Trademark Registration Process

Egged on by Steve Jobs’,  you “Think Differently” and come up with a unique name to represent your brand. You wouldn’t anyone to take it away from you, would you? Eh…. You are in luck, as your trademark genie will keep you shielded.

In this blog post, we will walk you through the step-by-step trademark registration process. Now you can get your own unique, out-of-the-box brand name registered as a trademark.

Before getting on to it, for those of you who need to understand the concept of trademark better, you may head over “this” article and get yourselves familiarised.

Now that you know what is a trademark and what can and cannot be trademarked — lets get down to the nitty gritties.

The first step in a trademark application is to search for your desired name to ensure that somebody has already not allotted the trademark under the same “Class” of products / services that you wish to apply for.

Your brand name must be unique and shouldn’t clash with any of the existing ones out there. You can even coin a new word and be a linguist yourself. An example would be “Microsoft”, the “Micro” as in  “Microcomputers” and “Soft” from “Software”.

In case you find the exact same or very similar trademark already having been alloted to someone else, you may want to search for a new name. Else you may enter into a long process of objections to the trademark application.

Step 2: Preparing and filing the application in Form TM-1.

Now that you have got a name to represent your brand, filling up the TM-1, is the next piece in the game.

The application fee varies as per the category of persons applying. For instance MSME registered entities get a 50% waiver on application fee, thereby saving Rs.5000/-

This application goes with a few supporting documents as well; all of them are listed right below.

#1. Determined by what business one is in, they are required to submit a proof of identity with address proof to it.

#2. If one wishes to trademark a logo(s), they are explicitly required to send in an image in a JPEG format with dimensions 9 x 5 cm. [Beware trademarking a logo(s) might run you some cash]

#3. One must submit a document stating the business they are getting into.

Modes of Filing

There are two ways to go about this one.

(i)         Offline Filing

(ii)        Online Filing

Offline filing, otherwise known as manual filing, can be done by submitting the application at the office having jurisdiction over your address. The trademark application can be submitted in the following cities: Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata.

Having filed, one recevies an ackowledment of the application right away irrespective of modes.

Once you submit your application you can officially start using the [TM] symbol next to your brand name.  However, you won’t be using the logo just yet, as it’s a tardy process and can take up to two years to get finalized.

Step 3: Examination of your application

Once the registrar receives the application, they scrutinize it, as they ensure the brand complies with the law and isn’t in discordance with any other existing brands that are already registered or are to be one.

In case of the trademark officer or any third party raising an objection on the trademark that one wants to get registered, you will get an examination report stating the objections to registering the trademark. The objections may be on various grounds, including:

#1. When their trademark is similar or somewhat similar to someone else’s.

#2.  When their trademark happens to hurt any religious susceptibilities of any class or section of the citizen of India.

There are several other grounds that could make yourapplication objectionable, read out “Trademark” article to get an in-depth knowledge in this regard.

In case of an objection it is advisable to seek professional help to draft a suitable reply to increase your changes of getting the objection removed.  We at EasyCorp, have a team of professionals, more than willing to help you out with it, so your brand gets all the recognition it deserves, and you, get the desired results you are looking for. We will be by your side.

In case there is no objection raised by the trademark officer, the trademark would be listed for public comments for a period of three months.

Step 4: Trademark Publication in the Trademark Journal

Having gone through the examination, if nobody objects to it for the next three months since the date of publication, the trademark gets registered! Voila!

One is allowed to use the registered trademark symbol (®) next to their brand name, once the certificate has been issued.

it would seem that the the trademark registration process is a tardy one.

However, it is worth the effort as it protects your brand and lasts ten years since the issuance of the Certificate of Registration.

Thank you for sticking with us throughout this post, if you have any questions in regards to trademark registration, don’t hesitate to drop in a comment. We will reach out to you as soon as possible and have a chat.