Public-search clearance, Nice-class selection, and online filing of trademark applications in India under the Trade Marks Act 1999. Advisory on brand-protection strategy and prosecution before the Indian Trademark Registry, from filing through to certificate.
Discuss your requirementsTrademark registration helps protect a business name or logo for the goods and services specified in the application. A search should consider both earlier applications and existing use of similar marks. Filing first does not automatically defeat an established prior user: Section 34 of the Trade Marks Act preserves qualifying prior-use rights.
Registration rights are subject to the Act and the rights of other parties. Registration lasts ten years and can be renewed. An unregistered mark may still be protected through passing off under Section 27, so clearance should consider actual use in the market as well as Registry records.
Brand protection in India is rarely a single filing. A working portfolio for a growing business typically combines a word mark, a logo (device) mark, and filings in each class of goods or services in which the business actually trades or intends to trade within a reasonable horizon. The strategy is built around what the business looks like in three to five years, not only at the date of the first filing.
LexWiser assists Indian and overseas applicants with trademark registration in India, covering clearance searches, classification under the Nice Agreement, filing of applications on Form TM-A through the IP India e-filing portal, and prosecution through examination, advertisement, opposition (where relevant) and registration.
The government fee payable to the Trade Marks Registry depends on the applicant entity and the mode of filing. The figures below are per class per mark and are paid directly to the Registry on filing. Counsel fees are separate.
Fees are payable per class. A multi-class application attracts the per-class fee for each class claimed. Registration is valid for ten years from the date of filing; renewal on Form TM-R can be filed within one year before expiry, with a surcharge applying during the six-month grace period after expiry. The Registry may revise these figures by notification; counsel will confirm the prevailing fee at the time of filing.
The full trademark classes list under the Nice Agreement runs from Class 1 to Class 45: Classes 1 to 34 cover goods and Classes 35 to 45 cover services. The classes most commonly filed by Indian businesses are set out below. The list is indicative only; the correct class depends on the actual goods or services and the wording of the specification.
A business spanning more than one of the above categories will typically require filings in each relevant class. Counsel reviews the actual goods or services before recommending the class structure.
The Trade Marks Registry requires the following documents to be uploaded with the application on the IP India e-filing portal. The exact set varies marginally with the applicant entity and whether prior use is claimed.
Before any application is filed, the mark should be checked against the Trade Marks Registry database. The Registry provides a free public search on the IP India portal (ipindiaservices.gov.in), and anyone can use it. It offers three search modes, each answering a different question:
A sensible clearance check also goes beyond the Registry database: the MCA company-name index, domain availability, and the major marketplaces and app stores where the brand will actually trade. A do-it-yourself search is a good first filter, but it has known blind spots: transliterations into Indian languages, deliberate misspellings, conflicts in allied classes and well-known marks with protection beyond their registered classes. That is why our filings are preceded by a counsel-run search with a written risk note, so the decision to file is made with the conflicts visible.
Every application receives a Trade Mark Application Number on filing, and its progress can be tracked free of charge on the IP India portal under Trade Mark Application/Registered Mark status. Enter the application number and the current status is displayed with the prosecution history. The statuses that matter, and what each one means in practice:
If your status shows Objected, do not wait: the thirty-day reply window is strict, and a missed deadline usually converts a routine objection into an abandoned application. We review examination reports and file substantive replies as a standalone engagement, whether or not the original application was filed through us.
A brand does not stop existing because it is unregistered, but the legal position of its owner changes completely. The practical benefits of trademark registration are easiest to see side by side:
Engagements in this area generally involve some or all of the following work. The actual scope is set out in the engagement letter once the matter is understood.
A confidential discussion to understand the nature of the mark, the business in which it will be used, the territory of intended use, and the class or classes in which protection is required. Counsel also reviews the applicant entity and the appropriate fee category.
A search of the Trade Marks Registry public database is conducted to identify any earlier-filed identical or deceptively similar marks that may give rise to a Section 11 objection on examination or to a third-party opposition after advertisement. A risk note is provided in writing.
Preparation and electronic filing of the application on Form TM-A through the IP India portal, accompanied by the government fee. The applicant is permitted to use the ™ symbol from the date of filing. The application is allotted a unique Trade Mark Application Number on submission.
Monitoring of the application through examination by the Registry. Where the Registry issues an examination report raising objections, a substantive reply with case-law and evidence (where relevant) is drafted and filed within the statutory thirty-day period. If a hearing is fixed, counsel appears before the Hearing Officer.
On acceptance, the mark is advertised in the Trade Marks Journal. If no opposition is filed within four months of the date of publication, the Registry proceeds to issue the registration certificate. The ten-year term runs from the date of filing.
Statutory processing by the Trade Marks Registry typically takes 18 to 24 months from filing to certificate, subject to the absence of objections or oppositions. This timeline is set by the Registry and is not within the control of counsel. The applicant may use the ™ symbol from the date of filing and the ® symbol only after the registration certificate has been issued.
A word mark protects the name as text regardless of how it is stylised; a device (logo) mark protects only the specific stylised representation. Most proprietors begin with a word mark and add a device filing once the visual identity is settled.
Goods and services are classified into 45 classes under the Nice Agreement. Filing in one class protects the mark only for goods or services in that class. Multi-class or series filings are advisable where the business spans categories, but each additional class attracts a separate government fee.
If the mark has been used in commerce before the date of filing, the date of first use must be declared accurately in the application. Where prior use is claimed, contemporaneous documentary evidence (invoices, advertisements, dated artwork) should be preserved for production if examination, opposition or rectification proceedings arise.
Government filing fees are paid to the Trade Marks Registry directly and are distinct from counsel fees. The applicable fee depends on the applicant entity (Rs. 4,500 per class for individuals, startups and small enterprises with DPIIT or Udyam recognition; Rs. 9,000 per class for other applicants, on the e-filing route).
The wording of the specification within each class materially affects the breadth of protection and the risk of objection. Over-broad specifications attract Section 9 objections; over-narrow specifications leave gaps that competitors can occupy. Specification drafting is a substantive part of the filing exercise.
A registered mark may be removed from the register if it is not used in relation to the goods or services covered for a continuous period of five years and three months from the date of registration. Filing without genuine intent to use exposes the registration to non-use rectification later.
No. A trademark registration under the Trade Marks Act 1999 confers rights only within the territory of India. Protection in other jurisdictions requires separate national filings in each country of interest, or a single international filing under the Madrid Protocol designating those countries (India is a Madrid Protocol member).
Yes. A foreign applicant may file a trademark application in India. The application must designate an address for service in India, which is typically the address of the counsel on record. Foreign applicants may file directly in India or designate India through a Madrid Protocol application routed via their home registry.
An objection is raised by the Trade Marks Registry through an examination report on absolute grounds (Section 9 of the Trade Marks Act 1999) or relative grounds (Section 11). An opposition is a third-party challenge filed within four months of advertisement of the mark in the Trade Marks Journal. Each requires a different procedural response within a strict statutory timeline.
If the Registry is not satisfied with the reply to the examination report, a hearing is scheduled before the Hearing Officer of the Trade Marks Registry. If the outcome of the hearing is adverse and the mark is refused, the refusal order may be appealed to the appellate authority constituted under the Trade Marks Act within the prescribed limitation period.
A registered trademark is valid for ten years from the date of filing. It may be renewed indefinitely for further ten-year terms on payment of the prescribed renewal fee. A renewal application can be filed within one year before the expiry date, or with a surcharge within six months after expiry.
The ™ symbol indicates a claim to a trademark and may be used before or after filing an application. The ® symbol may be used only after the registration certificate has been issued by the Trade Marks Registry. Using the ® symbol on an unregistered mark is an offence under the Trade Marks Act.
The Nice Classification is the international system for classifying goods and services for trademark registration. It divides goods and services into 45 classes (Classes 1 to 34 for goods, Classes 35 to 45 for services). A trademark application must specify the class or classes in which protection is claimed, and the specification of goods or services within each class.
Yes, through either a multi-class application (a single application covering several classes) or separate applications in each class. Each class attracts a separate government fee. Where the business spans distinct categories of goods or services, multi-class filing is generally advisable to avoid leaving gaps that competitors may occupy.
The principal documents are a clear representation of the mark (in JPEG format), an authorisation in favour of counsel on Form TM-48, identity and address proof of the applicant, and incorporation documents if the applicant is a company, LLP or partnership. Where prior use is claimed, an affidavit of user supported by documentary evidence of first use is required.
The Registry proceeds to registration if no notice of opposition is filed within four months from the date of advertisement in the Trade Marks Journal. If opposition is filed, the matter enters contested proceedings before the Registry and the registration is held in abeyance until the opposition is disposed of.
For e-filing, the government fee is Rs. 4,500 per class per mark for individuals, startups recognised by DPIIT and small enterprises holding Udyam registration; and Rs. 9,000 per class per mark for other applicants such as larger companies. Physical filing attracts a higher fee. Government fees are paid to the Registry separately from counsel fees.
Yes. A trademark application may be filed on a "proposed to be used" basis, where the applicant has not yet commenced use of the mark in commerce but intends to do so. The application proceeds in the same manner; however, the registration may become vulnerable to non-use rectification if the mark is not put to genuine use within five years and three months from the date of registration.
A trademark protects a sign (word, logo, slogan, shape) that distinguishes the goods or services of one undertaking from those of another; it is registered class-wise under the Trade Marks Act 1999. A copyright protects original literary, artistic, musical or software works under the Copyright Act 1957. A logo can be protected by both: the artistic work in the logo by copyright, and the brand use of the logo by trademark.
A personal name or surname may be registered as a trademark provided it functions as a distinctive sign for the goods or services concerned. Common surnames without acquired distinctiveness face objection under Section 9 of the Trade Marks Act on the ground that they are devoid of distinctive character. Distinctiveness acquired through use can be demonstrated by evidence.
India follows the first-to-file principle. An earlier-filed application has priority over a later-filed application for an identical or deceptively similar mark in respect of the same or similar goods or services. The Registry should raise a Section 11 objection against the later application citing the earlier one. The earlier applicant may also file a notice of opposition once the later mark is advertised.
No. Registration of a company or LLP name with the Registrar of Companies (under the Companies Act 2013 or the LLP Act 2008) only prevents another entity from being incorporated with the same name; it does not confer any trademark rights. Brand protection requires a separate trademark registration under the Trade Marks Act 1999.
Typically 18 to 24 months from filing to certificate where the application faces no objection or opposition. The timeline extends where an examination report has to be answered, a hearing is fixed, or a third party opposes the mark after advertisement. The practical point founders often miss is that protection does not wait for the certificate: the filing date fixes priority under the first-to-file rule, and the trademark symbol can be used from the day the application is submitted.
The business can still use the mark, but its legal position is materially weaker. Enforcement is limited to a passing-off action, which requires proving goodwill and reputation with evidence and is confined to the territory where that goodwill exists. The registered symbol cannot be used. Most significantly, India follows the first-to-file rule: if a competitor files an application for the same or a similar mark first, they gain priority, and displacing them on prior-use grounds is slow, uncertain and expensive.
Yes. The TM symbol (and SM for services) carries no statutory requirement; it simply signals that the mark is claimed as a trademark, and it may be used from the day an application is filed or even before filing. What is restricted is the registered symbol: using it on a mark that is not on the register is an offence under the Trade Marks Act 1999. The symbols are therefore a reliable public signal of where a mark actually stands.
For most trading businesses, yes, and the fee structure is designed to encourage it: a small enterprise with Udyam registration pays the reduced government fee of Rs. 4,500 per class rather than Rs. 9,000. A registered mark protects the name the business trades under across India, prevents a later-filed competitor from taking priority, and is increasingly a practical requirement for brand-registry and anti-counterfeit programmes on e-commerce platforms where small businesses sell.
Discuss your circumstances with Adv. Shubham Kumar at the Delhi practice. Consultations are available remotely for Indian law matters.
Content updated 5 October 2026. General information; advice depends on the facts and applicable law.
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