Registering a Trademark or Copyright
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AwAcS
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Hey,
You would be able to register a Trademark or Copyright in India from www.ipindia.gov.in
Foremost, you will have to decide if it's going to be a Trademark or Copyright. Both have different use cases. Be sure to remember that in case of Trademarks, you will have to show that you or your company (proprietorship firm /partnership firm / OPC / any other legal entity) is currently using such trademark or in future, will use it. Future usage is not defined properly in law in India, however, it should be used within a period of 5 years.
Usage too does not necessarily mean for a commercial transaction, but may also be usage within communication. Remember, you may have to prove such usage if called upon for or upon lapse of 10 years while filing a form stating that Trademark is still in use.
For Trademarks:
Before registering a Trademark, you will be requied to check if no such or similar Trademark exists or is in use so as to avoid future issues. Search may be conducted via search engines and www.ipindiaonline.gov.in
Proceed to check classes under which you want to register the Trademark. Classes are general classification of goods and services. For example, Coca-Cola is registered under Class 32 (Beers, mineral and aerated waters, and other non-alcoholic drinks; fruit drinks and fruit juices; syrups and other preparations for making beverages). Accordingly, you will be required to select class as per the product or service that will be sold by you under the Trademark.
Charges for registration of Trademark is Rs. 4500/- per Trademark per class. So in case your product or service is under two classes or more products or services are there which would fall under separate classes, separate application will be filed for every class. For example, if two classes are to be covered, charges would be Rs. 4500 * 2 = 9000/-
You will have to find the nearest Head Office for Trademark Registry as per the jurisdiction i.e. Head office of Trademarks Registry is situated at Mumbai whereas the rest of the trademark offices are located at New-Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmadabad.
You would require a DSC (Digital Signature Certificate) for filing the Trademark application. Trademark application can be filed online at the website provided above.
Advice: Till this stage, you won't require assistance of an attorney / agent, but gathering the information and filing would go smoother if you engage one.
Once the application is filed, the concerned officer shall check and verify the details of the application and compare the Trademark applied for with other registered Trademarks and the same will be published in a journal inviting objections. The Trademark Officer himself can raise objections or any other person, claiming that your Trademark may effect his work or business, may file objections. In case any such objections are received, you will be notified via Show Cause Notice (In such case, you will require services of Attorneys / Agent to file reply on your behalf or to argue before the Trademark Officer). You will be required to satisfy the officer that your Trademark is different and can be registered.
In case no objections are received, you will be granted the Trademark, however, this is a rare case as far as I have observed being an attorney.
In case of Copyright, procedure is a bit similar but right now, I am not going into much details. Completely depends on your use case for the same. More information required to assess that.
Hope it helps
You would be able to register a Trademark or Copyright in India from www.ipindia.gov.in
Foremost, you will have to decide if it's going to be a Trademark or Copyright. Both have different use cases. Be sure to remember that in case of Trademarks, you will have to show that you or your company (proprietorship firm /partnership firm / OPC / any other legal entity) is currently using such trademark or in future, will use it. Future usage is not defined properly in law in India, however, it should be used within a period of 5 years.
Usage too does not necessarily mean for a commercial transaction, but may also be usage within communication. Remember, you may have to prove such usage if called upon for or upon lapse of 10 years while filing a form stating that Trademark is still in use.
For Trademarks:
Before registering a Trademark, you will be requied to check if no such or similar Trademark exists or is in use so as to avoid future issues. Search may be conducted via search engines and www.ipindiaonline.gov.in
Proceed to check classes under which you want to register the Trademark. Classes are general classification of goods and services. For example, Coca-Cola is registered under Class 32 (Beers, mineral and aerated waters, and other non-alcoholic drinks; fruit drinks and fruit juices; syrups and other preparations for making beverages). Accordingly, you will be required to select class as per the product or service that will be sold by you under the Trademark.
Charges for registration of Trademark is Rs. 4500/- per Trademark per class. So in case your product or service is under two classes or more products or services are there which would fall under separate classes, separate application will be filed for every class. For example, if two classes are to be covered, charges would be Rs. 4500 * 2 = 9000/-
You will have to find the nearest Head Office for Trademark Registry as per the jurisdiction i.e. Head office of Trademarks Registry is situated at Mumbai whereas the rest of the trademark offices are located at New-Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmadabad.
You would require a DSC (Digital Signature Certificate) for filing the Trademark application. Trademark application can be filed online at the website provided above.
Advice: Till this stage, you won't require assistance of an attorney / agent, but gathering the information and filing would go smoother if you engage one.
Once the application is filed, the concerned officer shall check and verify the details of the application and compare the Trademark applied for with other registered Trademarks and the same will be published in a journal inviting objections. The Trademark Officer himself can raise objections or any other person, claiming that your Trademark may effect his work or business, may file objections. In case any such objections are received, you will be notified via Show Cause Notice (In such case, you will require services of Attorneys / Agent to file reply on your behalf or to argue before the Trademark Officer). You will be required to satisfy the officer that your Trademark is different and can be registered.
In case no objections are received, you will be granted the Trademark, however, this is a rare case as far as I have observed being an attorney.
In case of Copyright, procedure is a bit similar but right now, I am not going into much details. Completely depends on your use case for the same. More information required to assess that.
Hope it helps
It's easy and straightforward if you use third-party services like Vakil Search. My experience with them was good.
For trademarks, you have to trademark the name and the logo separately. If you trademark both of them, then you have to pay double.
I don't know the current rates (check the website) but I paid 6k for each. And, it takes about a year to go from trademark™ to registered®. If you want to trademark a commonly used name, expect to receive objections. It's also the reason most brands on Amazon are like YPIIE, HGUPU, WWRIP, BHGHI. Nobody going to object to such weird names. If you do get objections, you will be required to make your case, and that can take a bit more money. Once, registered, it lasts about 10 years then you are supposed to renew it.