Trademark Registration

Overview

A registered trademark gives the owner statutory rights over a name, logo, slogan, shape or other distinctive sign for the goods or services listed in the application. In India the Trade Marks Registry (part of the Indian Patent Office, IP India) examines and registers marks under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and the Trade Marks Rules, 2017. Registration generally lasts ten years from the date of application and can be renewed for further ten-year periods.

A trademark is an asset that sits beside your company or LLP name. A company incorporation does not give brand rights, so the brand needs its own registration. Zenith handles search, class selection, filing, objections and renewals.

Who needs it

• Founders launching a product, service, app or e-commerce store under a brand name or logo.
• Established businesses whose brand has never been registered, or who are expanding to new product lines or regions.
• Franchisors and licensors who want to license the mark.
• Owners who received an objection or an opposition notice and need a response prepared.
• Owners of registered marks approaching the ten-year renewal date.

What Zenith does

• Listens to what you sell and where, and runs a search for identical or similar marks, with a candid read on the risk (a search reduces risk but does not promise registration).
• Chooses the class or classes with you, drafts the specification of goods and services and prepares the application.
• Files the application, tracks its status and handles examination objections, hearings and opposition proceedings through appropriately authorised trademark attorneys.
• Handles renewal and later changes such as assignment or change of details.

Professional fees are customised; government fees are shown separately in the quotation.

Eligibility and key rules

• Any individual, firm, company, LLP, trust or other legal person who uses or genuinely intends to use the mark can apply; an individual must be an adult.
• The mark must be distinctive and capable of telling your goods or services apart from others. Generic, purely descriptive, deceptive or prohibited marks, and marks that are confusingly similar to earlier ones, can be refused.
• Marks can be words, logos, combinations, shapes, sounds, certification marks, collective marks and more.
• Protection is class-based. Goods fall in Classes 1 to 34 and services in Classes 35 to 45 of the Nice Classification; protection extends to what is listed under the class(es) you file in, so a business with several lines may need several classes.
• Prior use can be claimed with evidence; otherwise the mark is filed on a proposed-to-be-used basis.
• Startups and small enterprises, and individuals, pay a lower government fee than other applicants, subject to the proof the Registry requires.
• Use the TM symbol once the application is filed; use the registered symbol only after registration.

Documents required

• Applicant details: name, address, constitution and nationality; for firms and companies the deed or incorporation certificate and PAN.
• PAN and Aadhaar of the authorised signatory.
• The mark in the form to be registered: the word as written, or the logo file in the colours you use.
• Description of the goods or services, grouped by class.
• Date of first use and supporting proof if prior use is claimed.
• A signed Power of Attorney or authorisation (the sources read refer to a signed Form TM-48) so a trademark attorney can file on your behalf.
• Startup, MSME or small-enterprise proof if you claim the lower fee.

Process and timeline

1. Search and class selection.
2. Application on Form TM-A through the IP India portal, which generates an application number.
3. Formalities check and examination by the Registry, which may issue an objection; Zenith prepares the written reply and attends a hearing if one is fixed.
4. Acceptance and publication in the Trade Marks Journal.
5. Opposition window: third parties can oppose; if they do, a counter-statement and evidence follow.
6. If unopposed or the opposition is decided in your favour, the mark is registered and a certificate issues.

There is no single timeline. Examination, objections, hearings, publication and opposition each affect the duration, and timelines depend on completeness, complexity and authority processing.

Government fees, penalties and due dates

• Application fee (TM-A) per class, per mark, as stated in the source read from the IP India fee schedule: Rs 4,500 for e-filing and Rs 5,000 for physical filing by an individual, startup or small enterprise; Rs 9,000 and Rs 10,000 for other applicants.
• Separate government fees apply for oppositions, renewals, assignments and other proceedings.
• Replying to an examination report must be done within the period prescribed for it, so a lapsed date can cause the application to be treated as abandoned.
• Renewal falls due every ten years; sources read mention a restoration route with extra fees if renewal is missed, so Zenith tracks the date from the start.
• Amounts and dates above reflect public sources read in October 2026 and change with notifications, so Zenith confirms the current figures in your quotation.

Common mistakes

• Filing without a search and discovering a similar earlier mark at examination.
• Choosing too narrow a class or the wrong class, which leaves part of the business unprotected.
• Choosing a name that merely describes the product.
• Filing in an individual's name when the brand will be owned by the company or LLP.
• Ignoring an objection or opposition notice and missing the reply window.
• Using the registered symbol before registration.
• Forgetting renewal.

FAQs