Establishing a business is not at all easy in this present age of competition. However, your hard-earned reputation of business may be hampered if your brand trademark is not registered. Anybody can use your brand logo and down-trod your business with adulterated products or bad services. So, you should protect your brand through the trademark registration process. An E-register trademark helps you avoid all the hazards of offline applications. It is very easy today to go for trademark registration online and enjoy your brand protection legally.

What is logo trademarking?

In simple words, trademarking is special and unique signs that are used to identify the goods, products, and services of a certain company. They can be designs, pictures, symbols, signs, or many other things.

It is important because it protects your brand and its products or services from the competitive world. Trademarks are classified under intellectual property and therefore are protected from infringement. Trademark rights are protected under the Trademark Act, 1999.

A trademark helps consumers recognize your brand and evaluate it under the brand. You know the names of fashion brands, the brands of food, clothes, and whatnot. All you know is their names, as their trademark is registered. Nobody will be able to misinterpret one product with others for the brand logo and its registration.

You have to keep in mind that the trademark does not have any limited period of validation. It is for life. You must not mix it with patent protection, as it has a limited period of validation. According to the law, it expires in 20 years, but the trademark will expire in 10 years. Don’t be confused. You can renew the trademark after it has expired. Hence, the patent protection is subject to expiration, but the trademark is not.

How is the trademark processed and branded?

Here are some procedures to follow while e registering trademark.

Trademarking a brand name

If you trademark your company name, you are protecting your brand, the reputation of your company, your unique idea, and more. You know you have earned a reputation with your blood, sweat, and tears. So, you should not allow your toil to go in vain. You should go for brand name trademarking. As soon as you register for the brand name, all your toil behind the business will be protected. Nothing could be worse than keeping your brand unprotected. Otherwise, you may face an infringement lawsuit against any company at any time, or other companies may claim that you are stealing their logo. So, to have a unique business identity, you should claim trademark registration, and e-register a trademark is the best way to go for it.

The process of brand trademarking is easy online through the trademark registration portal of the Indian government. The trademark of a company may be any or a combination of the following:

• Word
• Letter     
• Number     
• Logo
• Graphics     
• Phrase     
• Sound Mark     
• Mix of colors

Trademark Registration

The trademark registry came into being in 1940, and afterward, the Trademark Registration Act came into being in 1999. When it came to function, the Trademark Registration Act came in the form of a law and implemented all the rules to protect the business and related products of the business person.

Who can apply for the trademark?

You have already learned that every business entity can use its special logo or symbol for its business at the time of starting it. So, you can use your existing logo as a business identity. If it is unique, you will get a Trademark Registration Certificate. Any individual (One-Person Company), a private limited company, or an LLP company can apply for the registration of the particular trademark they are using.

How to E Register a Trademark?

Previously, trademark registration is done in a specific office of a region, and the applicant has to file it offline. Today, everything has changed, and online technology has emerged everywhere. So, in the age of digitization, you will have online form submission facilities. Here are the steps to follow while applying for trademark registration for your company or business.

Choose a unique trademark

Try to choose a unique and distinctive symbol, sign, or mark that will represent your company or business for life. It must be attractive, too. The other important thing that you have to consider is the class of your business. Currently, there are 45 classes of goods and services under which you can register your business or company trademark.

Classes 1–34 are for goods, and classes 35–45 are for individual services.

Checking of Mark Duplication

Millions of small and large businesses are available in India. Your mark must not be similar to any other existing business that is already registered. The authority will search for you when you apply for e trademark registration. However, you can do it yourself by entering the online portals of Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trademarks On the mentioned website, you can do a public search. As soon as you select the option, you have to choose the class and search for it in the online database. This will save time and the possibility of not getting rejected.

There are other options to determine whether the chosen mark is similar to any other existing business. You can contact some legal service-providing companies that will help you search for the logo or trademark duplication. Not only will they check the duplication of the mark, but they will also help you with the whole process completion. For E-register a Trademark in a hazardous way, you can contact Online Legal India for pan-India services.

Filing Application:

You can file one application for multiple business classes for a series trademark. You can call it a collective trademark. If you apply for a collective trademark, you have to fill out the form for TM-A. This form will allow you to e register the trademark beyond one class. The cost of filing the form is as follows (Govt. Fees):