. Documents required for filing a Trademark Application in India:-

• Trademark or logo copy
• Applicant details like name, address and nationality and for company: the state of incorporation
• Goods or services to register
• Date of first use of the trademark in India, if used by you prior to applying.
• Power of attorney to be signed by the applicant in INR 100 stamp paper.  

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 3. Benefits of Trademark registration

   Legal Protection

Only owners of registered trademarks are allowed to take action or sue for damages in case of trademark registration. Trademark protection is not enforceable for trademarks that are not registered.

  Unique Identity

Trademark registration will help establish a unique identity and brand for your goods or services. Competitors will not be allowed to use your trademark for similar goods or services.

Trademark registration creates an intellectual property, which is an intangible asset for an organization. Registered trademark is a right that can be sold, franchised or commercially contracted.

   Goodwill or Trust

Trademark registration creates an intellectual property, which is an intangible asset for an organization. Registered trademark is a right that can be sold, franchised or commercially contracted.

   Makes trademark known

A trademark registration makes the trademark known across the nation and becomes search-able in the trademark database. This prevents competitors and others from using your trademark and puts them on notice.

Trademark registration cost in India

If you wish to find out the trademark registration cost in India, you should speak to a consultant who will be able to give you an idea of all the costs involved and will also be able to help you with the procedure.

There are indeed a number of consultants in the market, who can help you out with this information, however there are not many that you can absolutely trust for the entire process. Be wise when it comes to the trademark registration consultant, as this association should involve you saving a lot of time in the long run.

Different costs for Trademark registration 

• New Trademark Registration application filling is INR 4000.
• To file a notice of opposition to oppose an application published in the Trade Marks Journal a (FormTM-5): INR 2,500
• For Renewal of a registered trademark (Form TM-12):  INR 5,000
• Surcharge for late renewal (Form -10): INR 3,000
• Restoration of removed mark (Form TM-13): INR 5,000
• Application for rectification of a registered trademark (Form TM-26): INR 3,000

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Procedure for registration of Trademark in India 

If you want to know what the procedure for trademark registration in India, the best person to get in touch with is to hire an outsourcing Trademark consultant/ legal service providers who offer consulting in Trademark/IPR/Copyrights.

An outsourcing legal service provider will not only help you understand what will be the procedure but will also help you go about the entire procedure so that you don’t end up wasting too much time.

Speak with an outsourcing legal service provider for Trademark and learn the process and find out how they can help you with getting your trademark registration out of the way with the least bit of effort from your side.

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You can choose to E-file

You can also apply Trademark Registration electronically. Through E-filing you will get following facilities immediately:

• Receive a trade mark application number
• Online verification to assure error-free filing and obtain your filing date
• Speed up the registration process
• Print the completed application data and receive fee acknowledgement
• Save the data locally in your PC
• Be able to recall your contact details for subsequent applications
• You can also view online history and status of the applications filed by clicking “Status of Filed Application” and the online status of e-Payments.

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Commonly asked FAQs that will help you get better insight about Trademark Registration in India?

Which trademark applications are commonly rejected?

If your trademark is similar to an existing application, would hurt religious sentiments, contains geographical names or common words. It would also be rejected if it is likely to cause confusion. So you can’t register the word ‘car’ for a car brand, but may do so for a brand of electronics.

When can i use the (TM) symbol?

As soon as you receive an acknowledgement of your filed application it gives you the right to use the ™ symbol. Once it’s registered, you can use the ® symbol.

What if someone has a similar word Trademarked?

You can’t get that word, but instead design a unique logo for your business and include the name in it. There is always a way out, but it is best to have a unique name.

Should I file the trademark  in my own name?

Many start-up founders register it in their own names, while large businesses would prefer to do so in the name of the company. This is because the future of a start-up is always in doubt. If owned by the founder, the trademark would be valid regardless of the state of the company. A trademark license agreement is, however, needed in this case.

For more questions and information on trademark search, filing, opposition and registering trademark in India click Request for an expert

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