In India, trademark registration, protection and prevention of illegal use of trademark is governed by the provisions of the Trademark Act, 1999. It provides the provisions related to procedure for registration of trademark, rights of the owner of a trademark, penalties in case of infringement, various remedies to owner of a trademark, objection, dispute resolution, hearing and mode of transfer of registered trademark.
In this article we will discuss the importance and procedure of trademark search.
Procedure/steps for Trademark Registration in India
Step1: Selecting the Class of Trademark. (45 classes are there—34 for Goods and 11 for services)
Step2: Trademark Search to check availability at IP India official website ipindiaservices.gov.in/tmrpublicsearch/frmmain.aspx#
Step3: Obtain Class-III digital signatures of the Applicant
Step4: Arrange necessary documents
Step5: Create Login on IP India Website (In case of Self Application)
https://ipindiaonline.gov.in/trademarkefiling/user/frmLoginNew.aspx
(Step5 can be avoided if Trademark application is filed by agent or attorney)
Step6: Filling trademark Application on Form TM-A on IP India Website
Intellectual Property India (ipindiaonline.gov.in)
Step7: Examination by Trademark Registrar within 30 days, If accepted then Temporary registration granted or can issue show cause for rejection.
Fees:
| Form | Condition | Fee |
| TM-A | Where the applicant is an Individual / Startup/Small Enterprise | Rs.4500 |
| In all other cases | Rs.9000 |
Documents required for trademark registration
1. Copy of the Logo/Tradename ( In case of trade mark for word, logo is not required)
2. Signed form- TM-A- Digitally Signed
3. PAN and Aadhaar of the signatory/directors
4. In case of Private Limited Company/LLP- Incorporation Certificate or Partnership Deed
5. Description of Goods or Services
6. Trademark class (1-45)
7. MSME Certificate for Concessional Fee
8. Power of attorney in the Form-48 should be signed by the applicant on Rs.100 Non- Judicial Stamp Paper
9. Mobile and Email
Why to do Trademark Search
Trademark search is a very crucial part of trademark registration to avoid any objection from registrar of trademark and safeguard from using any trademark or brand name that infringe the trademark rights of any third registered party.
It also helps in saving time and money spent on making trademark application and in creating some image of the brand in the market based on any trademark which is already in use by a third party.
Public Search of Trademark
Before applying for any trademark a public search of trademark is to be conducted in the Trademark Registry database. Trademark search helps the owner in ascertaining whether same trademark or tradename is available for their goods or services or not.
How to Conduct Trademark Search in India
In India, anyone can search trademark online that to free of cost on IP India Database.
As can be seen from above image that three types of searches can be performed from Trademark Database.
- Wordmark Search: It is to conduct exact or near exact word search
- Vienna Code Search: It is to conduct search for similar artistic designs, and
- Phonetic Search: It is to conduct search for phonetically or similar sounding words
Wordmark Search
For performing word mark search you have to enter the keyword of the trademark and enter in which class it is to be registered. In trademark there are 45 classes, in which 1-34 are for goods and 35-45 are for services. For searching any trademark availability you have to enter the class in which your goods or services falls. If there are more than one class of trademark then search separately for each class. You can choose the option “Start with”, “Contains” or “Match With” from the drop down menu to find out whether your tradename/trademark have any similarity with existing tradename/trademark. For example we performed wordmark search on our Trademark:
With Wordmark search option it is showing exact match and as you can see no other party has registered trademark with exact name. But in various cases the existing parties having registered trademark may raise objections even if there is some peculiar similarity with their trademark. Therefore it is also advised to perform Phonetic Search.
Phonetic Search
By performing Phonetic search you will fetch all the similar sounding words which may or may not be related to your mark name. It is important to conduct Phonetic Search of Trademark to largely remove the likelihood of any conflict with existing registered trademarks, since it ensures that your mark is distinct from exiting registered trademarks by other parties. It ensures that you can build your business and brand around this trademark and there are high chances that you get this trademark registered with ease.
Vienna Code Search
When a trademark application contains one of the cases which has figurative elements/logo/design/device, then in all such cases, it is assigned a Vienna Code. The status on the IP India website shows it as “Send to Vienna Codification”.
Vienna Code search is done for conducting trademark search for Logo/artworks. The Vienna codification examines the trademark symbols/logo/designs in 29 categories and various sub-categories.
Conclusion
The above procedure are general and it is advices to take support of trademark expert who can do thorough search for your trademark to enable you use right trademark and avoid any future litigations. You can connect with our expert trademark attorney for any assistance.
