One IBC®: Important things to know before registering trademark in India

Trademark is an enterprise's intellectual property that makes its services and products distinctive in terms of other businesses as well as protect brand image to competitors in the huge commercial market.

Why should enterprises register a trademark in India?

India is well-known for being a potential market for international investors which places the sixth largest nominal GDP (3.05 trillion USD) and the third largest (PPP) purchasing power parity (10.21 trillion USD) among nations. However, this country is also known for the second highest rate of trading fake products and passing off activities, just after China.

With a huge number of workforce and low labor cost, India has become a new global supply chain, in charge of global production that replaces Chinese market during the pandemic period in 2020. For that reason, there are many enterprises that have decided to choose India to expand the market and to run their businesses lately. The more businesses increase in the market, the more competition an enterprise has to face and if you do not register your trademark then someone else can.

A face Mask Manufacturer in Delhi, India

Trademark registration application forms and procedure in India

According to One IBC^® - a Global Service Provider, there are two ways to apply trademark registration forms: directly submitting application to local authority in India and submitting through Madrid - the international trademark system. Below is the trademark registration process that you can consult.

Step 1: Trademark pre-submission search

Trademark search is not a compulsory step but a necessary one for enterprises to recognize if the mark is unique and similar trademarks are available. Sometimes, it helps investors avoid trademark litigation before it happens.

Step 2: Submitting trademark application

The application can be submitted to Intellectual Property India Office in Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Victatta or enterprises can choose to submit it online. Languages used in the application are English and French.

Step 3: Trademark examination

The trademark will be examined (the process takes about a month) to determine if the trademark is distinctive of other marks. In case it is accepted conditionally, the condition must be full-filled within a month before it is published publicly.

Step 4: Publication

The trademark will be published within 03 - 04 months publicly so that anyone who objects to the trademark registration has an opportunity to oppose the same. If there is no opposition, the trademark proceeds for registration.

Step 5: Registration certificate

Once the application proceeds for trademark registration, following publication in Trademark Journal, a registration certificate under the seal of the Trademark Office is issued.

One IBC^® Trademark registration service

The process of trademark registration is not too difficult but enterprises have to understand clearly all the procedures and legal policies of the country in order to save time and avoid unintended conflicts between businesses. In fact, there are a few enterprises that are really clear about it so that One IBC^® - a Global Service Provider becomes one of the best choices for entrepreneurs, as the bridge to help clients connect to potential markets in an easier way.

Says Mr Le Hung Anh - CEO of One IBC^® “With the professional service and great global networks, you can not only register your business trademark in India but also in any region around the world with One IBC^®”. After receiving your order and business trademark description, our professional team will represent you and take care the whole process so that enterprises can save time and money to focus on their business with might and main.

Registering your trademark with 3 simple steps of One IBC^® service.

“A trademark of a business lasts for 10 years, counted right after certification is issued. However, the trademark can be continually renewed by businesses, therefore your brand name registration can be protected perpetually” Mr Le Hung Anh says.

In India, the government charges the fee of trademark registration based on different business models. For ìndividual enterprises and companies having a small scale business, submission fee at Intellectual Property India Office is 5,000 INR and online submission fee is 4.500 INR (about $68 USD) . For other models the fee is 10.000 INR for submission at office and 9.000 INR for online registration (about $138 USD)