Trademark Registeration

What Is A Trademark?

Any unique expression related to a product or service that distinguishes it from others is called a trademark. It can be a visual symbol, which may be a word or a name, a device, label or numerals, that is used by a business to distinguish it from other goods of different business.

It is like your silent salesman, your legal umbrella, an asset of yours to flaunt. Owners of trademarks have exclusive rights to use the trademark under categories they are registered in (there is a total of 45 categories, called classes). Only those Trademarks that will be registered under the Trademark Act, 1999 will provide the trademark owner proper right to sue for damages if any infringements of trademarks occur.

Documents required for TRADEMARK Registration

Applicant Name (The name of Company or Firm or Individual, in whose name the trademark will be registered)
Address of the Applicant
Type of Organisation (Whether Pvt. Ltd./Public Ltd./LLP/ Partnership Firm/ Proprietorship Firm/ Trust/ Individual)
Full name of all the Partners/Directors (Applicable only In case of Pvt. Ltd./Public Ltd./LLP/ Partnership Firm)
Full name of the person who will be signing the Authorization Letter on behalf of a company/LLP/firm/trust
Nationality, Mobile No. & Email Id of the Signatory
Mark/Brand Name
Trade Description of all Goods/Services provided (Write the exact goods or services sold / promoted under that brand name. It should be concise in about 3-4 lines. Include only the names of specific goods or services) Eg: For Software Development: Software development and IT enabled services. For Textile Industry: Manufacturing and trading of cloth and textiles.
Mention whether the applicant is Manufacturer /Trader/ Service Provider
User Date of the Brand/Mark (Write the approximate date from when the brand is in use. If currently it is not in use, give the approx date from when it will be in use)
Service Address (Write the address of the place where you want the Trademark registry to communicate with you)

Why is Trademark Registration Required for Business ?

There are a lot of the benefits and reason to register your brand name with the logo as a trademark in India which are the following :-

Securing your brand or company name so that anyone (competitors) will not be able to use a similar brand name.
Giving protection to your brand name so that other companies can’t use your brand name without taking your permission.
Protecting your existing customers from a fake similar brand name.
If you are an internet based startup then it gives you protection on your Domain Name like www.xyz.com etc.
If you are selling the products on the e-commerce website such as Flipkart, Amazon, Paytm etc then it gives you an unique identity among other sellers.
Helping you to register a private limited company with the same brand name.

What Can Be Trademarked?

Any person or business claiming to be owner can apply for a trademark including :

Individual
Company
Proprietor
Society

However, it is preferable that you apply for the trademark as an individual. In a case of a proprietor or company, if you ever close or change the name of your business, then your trademark will become invalid. Whereas, in a case of individual, this problem won’t arise.