Trademark Registration can be applied by any layman himself. In accordance with Section 3 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, the Central Government appoints the Controller-General of Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks, as the Registrar of Trade Marks for the sole purpose of the Trade Marks Act 1999.
A trademark Act provides protection to the owner of the trademark by providing the exclusive right to use it. The period of protection of a trademark is valid for 10 years which needs to be renewed after 10 years on payment of additional fees.
With the onset of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), trademark law is now modernized under the Trade Marks Act of 1999.
Trademarks are a crucial aspect of intellectual property. The registration of a trademark provides protection from unauthorized use of that trademark by another person who is registered. It is required to register a trademark to get the protection of trademark rights.
Intellectual Property cannot be identified and it is intangible. It should be expressed in some distinguishable way.
Basically, it comprises four distinct types of intangible properties, namely:
- a) Copyright
- b) Trademark
- c) Patent and
- d) Trade Secret,
which are collectively known as “Intellectual Property.”
A trademark is a word, symbol, phrase, or design that differentiates the products and services of one from that of another. Generally, any mark which distinguishes one’s from that of a competitor’s products and services.
The trademarks are classified into five categories:
- Generic: It means using the name of the product.
- Descriptive: The mark describing the characteristics of the products.
- Arbitrary: The marks which have already come into force, vocabulary but do not have any logical relationship with the goods or services for which they are used,
- Suggestive: The mark suggests the characteristics of the products.
- Invented/Coined: It means coining a new word that has no meaning in the dictionary.
The Trademarks Act, of 1999 contains a provision related to the registration of marks, the renewable term of registration of a trademark which is ten years. It is very crucial to note that the letter “R” in a circle i.e. ® can only be used after the registration of the trademark under the Trade Marks Act, 1999.
REGULATION OF TRADEMARK REGISTRATION IN INDIA:
Under the Trade Marks Act, of 1999, the Controller-General of Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry is the ‘Registrar of Trade Marks’. The Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks supervises or monitors the functioning and operations of the Trade Marks Registry. The Trade Marks Registry manages the Trade Marks Act, of 1999 and the Rules made thereunder.
PROCESS OF REGISTRATION OF TRADEMARK:
Step 1: Trademark search:
The first and foremost in the process of trademark registration is to search for a suitable and appropriate trademark. It is pertinent to note that the chosen trademark should not be identical or similar to any existing trademarks in the same class.
Step 2: Filing of trademark application:
Once the trademark search is done, the next step is to file the trademark application with the Trademark Registrar. The applicant can file one application for multiple classes or series of trademarks. The applicant has to fill in Form TM-A online on the website of the Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trademarks. There are two cost categories that came up while filing this form:
Rupees 4,500 or 5,000
An individual, small enterprise, or start-up falls under this category. Rupees 4,500 is the charge fee for filing this form electronically or rupees 5,000 will be charged if the form is filed physically.
Rupees 9,000 or 10,000
If the applicant does not come under the purview of an individual, the start-up, small enterprise category. In this case, the applicant has to pay rupees 9,000 for filing this form electronically or rupees 10,000 will be charged if the form is filed physically with the Office of Trade Marks.
Step 3: Examination of Trademark Application:
Once the trademark application is filed, the trademark registrar will review the trademark application to see whether the application is being filed in accordance with the terms and conditions and complies with the existing law.
Step 4: Publication in the Trademark Journal:
If the trademark application is accepted by the trademark registrar, the trademark will be published in the trademark journal. If there is no objection received within 3 months from the date of publication, the applicant will proceed with registration and the Trade Marks Registry will issue a certificate of registration.
Step 5: Trademark Registration:
If there are no objections received within 90 days, then the Registrar of Trademark will issue a certificate of trademark registration.
Once the certificate of trademark registration is issued, the said trademark is considered to be a registered trademark and the owner of the trademark will be granted the exclusive right to use that mark. The ® symbol can now be used next to the trademark.
If you still have any queries regarding Trademark Registration, then you can connect to our expert team at info@ccoffice.in or call 9988424211.
