A Stepwise Guide To Online Trademark Registration For Beginners

If you own a business, then you can use a trademark to help customers identify your goods and services. A trademark is a unique symbol, word, logo, design, phrase or any other mark that carries your brand identity. Registering your trademark in India allows you to legally secure your brand identity in the market. 

Registering your trademark gives you exclusive rights to use a particular symbol, logo or mark for your goods and services. A trademark helps to protect your brand from being misused or copied by others. It helps to distinguish your brand’s products and services from those of the competitors.

The Trademark Act, 1999, governs trademark registration in India. It states the trade registration process, rights of the trademark owner and the solution in case of an infringement. Trademarks are considered a form of intellectual property and are protected by the Indian and international legal frameworks. 

According to the Trademark Act, an individual or an entity that wants to use a trademark for their goods and services can apply for registration. The applicant should be the owner of the trademark or have a legal right to use it.

Registration process

a) First, you have to verify if your trademark is eligible to be used. Your trademark should be unique and clearly identify your brand. It should not be similar to any existing trademark in the industry. You have to identify the type of trademark you want to register from logo/design, wordmark, combination (words and images) or service mark. 

b) You can search to know whether your trademark is identical to any existing trademark in the market. This will help to reduce the chances of an objection in the registration process. Once your trademark is finalised, you need to identify the right class from a total of 45 classes (Classes 1 - 34 for goods, and Classes 35 - 45 for services).

c) To register your trademark, you will need documents such as identity proof, address proof, a clear image or graphic of your trademark, a power of attorney if required and proof showing how long the trademark has been used.

d) For a trademark registration, you have to fill out the TM-A form online or offline. The details to be provided are the applicant’s name, contact information, usage information (whether the trademark is being used or is going to be used) and class of the trademark. Select the right fee category based on whether an individual/, small business or startup is applying for trademark registration.

• The offline method for trademark registration requires that you visit the Trademark Registry Office in the cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai or Ahmedabad. The process is longer, and a physical acknowledgement is required to apply.

• The online method is fast, convenient and can be done from anywhere. Online trademark registration is best for businesses and individuals looking for a fast process. 

The online registration can be done through the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks - CGPDTM website. The forms are submitted online; therefore, the applicant will have to get a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC). 

Register and log in as a new user using your DSC. Fill the TM-A form with the required details, upload the necessary documents, and submit the form. You will be given an acknowledgement number. Use this number to track the status of your application.

e) The trademark examiner verifies the application and checks if your application aligns with the legal requirements. The examiner also checks if your trademark conflicts with any existing trademark. 

• If your application meets all the requirements, then it will move to the next stage of processing.

• If the examiner finds any issues, then you will get a report listing the objections. You will have to address the objections made. Within 30 days, you have to submit the response to the report.

f) If your application is approved after examination, then it is published in the Trademark Journal. If there is no opposition to the trademark within a period of four months, then you can go ahead and pay the fees.

• In case of opposition, you have to respond within a period of two months. If your counterstatement proves the opposition invalid, then the application moves to the next step.  

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