A trademark registration certificate is an intellectual property, which is highly essential for protecting a brand and its products. Protecting any brand is the legal right of any company. Otherwise, the company's reputation, product, or services may be infringed. Having a trademark certificate ensures that no other trademarks could cause infringement. So, if you are going to start a company or your business is already running, you must apply for trademark registration. However, you may now know how to register trademark in India. You will learn all these through this piece of content.

What is trademark registration?

According to the Indian Trademark Act, 1999, section 2 (ZB), a trademark is a distinctive mark that distinguishes the service or product or its manufacturing/packaging company. It contains a lot of elements such as graphical presentation, symbols, signs, words, signatures, devices, names, numerals, labels, musical tones, slogans, sounds, smells, or a combination of one or more of the elements.

Remarkably, trademarks are the intellectual property of corporations, individuals, legal entities, and whoever wants to start a business startup or provide a service.

How to Register Trademark in India?

To register a trademark, you have to visit the IP India portal which belongs to the Central Government of India. The link to the site is (https://www.ipindia.gov.in/). Now follow the process mentioned here.

Step by step-by-step description of How to Register a Trademark in India has been provided:

1. You have to visit the site and have to follow the second navigation bar with a light navy-blue section. When you hover the cursor over the “Trade Marks” option, you will get more options on its dropdown. Remember that you do not need to click it, just hover.
2. Then, the second option would be “Related Links”. You must not click on it. Your mouse pointer has to be brought down for hovering over the said option. When the mouse goes there, it will show some other options right-side of the screen of the computer.

The options would be:

• Comprehensive eFiling Services
• Public Search
• Trademark status
• Track legal certificate
• Classification of goods and services
• Requests for correction of TM records correction
• Website of EUIPO
• WIPO Website

3. Among all these options, you have to hover the cursor on the first option, “Comprehensive eFiling services”, and now click on it.
4. There, you will notice a pop-up, where it is written, “You are about to proceed to an external website, Click OK to proceed.” You will not get any OK button there, rather you will get YES and NO. Click on the YES button.
5. On the page, you will see a form to fill up. If you are an old user, you can log in with “User Name” and “Password” or “Digital Signature”. Solve out the captcha code and press the button, “Login”.
6. But, if you are not an old user, you have to click on the “New user? Sign Up” option. You do not need to do anything on Forget Password unless any old user forgets their password and requires recovery.  
7. We consider that you are a new user. Then, you have to click on the signup option.
8. As soon as you click on it, you will get only one option for registering for the IP India portal.
9. You will get a page where you are asked to do a class iii or class ii digital signature.

[NB: Class 2 digital signature is the verification of a signature through a trusted and pre-verified database. Class 3 digital signature is the typical process of verification of the person and signature in front of a registration authority and prove their identity. ]

10. You will get the “Signing Component” idea by clicking on the hyperlinked clickable option. You will also get a Digital Signature Manual. Read all these options and then click on Proceed for Registration.
11. When you proceed, you will another page for filling up two niches. On the first niche, you need to select whether you are an “attorney”, “proprietor” or “agent”.
12. Then, the lower niche is required to fill up with code. But where will you get the code? To get the code, you have to click on the SEARCH option, just the right side of the PROCESS option.
13. When you click on the SEARCH option, you will get space for entering your name. Just type your first name there. Now, you will get a list of names on the portal with addresses. You do not need to do anything with all those names.  Under the list, at the bottom, you will get “Add New”
14. When you click on the “Add New” option, you will get a form with a ticking option overhead. The ticking option is for selecting a proprietary category. Fill out the form with your particulars.
15. After filling up the form, you will get a code as soon as you submit the form. Keep this code for further use.
16. Go to the previous menu where you were before. Here, select the business proprietorship or any other option, and enter the code that you received through the submission of the form a few seconds ago.
17. After submitting the name and the code, you have to click on Process. This time, you will get another form where you will get the proprietor name (as registered) and the proprietor code. 
18. Then, after the successful submission of the form, you will get the details on the registered email ID.
19. Now, you have created a digital signature. You will get to use your ID and password as well. You have both options to log in.
20. Now, all it is signing in to the website. This time you have to check another vital option of Trademark Search or trademark public search. Your chosen mark may be the registered mark or name of another company or business, don’t worry. You have all the options at hand. You have to visit the IP India public search option. This option is very essential to carry on.

Learn details of trademark public search by clicking here!

Trademark public search:

1. During the understanding of trademark registration, you got information on how you reached the page trademark registration option through the IP India portal. In that way, you have to click on the “trademark Search” option.  
2. There, you will get search types: Wordmark, Vienna code, and Phonetic search. Select your desired option and select the options in the below sections.
3. When you select the wordmark, you will get a wordmark with the sub-options. The primary option needs to be selected, “Start With”, “Contains” and “Match With”. Select each of them and get a result.
4. You can check the details of your trademark by choosing all other options like wordmark, Vienna code, or phonetic search. In the meantime, you have to learn that Vienna code is used only for graphical presentation checking purposes.
5. If you do not see any similarity in the trademarks of any company previously registered or applied for registration, you can proceed with the trademark registration.
6. For class search, you can click on the link: (https://euipo.europa.eu/ec2/)

How to register a trademark in India online?

1. After confirming that there is no match with the trademark, you can proceed with the registration process.  
2. You can now log in with your username and password, as well as using the digital signature. Press the log-in option after filling up the Captcha code.
3. As soon as you log in, you will get a new page and dashboard with the welcome text of “Welcome to the comprehensive online filing of the trademark”.
4. On the dashboard (left side blue bar), you have to click on the second option, “New Form Filing.”.
5. As soon as you click on the option, you will get some form names to click on. You have to click on “File TM-A”. Select the type of applicant from the options. The options would be:

• Individual/sole partner
• Startup
• Small Enterprise
• Others

6. Among all these options, you have to select preferable option.   
7. If you want to get an individual or sole partnership, you have to click on the first option. As soon as you click on it, you will get a long list of application types. At the very beginning, you will get “Trademark Application” at the very beginning of all options.
8. Then, go to the bottom section of the form and fill out the class type you have already chosen for trademark registration (how to find out the class is mentioned before).
9. This is the time to click on the SUBMIT option.
10. This time, you will be taken to a new page. You will get a new “temporary number till payment."  Keep this number recorded or write it down. You will also get add-information or delete-information options on the progress of the trademark application.
11. You have to select edit if there is any mistake that happens to you. On the other hand, there was no scope or niche to mention your state previously. So, you can edit here your name and addresses, and add STATE where you want to pursue your business.
12. In the section on Legal status, you have to mention the section where you have applied. For example, if you choose an individual, you have to mention INDIVIDUAL here. Then, click on the Update button.
13. Then, you will be redirected to another page. Here, you will get to select the category of mark. On clicking on the section, you will get 6 sections: COLOUR, DEVICE, SHAPE OF GOODS, SOUND MARK, THREE DIMENSION, and WORD. Choose the type of mark you want to register as your trademark. If your category is WORD, select it.
14. If you have a wordmark that is not in Hindi or English language, you have to mention the meaning of it in translation. When you select one of these two languages, there is no need to fill out the form for translation.
15. Next, you will get a page to describe the product. You have mentioned your class of goods for business. But in the same class, you will get a lot of products. This page is for describing your goods or products for business. So, click on the “EDIT” option and add the description of your business goods.
16. Next, you will get the option to provide your Trademark type whether you propose to use it or already using it. If you are already using the mark, you have to mention the date on the vacant section.
17. You can save and continue or add some information to the application. You can also continue by clicking on Save and Add Documents.
18. For INDIVIDUAL applicants, you can select other documents and add proof of identity, proof of address, and the logo or mark you want to register in .pdf format. Then, press on done.
19. After filing all documents, you have to go for the payment option by clicking on the dashboard option, "Payments,” and then, click on make payments for your trademark registration. Usually, for TM-A form trademark registration, you have to pay Rs. 4,500/-. Select the option “Make payment.” Then, a form will appear with your details. If all is well, you can press the “Confirm” option.
20. Pay now with a Debit Card, Credit Card, or Net Banking. You can now check it through the dashboard, “Payment History”
21. Now, all is done from your end. Now you have to wait to get approval from the trademark registration department.

As soon as you apply, you will get an ARN (application reference number). Check the status of the application and learn what happens to the application of trademark registration. Once your application gets approval, you can use the trademark as your business's unique identity.

Now, you have learned all about how to register trademark in India. This piece of content has explained all the steps in detail. You can get the trademark status by clicking here.

You learned how to register a trademark in India, but what are the benefits of trademark registration in short?

If you want to learn how to register a trademark, you have to learn trademark classes from the previous links provided in this piece of writing.

What are the trademark classes?

You can get a detailed idea by clicking on this link. Still, a touch of class and popular classes are mentioned herein.

Trademark Classes

In the list of trademark classes, there are only 45, of which 1 to 34 are for goods and 35 to 45 are for services. If you want to determine the class of your goods and services, you can visit the government portal to get a perfect list of them all. Find out the class of the service or goods and proceed with filing.

What are the most popular trademark classes in India?

Among all these classes, most businessmen and service providers prefer the following very much: Have a look at it.

• Class 9: The businesses of computers, electronics, and software go in this class.
• Class 25: This class includes clothing
• Classes 29, 30, and 31: Each of the classes is categorized for different kinds of food. It is most popular among all business categories.
• Class 32: This class is categorized for Non-Alcoholic Beverages and Beer
• Class 33: This class contains Wine and Hard Liquor. This business is also popular
• Class 35: This class includes advertising and business
• Class 41: This class is solely for entertainment and education.

As these classes are highly popular among people from anywhere in India, the competition would be higher. Still, if your brand is unique and the service or product quality is uncompromising, your business success will take no time. The price of all these items is high. So, the best service provider or goods seller will win by outdoing others.

What are the types of trademark registrations in India?

According to the Trademark Act of 1999, different types of trademarks are available in India. Here are some of the types that you can apply for.

• Pattern Mark

This mark is identified and distinctive for identifying products or services, and discernable from others.

• Label Trademark

A label of a trademark is done for the protection of the packaging or labeling of a product, and the trade of the same is done to ensure the protection of the entire labeling, which would be unique and distinctive. It also becomes the identifier or recognizer of a brand.

• 3D Trademark

This is a trademark type that has three-dimensional features. When you look at the wordmark or the graphical presentation, they will give you the feeling of a three-dimensional presentation. It makes the mark unique and easily identifiable by the customers.

• Slogan or Tagline

You can easily prepare a slogan or tagline to represent your brand. These slogans will easily float in the mouths of the people. It is a great way to be popular among a huge mass of people.

• Device Trademark

Device trademarks are based on visual elements and unique and recognizable representations. These trademarks may have some artistic visual presentation with symbols, words, or a combination of both. 

These are the most popular trademark types that you can grab for your brand.

Benefits of trademark registration:

Exclusive and unique identity

The business or company owner will have a unique identity and can easily compete with the established companies dominating the market. When your products, goods, or services are reputed in the market, you will easily compete with the other existing brands. After getting reputed, you will grow your business, and no other company or competitor will be able to imitate your brand. Through this unique identity, you will stand out in the market. People will learn about your brand through the brand mark or brand identity. Only this intellectual identity would be vivid and your brand would be reputed soon.

Legal protection against infringement

When your brand is popular, many other companies will try to infringe on it. They will copy your product. They may try to copy your brand as well. Hence, your brand will get protection from infringement, brand name or logo copying, and more. You will get legal protection from the Government of India.

If anybody violates the Trademark Protection Act, they might be penalized or punished according to the law. Sections 27 and 29 Act give the right to register or file any complaint to protect your brand and its identity trademark.

Product differentiation

At the sight of the trademark on any product, the consumers will understand how the product would be. 

Once a person uses the product of a brand, he will declare it beastly and the brand will get free promotion to the locality. The customers will get the options for decision-making compared to quality and price. Only trademark registration helps reduce confusion about the brand and its product identification. This is also true for the brand of service-providing companies.

Brand value increasing

A registered trademark always increases the brand value of any company. The trademark is such a thing that communicates with the customers. When someone goes to buy or take any service, they find the brand from which they have received some value. Hence, they are increasing the brand's reputation and value. The feature, function, and performance of the product or goods will be the milestones for any product of a company. Hence, a trademark registration certificate maximizes the consumer's confidence in choosing any product or service.

Global Recognition

If any entrepreneur asks to register the trademark internationally, they can apply for it through the trademark registration portal in India. It has a little different process that you have to learn. We will describe the details about it in another article. Hence, if you want to get the brand recognition in the entire world.

Attract new customers

Everybody relies on the brand which is registered. Most of the consumers have the idea about the symbol of ® with the brand or its logo. When a new product launches in the market, the shop owners, shopping malls, and other outlets store it for sale as it is a registered brand and it will maintain the quality. The customers also get inspired by the new brand when it is registered. The outlet seller can easily promote it to the customers. So, your brand can easily attract new customers in the competitive market when its brand trademark is registered.

Hence, you learned the details of how to register trademark in India in some easy steps. If you face any issues, you can contact Online Legal India, the best company to get assistance with trademark registration and other legal services at an affordable cost. Try us now.