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Trademark Registration is an intellectual property registration under the Trademark Act, 1999 which provides ownership of the intellectual property, rights to exclusive use of the registered trademark and legal protection in case of trademark infringement. The Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks is responsible for the protection of the trademark under the act. The Trademark Act, 1999 deals with the protection, registration and prevention of infringement of trademarks. It also deals with the rights of the holder of the trademark, penalties for infringement, remedies for the damaged as well as modes of transference of the trademark.

Trademark is defined in the Trademark Act, 1999 as, “trademark means a mark capable of being represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those of others and may include the shape of goods, their packaging and combination of colours.”

This mark may include numerous things such as signatures, names, labels, headings etc.

NICE CLASSIFICATION 

Section 7 of the Trademark Act, 1999 mandates the classification of trademark to be done according to the international classification of goods and services. There are a total of 45 classes of goods and services. The international classification system used is called the Nice Classification (NCL) which was established in 1957 during the Nice Agreement.

According to the NCL, there are 45 classes under which goods and services fall. Classes 1 – 34 are for goods and the classes 35 – 45 are for services. For example, Class 35: Advertising; business management; business administration; office functions, etc.

TRADEMARK REGISTRATION PROCESS IN INDIA

To a layman, filing for trademark registration may seem a tedious and a complex process. But on the contrary it is rather easy and uncomplicated if the following steps are followed:

STEP 1: TRADEMARK SEARCH

• The first and the foremost task while filing for a Trademark should be carrying out a public search on the trademarks database which is available with the Trade Marks Registry to make sure that the trademark is unique and that there is no other trademark which is either similar or identical to his/ her trademark. 
• The trademark search reveals all types of trademarks that are already available in the market, either registered or unregistered & further tells whether the applied trademark has a competition for the same trademark.

STEP 2: FILING TRADEMARK APPLICATION 

• After ensuring that your trademark is unique and not listed with the Trademark Registry of India you can move forward with registering the Trademark. 
• Registration can either be single-class or multi-class depending on the goods & services the business pertains to. 
• For the purpose of registration Form TM-A is to be filed. 

STEP 3: TRADEMARK EXAMINATION 

• After the filing of the Trademark, it is to be examined for any kind of discrepancies by the examiner. The examiner might accept the Trademark absolutely, conditionally or may object. 
• If the Trademark is accepted, it shall straight-away proceed for publication in the Trademarks Journal
• If the Trademark is conditionally accepted, the conditions levied by the examiner are to be fulfilled within 1 month by the applicant in order to get his/her Trademark accepted.
• If the Trademark is objected, the objections will be mentioned in the examination report and 1 month time is given to reply to the examination report. 

STEP 4: POST-EXAMINATION 

• After filing of reply to the examination report if the examiner is not fully satisfied by the reply filed or if the objections are not met, he may set a show cause hearing.
• After the hearing, if he accepts the Trademark the application for publication on journal is forwarded.
• He may reject the application if any objection still persists.

STEP 5: TRADEMARK PUBLICATION 

• If the Trademark gets accepted by the examiner, it is advertised and published in the journal. Thereafter, a period of 4 months is given so that the general public may file opposition against the registration.
• The general public can file opposition on the publication by means of TM-O Form i.e., Notice to Oppose the Trademark. 
• If it is opposed, then the due process of law will be followed which includes filing the counter- statement application, evidence as well as hearing in order to get the trademark registered.

STEP 6: TRADEMARK REGISTRATION 

• Once the Trademark application vanquishes the objection and/or the opposition against the TM, a registration certificate under the seal of the Trademarks Office is issued.
• In case of no objection during the advertisement/ publication period of 4 months, the trademark is issued an auto- generated registration certificate within 1 week time.

STEP 7: TRADEMARK RENEWAL

• Once registered, the Trademark is protected for a period of 10 years.
• It will perpetually be renewed after every 10 years.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR TRADEMARK REGISTRATION

Trademark registration grants security to the brand of entrepreneurs be it start-ups, multi-billion businesses or even small-scale companies. The trademark registration procedure has been simplified by the Government of India over the period of time to allow entrepreneurs to easily obtain trademark registration for their brands within a couple of months. The various documents required to obtain registration of trademark in India are:

1. Documents required in Sole proprietorship

1. Copy of the proposed logo (Application can be filed for the word in case the logo is not provided).
2. Form- 48 (duly signed): an authorization from the applicant to a Trademark Attorney to file the registration on his/her behalf.
3. Copy of ID Proof of proprietor (any one of the following – Passport, AADHAR, PAN, etc.)
4.  Copy of Address Proof of proprietor (any one of the following- Latest electricity bill, phone bill, etc.) 

NOTE: Small enterprises are required to provide the Udyog AADHAR registration certificate.

2. Documents required in Partnership/ Company / LLP /Others

1. Scanned copy of the logo (optional)
2. Form-48 (duly signed)
3. Udyog AADHAR registration Certificate
4. Partnership Deed or Incorporation Certificate
5. Copy of Identity proof of Applicant/ signatory
6. Copy of Address proof of Applicant/signatory

TRADEMARK REGISTRATION FEES

S.no	PAYABLE ON	STATUTORY FEE IN CASE OF COMPANY/PARTNERSHIPS,ETC (INR)	FOR START-UPs, SMALL ENTERPRISES, etc (INR)
1	Trademark Registration	9000	4500
2	Amendement to the Application (Ex: any change in documents)	900	900
3	Notice of Opposition	2700	2700
4	Response to notice of Opposition	2700	2700
5	Request for time extention	900	900
6	Trademark Renewal	9000	9000