Logo

If you need help with logo, this guide sets out the legal position and the next steps. Legals365 is the legal platform of Advocate B.K. Singh and associates, based in Delhi NCR.

In short. A trademark is registered under the Trade Marks Act 1999 by filing Form TM-A with the Trade Marks Registry. The application is examined, objections must be answered within one month, and once accepted it is advertised for four months for opposition. Registration lasts 10 years and is renewable. Copying is handled through a cease and desist notice, an infringement or passing off suit, and in some cases a criminal complaint.

A brand name is usually the most valuable thing a small business owns and the thing it protects last. People spend on signage, packaging and a website, and only file for the trademark when a competitor turns up with a similar name or a marketplace takes down their listing. By then the question is no longer how to register but who used the name first and who can prove it.

This page covers the whole life of a trademark in India: search and clearance, the application, examination objections, opposition, registration and renewal, assignment and licensing, and enforcement through notices, civil suits, criminal complaints and domain name disputes. It is written for any kind of owner, from a proprietor running one shop to a company with a portfolio of brands, and it says where the answer changes depending on who you are and what stage you are at.

Law

Trade Marks Act 1999 and Trade Marks Rules 2017; common law of passing off; Commercial Courts Act 2015 for suits.

Where to file

Trade Marks Registry (offices at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad), online through the IP India portal. Delhi NCR applicants fall under the Delhi office.

Key time limits

Reply to examination report within one month; opposition within four months of advertisement; counter-statement within two months of receiving the opposition.

Term

10 years from the date of application, renewable for further 10-year periods without limit.

Enforcement forum

Commercial court at the district level, or the Delhi High Court IP Division where the specified value exceeds Rs 2 crore; criminal complaints under sections 103 to 105.

Documents

Logo or word mark, list of goods or services, date of first use with evidence, applicant's identity or incorporation papers, power of attorney (Form TM-48), MSME or startup certificate if claiming lower official fees.

What trademark registration actually gives you

Registration gives you the exclusive right to use the mark for the goods or services it is registered for, and the right to sue anyone who uses an identical or deceptively similar mark without permission (sections 28 and 29). The registration certificate is prima facie evidence of validity under section 31, which shifts the burden onto the other side in court. That is the real advantage: you start a case with a document, not with a story.

An unregistered mark is not worthless. If you have used a name long enough to build goodwill, you can bring a passing off action under the common law, which section 27(2) expressly preserves. But passing off requires you to prove reputation, misrepresentation and damage from scratch, usually with years of invoices, advertising spend and customer evidence. Many small businesses do not have that paper trail in usable form.

Registration also matters outside court. Marketplaces such as Amazon and Flipkart, app stores and social media platforms act faster on a brand complaint backed by a registration certificate. Investors and buyers check the trademark position during due diligence, and a franchise or licence is far easier to draft and enforce when the brand is registered in the franchisor's name.

What can be registered and why applications get refused

Almost anything that distinguishes your goods or services can be a trademark: a word, an invented name, a logo, a slogan, a combination of colours, the shape of goods or packaging, and in some cases a sound. The test is distinctiveness. An invented word like a coined brand name is the strongest; a word that describes the product, such as calling a bakery 'Fresh Bread', is the weakest.

Section 9 sets out the absolute grounds for refusal. A mark that is devoid of distinctive character, that only describes the kind, quality, purpose or geographical origin of the goods, or that has become customary in the trade will be objected to. So will marks likely to deceive, hurt religious sentiment, or that are scandalous or obscene, and marks barred by the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act 1950. A descriptive mark can still get through if you prove it has acquired distinctiveness through use.

Section 11 covers relative grounds: conflict with an earlier mark. If an identical or similar mark already exists for identical or similar goods and there is a likelihood of confusion, the Registry will cite it. Well-known marks under section 11(6) to 11(9) get wider protection, even across unrelated goods. Honest concurrent use under section 12 can sometimes rescue an application where two businesses have genuinely used similar names side by side for years.

Stages of a trademark application and the time limits

Trademark search and clearance before you file

A proper trademark search checks three things: identical marks, phonetically or visually similar marks, and marks in related classes. The IP India public search tool lets you search by word, phonetics and Vienna code for logos. Phonetic search catches the obvious traps, such as a mark spelt differently but pronounced the same. A clearance opinion then weighs what the search shows against how the goods are sold and who buys them.

Do not stop at the Registry. Many earlier users never registered, and under section 34 a prior user of a mark can stop even a registered proprietor whose use began later. A market search on Google, marketplaces, the MCA company name index, GST records and domain registrations often reveals an unregistered business that has used the name in your city for ten years. That business may not stop your registration, but it can stop your use in its area.

When Advocate B.K. Singh's team runs a clearance for a new brand, the question asked first is not 'is this name free on the register' but 'can we prove we were first, if someone challenges it in two years'. That is why the advice often includes picking a more distinctive variant at the start, before money goes into packaging.

How to file a trademark application in India

The process is online and the steps are the same whoever files, though a company, firm and individual each need different supporting papers.

1. Fix the mark and the owner

   Settle what you are filing (a word mark, a logo, or both) and in whose name. The applicant should be the person or entity that will own the brand, not a director or a family member for convenience, because changing ownership later needs a recorded assignment.

2. Choose classes and write the specification

   India follows the Nice Classification of 45 classes (34 for goods and 11 for services). Write the specification to cover what you actually sell and what you genuinely plan to sell soon. Over-broad specifications attract objections and can later be cut down for non-use.

3. Decide the user claim

   You can file on a 'proposed to be used' basis or claim use from a particular date. A use claim strengthens your position against later filers, but it must be backed by a user affidavit and real evidence such as invoices, advertisements and dated photographs.

4. File Form TM-A and pay the official fee

   File on the IP India portal with the mark, applicant details, address for service and a power of attorney if an advocate or agent files. Individuals, startups recognised by DPIIT and small enterprises pay a lower official fee than others; check the current schedule before filing.

5. Track the application

   Note the application number and check the status regularly on the e-register. Examination reports and hearing notices are emailed and uploaded, and the one-month reply period runs from issue whether or not anyone reads the mail.

Filing a multi-class application in one form is allowed, but if one class runs into an objection or opposition the whole application can be held up. For a new brand, separate applications in each core class are often easier to manage.

Trademark objection: replying to the examination report

An examination report is not a refusal. It lists the examiner's concerns, usually under section 9 (the mark is descriptive or lacks distinctiveness) or section 11 (a similar earlier mark exists), and sometimes formal defects in the specification or the power of attorney. You must file a reply within one month of receiving it. If you miss it, the Registry may treat the application as abandoned, and reviving it is uncertain.

A good reply answers each objection specifically. Against a section 9 objection, you argue that the mark is inherently distinctive or that, viewed as a whole, it does not describe the product, and you file evidence of use and acquired distinctiveness if you have it. Against a section 11 citation, you compare the marks as a whole, show that the goods or trade channels differ, point to other similar marks coexisting on the register, and where possible obtain a consent letter from the earlier owner.

If the examiner is not satisfied, a show cause hearing is fixed. Hearings are now mostly held online. Prepare a short written submission and an indexed bundle of evidence. If the mark is refused after hearing, the order can be challenged in appeal before the High Court; the Intellectual Property Appellate Board was abolished in 2021 and its work moved to the High Courts.

Trademark opposition: filing one and defending one

Once a mark is accepted, it is published in the Trade Marks Journal, and anyone may oppose it within four months on Form TM-O. This deadline is fixed and cannot be extended, so brand owners who care about their marks run a watch on the Journal every week. Grounds of opposition usually mirror the refusal grounds: similarity to the opponent's earlier mark, bad faith, lack of distinctiveness, or prior use.

If your application is opposed, you get a copy of the notice and must file a counter-statement within two months. Miss that and the application is treated as abandoned. Both sides then file evidence by affidavit, the opponent files reply evidence, and the matter is heard by a hearing officer of the Registry. The whole process can take a year or more, depending on adjournments and the Registry's list.

Opposition is often the point where a negotiated outcome makes sense. Two businesses with similar names but different markets can sign a coexistence agreement that limits each side's goods, territory or get-up, and the opposition is withdrawn. That is usually cheaper and faster than fighting to the end, and the agreement can be filed with the Registry.

Key provisions of the Trade Marks Act 1999

Classes, the TM and R symbols, and logos versus word marks

Protection is limited to the classes and goods you register for. A restaurant registering in Class 43 is not automatically protected for packaged sauces in Class 30. If the brand will extend into related products, file for them early, but only for those you genuinely intend to sell, because unused classes can be removed after five years and three months of non-use.

You may use the TM symbol as soon as you file, or even before, to signal that you claim the mark. The R symbol can be used only after registration, and only for the goods covered. Using R for an unregistered mark is an offence under section 107, and it also hurts your credibility in any later dispute.

A word mark protects the name in any font or style. A logo or device mark protects the design as filed. If you can register only one, the word mark is usually more valuable, because competitors copy names more often than artwork. Where the word itself is weak or descriptive, a logo application may get through more easily, but the protection is narrower and you should also consider copyright in the artwork.

Trademark assignment, licensing and ownership transfer

A trademark can be assigned with or without the goodwill of the business, for all or some of the goods (section 38 and following). The assignment should be in writing, signed by both sides, properly stamped under the state stamp law, and then recorded with the Registry on Form TM-P under section 45. Until it is recorded, the new owner faces difficulty enforcing the mark, and an unrecorded assignment cannot ordinarily be admitted as evidence of title in court without the Registrar's direction.

The most common ownership problem is a brand registered in the wrong name: a director's personal name instead of the company, a former partner, the founder's father, or a designer who filed the logo on his own. When the business is sold, raises investment or falls into a partners' dispute, that gap becomes a fight. Fix it with a clean assignment deed and recordal before it is needed.

A licence lets another person use the mark while you keep ownership, typically in franchising, manufacturing arrangements and distribution. The licence should control quality, territory, duration, royalty, use of the mark in advertising and what happens on termination. Licensees may be recorded as registered users under sections 48 and 49, which makes their use count as your use for non-use purposes. Royalty attracts GST and tax deduction at source, and payments to a foreign licensor have FEMA and tax reporting aspects.

Trademark infringement and passing off: what you must prove

For infringement of a registered mark under section 29, you show your registration, the defendant's use of an identical or deceptively similar mark in the course of trade, and, in most cases, use for identical or similar goods leading to likely confusion. Courts compare the marks as a whole, from the viewpoint of an average customer with imperfect recollection, and give weight to the essential feature of the mark rather than minor differences in spelling or style.

Passing off is wider and harder. You prove that your mark had goodwill in the market before the defendant started, that the defendant's use misrepresents its goods as yours or connected with you, and that this causes or is likely to cause damage. Evidence is everything: sales figures year by year, invoices across cities, advertising bills, press coverage, social media following, and customer complaints showing actual confusion.

Most cases plead both together, along with copyright infringement in the logo or packaging where relevant. Defences usually include prior use under section 34, honest concurrent use, use of one's own name in good faith, descriptive use under section 30, delay and acquiescence, and a challenge to the validity of the plaintiff's registration through rectification.

Trademark infringement suit: forum, injunction and reliefs

An infringement or passing off suit is a commercial dispute under the Commercial Courts Act 2015 and must be filed in a court not lower than the District Court. In Delhi, suits with a specified value above Rs 2 crore go to the IP Division of the Delhi High Court; smaller ones go to the district commercial courts at Saket, Tis Hazari, Patiala House, Karkardooma, Rohini, Dwarka and Rouse Avenue. In Noida and Ghaziabad, the commercial court of the district hears them. Section 134 lets the plaintiff sue where it carries on business, which helps a Delhi brand facing a copier elsewhere.

Pre-institution mediation under section 12A is required unless the suit seeks urgent interim relief. In infringement cases the plaintiff usually does seek an urgent injunction, but courts check whether the urgency is genuine, so a brand owner who waited a year before suing should expect that question. Where no urgent relief is needed, the pre-institution mediation often produces a settlement on rebranding timelines. Delay also weakens the case for an interim injunction on merits.

The interim injunction stage decides most trademark cases. If the court restrains the defendant from using the mark pending trial, the matter usually settles. Courts may also appoint local commissioners to visit premises and seize or inventory infringing goods, and in suitable cases pass orders against unknown defendants and online sellers. Final reliefs include a permanent injunction, damages or an account of profits, delivery up and destruction of infringing goods, and costs, which commercial courts increasingly award on actual basis.

Criminal action and raids against counterfeiters

Counterfeiting is also a crime. Sections 103 to 105 of the Trade Marks Act punish applying a false trademark and selling goods bearing one with imprisonment from six months to three years and a fine, with higher minimums for repeat offenders. Where the conduct involves deceiving buyers, the cheating provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (section 318) may also be invoked.

The catch is section 115(4). A police officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police can search and seize without a warrant, but must first obtain the opinion of the Registrar of Trade Marks on the facts. Brand owners who go straight to the local police station often find the complaint stuck for this reason. A properly drafted complaint with the registration certificate, test purchase invoice and comparison of genuine and fake products moves faster.

Criminal action works best against large-scale counterfeiting where the goods are plainly fake and the seller has no claim of his own. For a dispute between two traders who each believe the name is theirs, a civil suit is the better tool. Using a police complaint to pressure a genuine competitor tends to backfire, and courts may quash such proceedings.

Domain name disputes and online marketplaces

Indian courts treat domain names as having the same function as trademarks, so cybersquatting can be restrained by an injunction for infringement or passing off. There are also faster administrative routes. For .in domains, a complaint goes to the .IN Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (INDRP) run by NIXI. For .com and other generic domains, the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) applies, with complaints to providers such as the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center.

Under both policies you must show that the domain is identical or confusingly similar to your mark, that the registrant has no right or legitimate interest in it, and that it was registered and is being used in bad faith. Proceedings are on paper, decided in a few months, and the remedy is transfer or cancellation of the domain, not damages.

For online sellers using your brand on marketplaces, start with the platform's brand protection or IP complaint process, supported by your registration certificate. Platforms are intermediaries under section 79 of the IT Act and generally act on specific notices. If listings keep reappearing, or the seller is hard to trace, a suit with directions to the platform to disclose seller details and take down listings is the next step. Cyber cases involving impersonation or fraud may also need a complaint to the cyber crime police.

Protecting your trademark outside India

A trademark registered in India protects you only in India. If you export, sell online to foreign customers or plan to manufacture abroad, file in those countries. India is a member of the Madrid Protocol, so an Indian applicant can use an Indian application or registration as the base and file one international application through the Indian Trade Marks Registry, designating the countries required.

The Madrid route is cheaper and easier to manage than separate national filings, with one renewal date and one place to record changes. The risk is dependency: for five years the international registration depends on the Indian base, so if the Indian mark is refused, cancelled or narrowed, the international protection falls with it. If the Indian application is facing serious objections, direct national filings in key countries may be safer.

Foreign brand owners entering India face the opposite problem. Squatters sometimes file well-known foreign names in India before the brand arrives. Such registrations can be opposed or rectified, and a well-known mark can be protected even without Indian use, but evidence of reputation reaching Indian consumers is needed.

Documents to keep ready

Mistakes that weaken a trademark

• Filing in the wrong name. A brand owned by a company but filed in a director's name, or by a firm but filed by one partner, causes ownership fights later and needs a recorded assignment to cure.
• Choosing a descriptive name. Names that describe the product are hard to register and harder to enforce. A distinctive name costs nothing extra at the start.
• Missing the one-month reply. Examination reports are emailed to the address for service. If that is an old agent's email or an inbox no one checks, the application can be abandoned without anyone noticing.
• Claiming use you cannot prove. A use date in the application that the evidence does not support will be attacked in opposition and may damage your credibility on everything else.
• Waiting too long to act. Delay after learning of a copier weakens the case for urgent interim relief and may support a defence of acquiescence.
• Letting renewal lapse. The Registry sends a reminder, but if the address is out of date the mark can be removed. Diary the renewal date for every mark you own.

How the answer changes for different owners

A sole proprietor files in his or her own name, since a proprietorship has no separate identity, and should consider assigning the mark to a company if the business is later incorporated. A partnership firm files in the names of the partners trading as the firm, and the partnership deed should say clearly that the brand belongs to the firm, not to any one partner. A company or LLP files in its own name, supported by a board resolution where the mark comes from a founder.

Startups recognised by DPIIT and small enterprises with Udyam registration pay lower official fees, and any applicant can ask for expedited examination on paying the higher official fee for it. A franchisor needs registrations in every class the franchisees will trade in, before signing franchise agreements, because a franchise built on an unregistered or opposed mark is fragile. A manufacturer selling through distributors should check that no distributor has quietly filed the brand in its own name.

Foreign owners must give an address for service in India and usually act through an Indian advocate or agent. A trademark owner who receives a notice alleging infringement, rather than sending one, should read our page on replying to a legal notice and should not ignore it, because silence is often cited later as evidence of bad faith.

When copyright, contracts and other IP overlap

A logo is usually both a trademark and an artistic work. If a designer or agency created it, check that the copyright was assigned to you in writing, because under the Copyright Act an assignment must be in writing and a commissioned work does not automatically belong to the person who paid. Our page on copyright registration and infringement covers this. Product shapes and packaging may also qualify for design registration, discussed on our page on patents and industrial designs.

Brand disputes also arise from contracts: a distributor who keeps using the name after termination, a franchisee who opens a look-alike outlet, or a joint venture partner who files the brand on exit. These turn on the contract as much as the Trade Marks Act. Our pages on commercial contracts and arbitration help where the agreement has a dispute resolution clause, and the broader intellectual property protection and licensing page covers portfolios that mix several kinds of rights.

What to do this week

• Search the IP India e-register for your brand name, spellings that sound similar, and your logo's Vienna code.
• Confirm in whose name each of your marks is filed and whether the address for service and email are current.
• Diary the reply deadline on any examination report or opposition notice you have received.
• If someone is copying you, take dated screenshots, make a test purchase with an invoice, and note when you first learnt of it.
• Collect year-wise sales figures and advertising bills from the year you first used the mark.
• Check that the logo designer's copyright has been assigned to you in writing.
• Do not send an angry message or public post to the copier; send a proper notice instead.

Before you file, reply or sue

Most trademark problems are cheaper to prevent than to fix. A clearance search before launch, filing in the right name, and answering objections on time handle the bulk of the risk. When a dispute does arise, the outcome usually depends on evidence of first use gathered years earlier, so start keeping dated records now.

In trademark disputes that come to Advocate B.K. Singh, the deciding question is usually who can prove continuous use first, and the answer is often in old invoices and trade licences the client did not think mattered. If you want your application, objection or notice checked before you act, the team of Advocate B.K. Singh at Legals365 can review the papers and tell you the next step.

Frequently asked questions

How long does trademark registration take in India?

If there is no objection or opposition, a mark can be registered in roughly a year or so from filing, though timelines vary with the Registry's workload. An examination objection adds a few months, and an opposition can add a year or more. You may use the TM symbol from the date of filing.

What is the time limit to reply to a trademark objection?

The reply to an examination report must be filed within one month of receiving it. If no reply is filed, the Registry may treat the application as abandoned. If the examiner is not satisfied with the reply, a show cause hearing is fixed.

Can someone oppose my trademark after it is advertised?

Yes. Anyone can file a notice of opposition on Form TM-O within four months of the mark being advertised in the Trade Marks Journal. You then have two months to file a counter-statement, failing which the application is treated as abandoned.

Is company name registration the same as trademark registration?

No. Registering a company or LLP name with the Registrar of Companies does not give trademark rights. An earlier user or registered owner of a similar trademark can stop you from using the name as a brand even if the company name was approved.

Can I use the R symbol after filing my trademark?

No. The R symbol may be used only after the mark is registered and only for the registered goods or services. Using it earlier is an offence under section 107 of the Trade Marks Act. You may use the TM symbol once you have applied.

What can I do if someone is using my unregistered brand name?

You can bring a passing off action if you can prove goodwill built through earlier use, misrepresentation by the other side and likely damage. You should also file your own trademark application and, if their application is advertised, oppose it. Collect evidence of your first use immediately.

How do I transfer a trademark to my company?

Execute a written assignment deed between the current owner and the company, pay stamp duty under the applicable state stamp law, and file Form TM-P with the Registry to record the assignment. Until it is recorded, the company may face difficulty enforcing the mark.

How often must a trademark be renewed?

Every 10 years from the date of application. Renewal can be filed up to a year before expiry and within six months after expiry with a surcharge. A mark removed for non-renewal can sometimes be restored within a year.

Where can I file a trademark infringement suit in Delhi?

Suits with a specified value above Rs 2 crore go to the IP Division of the Delhi High Court; smaller suits go to the district commercial courts. Under section 134 you can generally sue where you carry on business, even if the infringer is elsewhere.

Can police take action against fake branded goods?

Yes. Selling goods with a false trademark is an offence under sections 103 to 105 of the Trade Marks Act. A police officer of at least Deputy Superintendent rank can search and seize, but must first obtain the Registrar's opinion, so the complaint should be backed by the registration certificate and proof of the fakes.

How are .in domain name disputes resolved?

Disputes over .in domains go to the INDRP administered by NIXI. You must show the domain is identical or confusingly similar to your mark, that the registrant has no legitimate interest, and bad faith. The remedy is transfer or cancellation of the domain.

Can a trademark be cancelled if the owner does not use it?

Yes. Under section 47, a registered mark can be removed if it has not been used in good faith for a continuous period of five years and three months. An application for removal can be filed before the Registrar or the High Court by an aggrieved person.