Business Trademark Registration
Why should I register a trademark?Registering a trademark provides legal protection against misuse of any business name or brand or logo by a competitor. A registered trademark grants the trademark owner exclusive nationwide ownership of the mark under the Indian laws.
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Process for Trademark:
Trademark application allotment
Once the trademark registration application is filed with the trademark registrar, a trademark application allotment number is provided within one or two working days. The application can then be tracked online through the online trademark search facility. On obtaining the allotment number, the owner of the trademark can affix the TM symbol next to the logo.
Vienna codification
The Vienna codification established by the Vienna agreement (1973) is an international classification of the figurative elements of marks. Once the application is filed, the trademark registrar will apply the Vienna classification to the trademark based on the figurative elements of marks. While this work is in progress, the trademark application status usually reflects as “sent for Vienna codification”.
Trademark Examination
Once the Vienna codification is complete, the trademark registration application will be allotted to an officer in the trademark registrar office. The trademark officer would then review the trademark application for correctness and issue a trademark examination report. The officer will either accept the application and allow for journal publication or object the same.
Trademark Registration
If there are no objections or oppositions to the application, the trademark manuscript and trademark registration certificate will be prepared. Once the trademark registration certificate is issued, the mark is considered to be a registered trademark of the owner, granting the owner exclusive use of the mark. The symbol can now be placed next to the logo.
Journal Publication
Once the trademark registration application is accepted by the registrar, the proposed mark is published in the trademark journal. The trademark journal is published weekly and contains all the trademarks that have been accepted by the registrar. Once it is published, the public have an opportunity to object to a particular registration, if they believe their business will be damaged by that registration. If there are no objections filed within 90 days of that publication, the mark will typically be registered within 12 weeks’ time. If the trademark registration application is opposed by a third-party, a hearing will be called for by the trademark hearing officer. Both the applicant and the opposing party have the chance to appear at the hearing and provide justifications for registration or rejection of the trademark application. Based on the hearings and the evidence presented, the hearing officer will determine if the application should be accepted or rejected. The decision of the hearing officer can also be challenged by escalating it to the Intellectual Property Appellate Board.