Trademark – FAQs

A trademark is a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, image or any combination of these that allows customers to identify your brand in the marketplace. Our team helps clients choose and protect the version of their brand identity that offers the strongest legal footing.

Yes. For broader protection in India, we recommend registering the trademark in local characters as well as its original form. A mark registered only in Latin characters may not automatically extend to its local language equivalent, which could allow a third party to use or register a similar version. Registering both versions also helps the public recognize and pronounce your brand more easily. Our team regularly helps clients file both versions to secure fuller protection.

On average, approval takes around 24 months, assuming no objections or oppositions are raised. Our team keeps clients updated at every stage of this timeline.

No. A trademark registered in India is protected only within India. We help clients plan separately for protection in other countries where needed.

Yes, a Power of Attorney is required to complete the application process. Our team prepares this document for clients as part of the filing process.

Yes. Prior use can help demonstrate the distinctiveness of the mark and can support the application if an opposition is raised on the grounds of non-distinctiveness. In India, the first party to use a mark generally holds ownership rights to it, even if another party files for registration afterward. We advise clients on how to document and rely on this prior use.

Yes. A registered trademark can be challenged on the grounds of non-use. Our team helps clients maintain proper usage records to avoid this risk.

The following can generally be registered:

• Words
• Names, other than personal names
• Devices
• Certain three-dimensional shapes
• Colours, where distinctiveness has been acquired
• Slogans
• Sounds
• Trade dress or overall product appearance
• Holograms
• Collective marks
• Certification marks
• Well-known marks
• Service marks

Our team helps clients determine which category best fits their brand.

The process generally proceeds as follows:

1. Examination, where the application is reviewed for formalities, classification, clarity, descriptiveness, distinctiveness, deceptiveness, conflict with prior registrations and religious sensitivities.
2. Publication, where details such as the mark, applicant name and address, country of incorporation, application number and date, goods or services, priority claims, dates of first use, and a representation of the mark are made available online.
3. Registration, which is granted once the application clears both the examination and publication stages and any oppositions are resolved.

Our team guides clients through each of these phases from start to finish.

The following generally cannot be registered:

• Marks contrary to moral standards or public order
• Generic terms
• Names, flags or symbols of states, nations, regions or international bodies
• Marks lacking acquired distinctiveness
• Marks that function primarily as surnames
• Marks that function primarily as geographic place names

We help clients assess these restrictions before filing to avoid unnecessary objections.

Yes, the Nice Classification system applies in India. Our team uses this system to help clients select the correct classes for their goods or services.

No. The European Union Trade Mark registration does not extend protection to India, so a separate Indian filing is required. We help clients plan for this separately.

Yes, provided certain conditions are met, such as the applicant’s home country being a signatory to the Paris Convention, the home application having been filed within six months prior to the Indian filing, or the application proceeding through the Madrid Protocol. Our team helps clients determine whether they qualify for priority claims.

The trademark must be put into use within five years and three months from the date the registration is sealed. Our team helps clients track this timeline closely.

The initial registration term is 10 years, calculated from the date of application. We remind clients well ahead of expiry.

The first renewal falls 10 years from the original filing date. Our team helps clients manage renewal deadlines so protection is never accidentally lost.

Yes. It is legal to use an unregistered mark in connection with your goods or services while registration is pending or even if you choose not to register at all.

This depends on the nature of your mark, your budget, and how much protection you want. If your brand includes both distinctive text and a design element, we generally recommend filing two separate applications, one as a Word Mark to protect the text, and another as a Combined Mark to protect the design. Filing both offers broader protection, since a third party’s similar text combined with a different design might otherwise be accepted for registration. It also protects you if your logo evolves over time, since a Combined Mark alone will not extend to a redesigned logo. Filing a Word Mark separately also gives you more flexibility to use your brand in different stylized formats. If your brand also includes a slogan or a distinct design symbol, we recommend filing a dedicated application for each. Our team helps clients map out the right filing strategy for their specific brand.

Goods and services are divided into 45 different classes by the Trademark Registry, and a mark can be protected under one or more of these classes depending on your business needs. Our team helps clients identify every class relevant to their operations.

You can conduct a preliminary search using the government’s public search portal before filing to check for conflicting marks. Our team also carries out a thorough search on behalf of clients as part of the filing process.

Any individual or business that owns or claims a name, word, number, image or sound can apply, including individuals, companies, proprietorships and societies. Our team supports applicants across all of these categories.

Yes. Filing in an individual’s name also reduces the government fee. Our team helps clients decide whether filing personally or through a business entity makes more sense for them.

Once your application is filed and an acknowledgment number is issued, you may begin using the TM symbol with your brand. Our team confirms this milestone for clients as soon as it is reached.

Objections often arise when a mark closely resembles an existing brand, includes geographic names or common words, or could cause confusion with an existing trademark. For example, a generic word tied directly to the product it describes is unlikely to be approved. Our team helps clients choose marks that are less likely to face this kind of objection in the first place.

Marks that are identical or deceptively similar to an already registered or pending trademark cannot be registered, nor can marks that are offensive or likely to mislead. Geographic names, common words, common trade terms and standard abbreviations are also generally not accepted. Our team reviews each proposed mark against these standards before filing.

Preparing and submitting a well-drafted application typically takes only a few days once the necessary information is available. Our team moves quickly to get applications filed without unnecessary delay.

Generally, the following are needed:

• The brand logo
• A description of the nature of the business
• Identity proof of the applicant

Our team helps clients gather and organize these documents efficiently.

No, a trademark registered under the Trade Marks Act is only valid within India. For international protection, a separate application must be filed through the World Intellectual Property Organization under the Madrid system. Our team helps clients plan and file for this international coverage where needed.

Yes, it can be filed under either, depending on what suits the applicant. We help clients decide which option fits their circumstances best.

No. Approval rests entirely with the discretion of the Trademark Registry. That said, a genuinely unique and distinctive mark stands a strong chance of approval. Our team works to strengthen every application’s chances from the outset.

You will be given an opportunity to be heard, and a well-drafted legal reply must be filed to address the objection. Our team prepares and files these replies on behalf of clients.

Yes, and it is common to do so in order to cover both current and future business activities. A separate government fee applies for each additional class. Our team helps clients decide which classes are worth including.

The government fee for a single class application is 4,500 rupees. This increases with each additional class, for example roughly 9,000 rupees for two classes and 13,500 rupees for three. Our team keeps clients informed of the exact costs involved before filing.

No. If both are submitted together in one filing, they are treated as a single trademark application and only one set of fees applies. Our team structures filings this way whenever it benefits the client.

The process generally includes assignment of a Vienna Code if the mark contains figures or a logo, a formalities check to confirm basic requirements such as the Power of Attorney and correct translation, an examination report if further clarification is needed, publication in the Trademark Journal once accepted, a four-month window during which third parties may raise objections, and finally registration once no opposition is received, after which the registered symbol may be used. Our team manages clients through every one of these stages.

For an individual applicant, the fee is 4,500 rupees online or 5,000 rupees offline. For entities other than individuals, such as private limited companies or LLPs, the fee is 9,000 rupees online or 10,000 rupees offline. Startups and small enterprises holding an MSME certificate can avail the concessional fee of 4,500 rupees. Our team helps clients determine which fee category applies to them.

Yes, three-dimensional symbols can be registered as trademarks in India.

This is the first stage of review after a trademark application is filed, where the registrar verifies the information and documents submitted. If the application does not clear this stage, its status is marked as Formality Check Fail.

Yes. Our team reviews the originally filed application, identifies what is missing or incorrect, and refiles it with the necessary corrections.

It generally occurs when the required documents were incomplete at the time of filing, or when incorrect information was submitted along with the application.

A reply must be filed within one month from the date the formality check failure notice is received. Our team ensures this deadline is met for every client.

If no reply is filed, the trademark application will be rejected. Our team works to prevent this outcome by responding well within the given window.