Indian Trademark Protection System
The purpose of India’s 1999 Trademark Act is to register trademarks applied for in the country, provide better protection for trademarks of products and services, and prevent fraudulent use of trademarks. According to the law, a trademark refers to a symbol that can be represented graphically and distinguish a person’s product or service from other products or services.
The Trademark Registry of the Indian Patent, Design and Trademark Office is the regulatory body for trademarks, headquartered in Mumbai and with offices in Ahmedabad, Chennai, New Delhi and Kolkata. After India joined the Madrid Protocol on the International Registration of Marks, the Trademark Registry established an international registration office at its Mumbai headquarters.
TMR Introduction to the Indian Trademark Registry
The Trade Marks Registry (TMR) under the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (CGPDTM) was established in 1940 to register trademarks that meet legal requirements. After India joined the Madrid Protocol for the International Registration of Marks, TMR established an international registration office at its Mumbai headquarters.
Official website: www.ipindia.gov.cn
Phone:+91 22-24101145/24101147
Fax:+91 22-24123322
Email：cgoffice-mh@nic.in
In addition to the Mumbai headquarters, TMR has four offices located in Ahmedabad, Chennai, New Delhi, and Kolkata. The regions under the jurisdiction of each institution are as follows:
Mumbai: Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa;
Ahmedabad: Gujarat, Jalan, and the federal territories of Dammam Diu and Dadra Nagarjhavili;
Chennai: Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, as well as the federal territories of Pondicherry, Laksha Islands, and Telangana;
New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, and the federal territory of Chandigarh;
Kolkata: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tripura, Jharkhand, as well as the federal territories of Nagaland, Andaman, and Nicobar Islands.
According to the applicant or trademark agent’s main place of business, the digitization and formal examination of trademark registration applications are completed by corresponding institutions in each region. However, the review of whether to register is completed centrally at the Mumbai headquarters.
*The above zoning is quoted from the ipindia website. If it involves the Sino Indian border issue, the boundary determined by the Chinese side shall prevail!
Introduction to Trademark Registration in India
3.1 Definition of Trademark
According to the Indian Trademark Law, a trademark refers to a symbol that can be graphically represented and distinguish a person’s product or service from other products or services, including the shape, packaging, and color combination of the product.
Indian trademarks include collective trademarks and certification trademarks. Collective trademark refers to a mark that distinguishes the products or services of the trademark owner (association) members from those of others. A certification trademark refers to a product or service that uses the trademark, whose source, materials, manufacturing methods, or service performance, quality, etc. have been recognized by the trademark owner.
3.2 Unregisterable Marks
A trademark must have distinctiveness, not infringe upon prior rights such as copyright, and cannot be identical or similar to a registered trademark in its designated product or service category. If the logo is identical or similar to a well-known trademark, it cannot be registered as a trademark in any product or service category
Article 9 of the Indian Trademark Law provides absolute grounds for refusal of trademark registration, including:
If the following conditions are met, the logo shall not be registered as a trademark:
Without any significant features, that is, unable to distinguish one person’s product or service from another person’s product or service;
Include or only indicate the characteristics of the product, such as type, quality, quantity, expected use, value, geographical origin, production time, or service provision time, in the transaction;
This includes or is only a customary symbol or a symbol commonly used in trade.
However, if the logo has acquired a secondary meaning through use, or if the logo is a well-known trademark, TMR cannot refuse registration.
If the following conditions are met, the logo shall not be registered as a trademark:
May deceive the public or cause confusion;
Hurt any class or group of Indian citizens’ religious sentiments;
Contains defamatory or obscene content;
According to the Signs and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act 1950, their use is prohibited.
If the logo only includes the following content, it cannot be registered as a trademark:
The shape of the product caused by its own properties; or
The product shape necessary to achieve technical effects; or
The shape that endows a product with substantial value.
Explanation: For the purposes of Article 9, the nature of the products or services that use or intend to use the trademark shall not be a reason for refusal of registration of the trademark.
Article 13 of the Trademark Law stipulates that any commonly used and recognized name of a chemical element or single compound, an international non proprietary name published by the World Health Organization and announced by TMR, or a name that is fraudulently similar to it, is prohibited from being registered as a trademark.
According to Article 14 of the Trademark Law, if the logo in the application implies that it is related to a living person or a person who passed away within 20 years before the date of the trademark application, TMR has the right to request the applicant to provide written consent from the legal representative of the living person or deceased person before processing the trademark application. If the applicant is unable to provide, TMR has the right to refuse the trademark registration application.
3.3 Registered Trademark Protection Period
The protection period for registered trademarks in India is 10 years from the date of registration, and can be renewed every 10 years.
Trademark registration process in India
There are two ways to obtain a valid registered trademark in India:
Firstly, directly apply for trademark registration with TMR;
Secondly, through the Madrid system for international trademark registration, India is designated as the effective region.
According to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, if the same trademark registration application is filed again with TMR within 6 months after the first trademark registration application is filed in China, priority can be enjoyed.
4.1 Procedure for Directly Applying for Trademark Registration with TMR
The application documents for trademark registration in India can be written in Hindi or English, and the basic application procedures include:
- Submit an application
Applicants can submit trademark application materials online through the ipindia website, and can log in to the system using their registered username and password, or by using a digital signature obtained from a certification body. Please refer to the user manual for instructions on how to use the online system.
According to the applicant or trademark agent’s main place of business, the digitization and formal examination of trademark registration applications are completed by the corresponding institutions in each region of TMR.
- Review
The examination of trademark registration applications is completed centrally at TMR Mumbai headquarters. The examiner needs to determine whether the logo in the application can distinguish the applicant’s products or services, whether it is prohibited from registration under current effective laws, and whether it is the same or similar to a previously registered trademark, leading to confusion or fraud.
If the examiner finds reasons for rejection, the examination results will be forwarded to the corresponding office, which will notify the applicant. After receiving the rejection opinion, the applicant may make revisions to the application materials. The determination of whether the revised application materials meet the requirements for trademark registration is the responsibility of the local offices.
If the issues raised by the examiner are not resolved, the application will be rejected.
3. Publicity and Objections
If the examiner does not find any reasons for rejection or the issues raised are corrected, TMR will publish the trademark registration application in its trademark journal.
Within 4 months from the date of publication, anyone may raise an objection to the trademark registration application.
According to the objection procedure, TMS will provide the applicant with a copy of the objection letter, and the applicant must submit a rebuttal within 2 months, otherwise it will be considered as a waiver of the application. A copy of the applicant’s rebuttal will also be served to the opposing party, after which each party may present evidence supporting their own side. After completing the evidence, TMS will hold a hearing on the dispute, and the hearing officer will make a ruling.
- Registration
At the expiration of the objection period, if there is no objection or the objection is not established, the trademark will be registered, and the date of filing the application shall be deemed as the registration date of the trademark.
- Appeal
Patent applicants who are dissatisfied with the IPO decision may appeal to the Intellectual Property Appeals Board (IPAB).
IPAB was established in 2003 and is responsible for handling appeals against rulings on trademarks, patents, designs, and other matters. It has appellate courts in five locations including Chennai, Ahmedabad, New Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata.
Introduction to Indian Trademark Office Fees
| IPO fee items | Application Form | Application for Human Category – Cost (Rupees) | |
| 1 | 2 | ||
| Trademark registration（Including collective trademarks, certification trademarks, and series trademarks)Application fee, for each product/service category or each logo | Online | 4500 | 9000 |
| Paper | 5000 | 10000 | |
| Raise objections, apply for amendments to the registration book, apply for invalidation of trademarks or counterclaims related to this, for each product/service category | Online | 2700 | |
| Paper | 3000 | ||
| Renewal fee, for each product/service category | Online | 9000 | |
| Paper | 10000 | ||
Applying for human category refers to:
- Individuals, emerging companies, or small entities;
- Others.
For more information, please refer to the trademark fees and corresponding table provided on the ipindia website.