6 Stages of Trademark Registration

Trademark to a company is anything that its customers recognize it with, like a brand name, logo or slogan or all three. For example, Nike is the brand name, Swoosh is its logo and “Just do it” is its slogan. Now have you ever seen someone wearing Nile shoes with a deranged swoosh logo which impersonates and mocks Nike? This is a Trademark violation and can be sued in the court of law.

Read More: Frequently Asked Questions on Trademark registration

But for a company to do that, it must register its trademark with Controller General of Patent Designs and Trademarks Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, registered under the Trademark Act of 1999. When you register and own your trademark it means that the commercial rights of that brand name, logo or slogan are controlled by you and only you have the right to use them in your “Class”. There are 45 classes and each class represent distinctive goods and services. If you are Jeweler you need to register under Class 14 which is for Jewelry, Precious Metals and Stones. To trademark registration in Coimbatore contact SV Consultant.

Read more: Difference between Registered trademark and Un-registered trademark

Any national or foreign individual, company or organization is the owner of a trademark can file for trademark registration. These are the six stages of Trademark filing.

Read More: Trademark Categories

1.  Trademark Search for identical trademark registered in a specific class.
2.  Filing of Trademark – Application can be filed online or in the office with a processing fee to the concerned Ministry. In this stage the applicant is supposed to submit his trademark, his address, the class of the trademark, a brief description of goods and service rendered and how long the brand name, logo or slogan has been used. After this, the applicant is given an Application number after which he can start using the TM symbol.
3.  The third stage is when the application is Sent for Vienna Codification, this is when the Logo’s figurative elements are classified under its 29 classes.
4.  Examination by a Trademark officer (TO) is the fourth Stage, The TO reviews the application and he can either accept or object the application on which case applicant may present his plea to the TO, after which he decides.
5.  Journal Publication is the next stage if passed by the TO, where the proposed trademark is published in the Trademark Journal. This is to give the public an opportunity to object if they have reasons to. If there is an objection, a hearing is held by the Trademark Hearing Officer after which he gives his judgement.
6.  The last stage is when there are no oppositions for 4 months since journal publication in the Trade Marks Journal, then the Trademark registration certificate will be issued for a period of 10 years which it can be renewed for another period of 10 years.