INTRODUCTION: -

A trademark stands as a unique identifier, whether it's a distinctive sign, word, or logo, employed to distinguish products or services. It encompasses expressions, images, designs, or symbols associated with your brand or offering. Trademarks are classified as intellectual property, thus protected against infringement. Their ownership and rights are safeguarded under the Trademark Act of 1999.

In order to secure the rights to a trademark, one must apply for its registration. Registering your brand name is crucial as it prevents others from copying your mark and misrepresenting different products with it. A trademark serves as a clear identifier of a brand and its worth, exemplified by iconic logos like Nike's swoosh or Puma's leaping wildcat.

Unlike patents, trademarks do not have a limited duration. While a patent expires after 20 years, a trademark registration expires after 10 years from its initial registration. However, unlike patents, trademarks can be renewed indefinitely for additional 10-year periods. This renewal process ensures that as long as you consistently renew the trademark, it will not expire and will continue to be protected under the law.

BRAND NAME TRADEMARKING: -

By trademarking your brand name, you're protecting not just the brand itself, but also the reputation and effort you've poured into it. While the trademarking process may involve some time and effort, it's crucial for safeguarding your intellectual property. Facing a potential infringement claim from a larger corporation could be far more daunting than the initial investment of time and resources in securing your brand's identity.

WHAT CAN BE REGISTERED AS TRADEMARK?

A mark that can be used to visually identify one company's products or services from another might be registered as a trademark.

  1. Word Marks: Word marks are comprised of words, letters, numerals, or their combinations, devoid of any artistic depiction. They provide versatility in design and font selection. Notable examples include renowned brands such as Microsoft, Tata, KFC, and IBM.
  1. Device Marks: Device marks encompass labels, stickers, logos, or geometric shapes, with or without textual components. These marks may also integrate colors, which need to be defined during registration for protective purposes. An illustrious instance of a device mark is the iconic Apple logo.
  1. Sound Marks: Sound marks are unique auditory cues employed to distinguish the commercial origin of products or services. They are encoded in MP3 format using specific sound notations. Among the registered sound marks in India are those belonging to Yahoo, ICICI Bank, and Nokia.
  1. Color Trademark: Combinations of colors are eligible for trademark registration to represent goods and services, granted the combination possesses enough distinctiveness for the buying public to associate it with the product or brand.
  2. Shape of Goods: Trademarks can be obtained for the shape of goods if the shape is distinctive and not solely functional. However, shapes essential for achieving a technical outcome or providing significant value to the goods cannot be registered as trademarks.

REGISTRY OF TRADEMARK: -

The trademark registry was laid out in 1940 followed by the enactment of the Trademark Act in 1999. Presently, the trademark registry functions as the operational arm of the act, working in tandem with it. In its operational capacity, the trademark registry enforces all the rules and regulations governing trademark law in India.

The trademark registry is headquartered in Mumbai, with additional offices located in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai, and Kolkata. A trademark is registered with the trademark registry after being enlisted under the Trademark Act of 1999. Before registering the enlisted mark in this cycle, the registration will verify that it satisfies all of the act's requirements.

PROCESS OF REGISTRATION OF TRADEMARK: -

DISCOVERING TRADEMARK: A lot of business owners are unaware of the value of a trademark public search. Having a catchy trademark name is important, but it's not enough to deter people from conducting a trade mark search. To determine whether any trademarks are comparable to yours and to have a sense of the status of your trademark, you can do a trademark search.

FILING APPLICATION OF TRADEMARK-  After you are certain that your picked brand name or logo isn't recorded in the Trademark Registry, you can decide on enrolling something very similar. Documenting a trademark application at Trademark Registry India is the first stage. Most filings are now done online. When the application is recorded, an application/acknowledgment receipt is quickly given for future reference.

EXAMINATION- After a trademark application is submitted in the respective trademark registry, the examiner scrutinizes it for any irregularities or discrepancies. Subsequently, the examiner may either fully accept the trademark, accept it with restrictions, or raise objections.

Should a trademark encounter any irregularities under Section 11 or Section 9 of the Trademark Act, 1999, or receive any other remarks noted in the "Examination Report," the applicant must respond within 30 days of the objection raised by the trademark registry. Conversely, if the trademark receives approval from the trademark registry, it will be published in the trademark journal.

PUBLICATION- Once the Trademark got accepted and advertised by the Trademark Registry, it got published in the trademark journal for 90 to 120 days and will be shown trademark portal. During this period, window for 3rd party objection is opened for the other users whose name is likely, reasonably and deceptively similar to the trademark of the applicant.

CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION- When the application continues for trademark registration, following distribution in the trademark journal, a registration certificate under the seal of the trademark registrar will be attested.

RENEWAL- After 10 years, you can renew the trademark for another ten years, and this renewal can continue indefinitely. This means your logo or brand name can be protected indefinitely. In conclusion, trademark registration in India is a fundamental step for brand protection and recognition, ensuring the exclusive rights to distinguish one's products or services from others. From the initial trademark search to the filing of the application, examination, publication, and eventual issuance of the registration certificate, the process is straightforward yet crucial. Renewal every ten years ensures perpetual protection, emphasizing the importance of securing and maintaining the integrity of one's brand identity in the competitive market landscape.