What is a Trademark?

A trademark can be defined as a simply recognizable symbol, phrase, or word that describes a specific product. It differentiates a product or service from another of its kind in a legal way also recognizes the source ownership of the brand of any company.

Trademark Registration

It can be any word, phrase, symbol, design, that helps to identify goods or services. It helps the customers to recognize you in the marketplace and distinguish you from your competitors.

It has the attribute that identifies the source of the goods or services, provides brand name protection, and also helps to guard against counterfeiting and fraud.

It is often advisable to register the trademark to protect it from unauthorized use by someone else. Trademarking grants startups security in the field of branding which leads to escalating the business. By trademarking a company name, one makes its services and products distinctive or exceptional in terms of its competitors, becoming their intellectual property. In doing so, it prevents opponents from copying or stealing their brand.

Process

Trademark registration for the products is very crucial as it protects the company. It helps to safeguard the earning potential for the business. Let us study the process of registration in a few steps.

1) Unique Brand Name

Customers always look for a name that sounds unique and professional. For making creative and unique names, one needs to explore creative ideas, that would match the interest of the customers.

When any company deals with the interest of the people and provides support, then this ultimately results in improving productivity. The business improves their sales when they get engaged with the needs and requirements of the consumers. The industry needs to focus on the core values and satisfy the clients.

High-level consultants and flawless implementation will, of course, be more expensive than anything below it. For this process, the experts need to do a lot of research, and be mindful, and think with different perspectives to add in-depth creativity to the process.

It should appoint one person to record the brainstorming ideas to maintain the files. Creativity brings uniqueness to the work, which ultimately takes the business to the height of success.

It is an effective way to reach the target audience. It also helps to bring innovations to the work of making the names. Likewise, branding an international, multi-product business is the most challenging and resource-heavy than a local business.

By crossing all the situations, the industries select the names that sound professional, unique, and are appropriate to the business nature. Once the company finalizes the names, it needs to go on to the second step.

2) Hire a Legal Attorney

A legal attorney marks the importance of their role in the whole process by being a valuable asset.

So though the clients are doing this for the first time or second time, they hire an attorney to carry out the whole process.

They help to highlight the uniqueness and viability of the name.

They are the experts who navigate the whole process with accuracy, which brings authentication to the work.

If in case, the application gets rejected for any reason, the attorney can help the client, by giving an appropriate response, and they can also appeal a rejection of the application to the Trademark Trial and Appeal board. They also provide legal advice whenever necessary.

Trademarking grants startups the security of their brand. By trademarking a company name with the help of an attorney, one makes its services and products distinctive from its opponents, competitors, becoming their intellectual property.

This helps in preventing jealous challengers from copying or stealing their brand. Trademarking grants startups the security of their brand.

3) Perform a search for the Brand Name

Firstly, go to the official website of Intellectual Property India.

Then the first option needs to be selected on the page, that reads Trade Mark Application/Registered Mark.

After this, the application number has to be entered, and the captcha code also needs to be entered correctly.

Once the details are entered properly, the website displays the status of the application.

In India, the Comptroller General of Patent Designs and Trademark controls the Trademark registrations and the registered ones, both are available to do the online search.

It is associated with a database that contains all of its applications submitted to the Trademark registrar in India, which includes all registered, applied, objected, and expired trademarks.

4) Application

For registration, an application has to be sent in the form TM-A to the registry. Sometimes the applicant needs to act to ensure that the same would be getting registered soon, so the applicants should check the status for avoiding such situations.

By trademarking a company name, one makes its services and products distinctive from its opponents, competitors, becoming their intellectual property. This helps in preventing jealous challengers from copying or stealing their brand.

5) Determination of the eligibility and availability

Trademarking grants startups the security of their brand. By trademarking a company name, one makes its services and products distinctive in terms of its competitors, becoming their intellectual property, and if the agent has the power of attorney from the right holder, then he could file an application form.

The agent starts the registration process by determining if it is eligible for registration.

So they conduct a clearance search to see if there is a similar status mark in the office of the controller general.

This helps to determine the eligibility along with its availability of it.

It is also crucial to check the status of the registration process.

Status

Formalities Check Pass

Formality check pass is one of the initial stages of the registration process. The Registry checks that if it meets properly with all the requirements, like whether the POA (Power of Attorney) has been uploaded, at the time of filling through an agent.

Formalities Check Fail

This is also considered as one of the initial stages of the process. This could happen when there is non-filing of POA, and translation when the trademark is not in English or Hindi, also if the filing is done in the wrong class, etc.

Marked for Exam

When the status shows as Marked for Exam, then it indicates that the application has been assigned to an Examiner for checking. There are various Sections made for the Trademark Act, which helps to examine its registrability. This process asks the applicant to wait till the report is issued.

Objected

The time when the Examiner raises some objections regarding the registrability of the trademark, then the status shows objected. But the applicant can overcome such kinds of problems.

To overcome the objections, the applicant files a written response with the Trade Mark Registry within one month from the date of receipt of the examination report, and if it failed then the application might be treated as abandoned by the Registry.

Accepted and Advertised

Whenever the application is advertised in the Trade Marks Journal, then it is considered as advertised. This is the final stage in the process.

After the publishing in the Trade Marks Journal, 4 months time is given to oppose the registration of the trademark, to the third party.

But if no oppositions are filed during the 4-month opposition, then the certificate gets issued within 3 months thereafter.

Exam Report Issued

When the status shows that the Exam Report Issued or Accepted, then then it indicates that the application has been ordered for publication in the Trade Marks Journal before registration. This status is used by the Registry whenever there are no objections raised by the Examiner.

It is also seen when the objections are overcome by the written submissions or hearings. No action is required by the applicant at this point unless the application does not move forward for journal publication.

Opposed

When the status marks as opposed, then it indicates that the third party has filed an opposition to the registration. This notice of opposition is sent by the third party to the registration of the trademark.

After this process, a counter-statement has to be filed within two months from the date of notice of opposition sent. If failed, then the application will be abandoned and cannot be revived again.

Withdrawn

Once the status reads as Opposed, then the applicant fights with the opposition case. If the applicant does not fight the case, then the people can voluntarily withdraw the application. Then the status marks as Withdrawn.

Registered

Once the application is cleared in all of its stages, then it moves towards the stage of Accepted and Advertised stage.

After crossing this stage, a certificate of registration gets issued to the applicant by the Trademarks Registry. At the same time, the status is updated on the website as well.

Removed

When the trademark is not used by the people for five years, then after the issuance of the certificate, it gets removed from the Trademark Journal.

At this point, if in a case where the owner forgets to renew the registration, then the status shall be removed.

So the process always advises to take out time and provide clear documents, which would avoid delay about the registration of the trademark.

6) Registration

After going through all the processes, then there comes the final step of the procedure, which is the Registration procedure. The application goes further crossing all the steps.

If in case, there is no objection against it, at the time of the process of advertisement during the tenure of four months.

Then it leads to the issue of an auto-generated registration certificate within one week. After the completion, it gets valid for 10 years, after this, it gets renewed within the specified period.

[The images are being taken from the registered companies and belong to their respective owners only.]