A 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 or intellectual property for a business and 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 provide. 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 with a right to sue for damages when infringements of trademarks occur. Once a trademark is registered, R symbol can be used and the registration will be valid for 10 years. Registered trademarks nearing expiry can be easily renewed by filing a trademark renewal application for a period of another 10 years.

• Legal Protection

Only owners of registered trademarks are allowed to take action or sue for damages in case of trademark infringement. Trademark protection is not enforceable for trademarks that are not registered. All registered trademarks are valid for a period of 10 years and can be renewed for a period of another 10 years easily by filing a trademark renewal application.

• Unique Identity

Trademark filing 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.

• Creation of Asset

Trademark filing 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.

• Trust or Goodwill

Registered trademarks can be used to create a sense of trust, goodwill and quality in the minds of your customer that is unique to your business. Registered trademarks show your customer that you care about your brand.

• Global Trademark Filing

A trademark filing in India can be used as the basis for trademark filing in other countries if required. Foreigners and Foreign entities can also register a trademark in India if required.

Trademark registration is an important mechanism through which a brand can be protected from unwanted use and infringement. Trademark registration process in India has been simplified by the Government and Entrepreneurs can now easily obtain trademark registration for their brands within a few months. In this article, we look at the documents required for obtaining trademark registration in India.

Note: During the trademark application process, there is no requirement for submitting original documents. Scan copy of the original document would suffice the requirement.

Any individual – Indian National or Foreign National can easily register a trademark in India. There is no requirement for forming a legal entity or business entity to register a trademark. Further, the documents required to register a trademark in the name of a proprietorship are the same as that of an individual as under:

• Copy of the logo, preferably in black & white (Optional). In case logo is not provided, the trademark application can be filed for the word.
• Signed Form-48. Form-48 is aauthorisation from the applicant to a Trademark Attorney for filing the trademark application on his/her behalf.
• Identity Proof of the individual or Proprietor.
• Address Proof of the individual or Proprietor.

The trademark registration fee varies between Rs.4500 to Rs.9500. For small enterprises, startups, proprietorships and individuals, the lower trademark fee of Rs.4500 is applicable. For all other entities, the trademark government fee applicable is Rs.9500. To be classified as a small enterprise, the applicant would have to provide Udyog Aadhar registration certificate. Further, in addition to the Udyog Aadhar registration, the following details would be required.

In case of a partnership firm or LLP, the entrepreneur would have to submit the following:

• Copy of Logo (Optional)
• Signed Form-48.
• Udyog Aadhar Registration Certificate.
• Incorporation Certificate or Partnership Deed.
• Identity Proof of Signatory.
• Address Proof of Signatory.

Other Applicants

All other applicants, including companies that do not have Udyog Aadhar registration will have to submit the following documents to obtain trademark registration in India.

• Copy of Logo (Optional)
• Signed Form-48.
• Incorporation Certificate or Partnership Deed.
• Identity Proof of Signatory.
• Address Proof of Signatory.

Step 1: Surf internet for a brand name that is “wacky-enough”

This is simply a short and best way for any newcomer to get a catchy, trendy, and an interesting brand name. Picking up a brand name that is wacky and quirky is definitely a wise move since most of the generic names would already be in someone’s hands. Moreover, zeroing in on a particular name requires a quick research process to ensure yourself that you are not picking a brand name that is already in use. The best part here is that you can invent or coin some words with a mix of generic words to create a unique brand name for yourself.

Step 2: Preparing a trademark application

The following supporting documents together with the application have to be submitted:

1.Business Registration Proof: On the basis of your registered business (for eg: sole proprietorship and so on), an identity proof of the company’s directors and an address proof have to be submitted. In case of sole proprietorship business, id proof of the proprietor viz. PAN card, Aadhar card could be submitted. Whereas, in the case of companies, the address proof of the company needs to be submitted.

2:Soft copy of the trademark.

3: The proof of claim (which is applicable) of the proposed mark can be used in another country.

4: Power of attorney to be signed by the applicant.

Step 3: Filling the application of brand name registration

Manual Filling and e-filling are the two different ways for filing the registration.

If you choose ‘manual filling’ then you have to personally move and handover your application for the registration to the Registrar Office of Trade Marks situated in the major cities of India like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, and Chennai. After that, you have to wait for at least 15 -20 days to receive the receipt of the acknowledgment.

But in the case of an e-filing system, you will receive your receipt of acknowledgment instantly on the government website. Once after receiving your acknowledgment, you are eligible to use your TradeMark (TM) symbol beside your brand name!

Moreover, in case of rejection due to non-approval of the name, the applicant will get a second chance of refilling the same SPICe form without any further charges. It means you get two chances of filing the same form without any extra charge of paying Rs. 1000/- both the times.

In case of failure to get the name approved in the second go, you can file the SPICe form again from scratch. This will any day prove to be cheaper than opting for the first option.

The whole process including name approval and incorporation takes around 2-3 days

Step 4: Examining the process of the brand name application

Once the application is dispatched, the Registrar will check out whether you have followed certain terms that your brand name complies with, the existing law. Moreover, there should not be any conflict or dispute amongst any existing or pending brands for the registration. This is the reason why we preferred you to choose a quirky brand name!

Step 5: Publication of your brand in the Indian Trade Mark Journals

After the process of examination, the registrar will publish your brand name in the Indian Trade Mark Journal. This is certainly the most important part of the trademark registration and there should not be any opposition within 3 months (i.e. 90 days) or 120 days, in some cases, from the date of publication. Then your brand name is proceeding towards the acceptance.

Step 6: The trademark registration certificate issuance

The Registrar will accept your trademark application if there’s no opposition being raised within the stipulated period of 90 days. Wow! And this will be the happiest moment for you as the Registrar issues the Registration Certificate with the Trademark Registry seal.

Right from the moment you have been issued with your certificate, you can use the registered trademark symbol (®) beside your brand name.

Thus, with this blog post, we feel that even a beginner can understand all about creating a brand name and registering it successfully.