You might have heard this term ‘trademark registration’ a lot and always wondered about what it could possibly mean. Many people even try to look it up all by themselves but they never understand trademark registration fully. That is why we are here today to discuss with you everything that is related to trademark registration. If you are someone who deals in or with intellectual properties, then you must make yourself very acquainted with this topic.

What is a Trademark?

To start with, you must know what a real trademark is and why it is used. Trademark provides the intellectual properties or intangible assets like logo, design, color, font etc of your company with a certain unique identity. If you trademark your brand name or logo for that matter, anyone or any other company who tries to replicate your asset can be sued by you. This happens because whenever you trademark your intellectual property, it’s rights become exclusive to you.

Products or properties that you can trademark:

• Brand Name: Registering a trademark for the name of your brand or business is something that you must do right after deciding the name of your brand to reserve the same exclusively for you.
• Product Name: Not only your brand’s name, you can also trademark any individual product’s name of your brand to keep it unique.
• Someone’s name/ Surname: This might sound a bit weird to you for an instance but if you are someone of great importance and if your name has the capacity to generate business then you can also trademark your own name. For example, Kylie Jenner, the famous reality show tv star and business person has trademarked her own name.
• Short forms of a company: Short forms of your company name can also be trademarked.
• Color combination: Color combinations of your brand can also be trademarked. For example ‘Barbie Pink’ is a color that is trademarked by Barbie the brand.
• Logos/ Subtitles/ Taglines: You can trademark all of these mentioned intellectual property for your company to save it from future duplication.
• Sound/Scent Mark: Again, this is something that sounds confusing in the beginning. If you have some theme music for your company you can trademark it. You can also trademark scents and fragrances created by you in the same way.

How does Trademark Registration help your brand & why is it necessary?

In today’s competitive world, Branding and Marketing of your company also matters as much as the product itself. Trademark Registration can prevent your company branding strategy getting duplicated. Here are some reasons for you to have a look at and fully understand why you absolutely need this.

• It secures your unique identity.
• Gives you the power to sue anyone who tries to replicate or duplicate your intellectual properties.
• It is an important asset for your company in itself.
• It also helps you create a better image of your company.

Trademark categories:

Every category of legal rights have their own categories based on different criteria. In this case, trademarks have something called ‘trademark classes’. Based on different categories of products or intellectual properties that go for trademark registrations, these classes are divided. Some of the most frequently opted for trademark classes are. ‘Class 9’ for software and gadgets, ‘Class 25’ for clothing, ‘Class 35’ for advertising and business, ‘Class 41’ for entertainment, the most important one in this case.

There are 45 such categories of trademarks that you can avail to save your original creations from duplication in a legal way.

How to register a trademark?

Online trademark registration can be a bit hectic for anyone who is not well acquainted with legal procedures. It’s best to ask for legal help in this case to assist you throughout the entire process. Here are some steps that you have to follow in order to get yourself a trademark for your asset.

1. Get a legal professional and explain to him or her your property well and why you want to get it trademarked. After they analyze it fully, they will try and figure out first if your idea is available to get it trademarked.
2. After they make sure that it can be trademarked and no one has done it already, your lawyer can go ahead and find out to which trademark class your product belongs to and register it accordingly. After this comes the document uploading step where you will definitely need a lot of help from your lawyer. And we believe this is a good time to tell you that you get an efficient lawyer for this job because it’s not possible to function otherwise.
3. Your lawyer will verify your documents and then you will need to fill up a form for submitting your application where you might need legal assistance all over again.
4. You are almost done by now but in many cases a Trademark Objection Notice can be sent to you in which the authorities can pose some questions towards the applicant regarding the originality of his or her work. You have to respond to this notice within thirty working days of the notice being sent to you. In this case, your legal team will help you to sort out your documents.
5. Your application is most likely to be approved after all these efforts but if a third party files a complaint then you might receive something called a ‘trademark opposition’. In such a case you have to send a counter statement to the registrar defending your case within the following two months. Based on your response, the registrar will discard the opposition or call for a formal hearing.

FAQs:

Can I register for a trademark myself?

Yes, you can certainly do that but it’s best to appoint an attorney to help you with all the legal complications that you might face in the way to register your trademark.

 

What is the cost of trademark registration?

The government fees for trademark registration is 9000/- per class per company and for application 4500/- per class per individual.

How to check if a brand’s trademark is registered or not?

Log on to the official site for Indian trademarks called http://ipindiaonline.gov.in and go to the trademarks tab and click on public search to find out if any brand is trademarked or not.

How long does trademark registration take?

It is a lengthy process of about 18-24 months and that too if there are no objections or opposition’s. Although you can get your application number within two days of applying for your trademark.

 

 

Can I trademark a name that is already in use?

Trademarks are meant to protect things like company logos, names, taglines and other things that help you differentiate your brand from the rest. If someone has already trademarked a name then you cannot use it but if you still try to violate the laws you can sued for this legally in any court.