Trademark registration: searched first, filed in a day.
™ from today.

Our fee starts at from ₹1,999 for the search and a one-class filing, plus the government fee of ₹4,500 per class for individuals, startups and MSMEs or ₹9,000 for other applicants. Growth adds the examination reply and hearing preparation; Complete covers a second class, a year of trademark watch and the certificate follow-up. The estimator shows the total.

The application number arrives the same day, and ™ can be used from then. Registration commonly takes 8 to 18 months if nobody opposes: examination within about a month to a few months, a 30-day objection reply if needed, journal publication, and a four-month opposition window. An opposition adds a year or more.

Goods and services are grouped into 45 classes: 1 to 34 for goods and 35 to 45 for services. A mark is protected only in the classes it is filed in, and the government fee is charged per class. Most businesses need one or two; a software product often needs 42 and 9, a clothing brand 25 and 35. We map your revenue lines to classes before filing.

You can use ™ on any mark you claim as yours, including from the day the application is filed. ® is reserved for a registered mark; using it earlier is an offence under the Trade Marks Act. Once the certificate issues, switch to ® on packaging, the website and invoices, and keep the dated proof of use.

An objection is the examiner's reason for not accepting the mark yet, stated in the examination report. Section 9 objections say the mark is descriptive or not distinctive; Section 11 objections cite an earlier similar mark. You must reply within 30 days with arguments and evidence. If the examiner is still unconvinced a hearing is listed, and most objections are cleared there.

After acceptance, the mark is published in the Trade Marks Journal and any person can oppose it within four months, usually an owner of a similar earlier mark. You file a counter-statement within two months, both sides file evidence, and a hearing decides it. Oppositions are less common than objections but take longer, which is why the search before filing matters.

Register the wordmark first. It protects the name in every font, colour and layout, and stays valid through a redesign. A logo or device mark protects that specific artwork and is worth adding when the design itself is what customers recognise. Filing both as separate applications costs two government fees but gives the widest cover.

Yes. The registry rejects or objects to marks that are identical or deceptively similar to earlier ones, including similar-sounding names, and the government fee is not refunded. A proper search covers identical, phonetic and visual matches in your classes and related ones, plus company names and domains. It takes a day and often changes the name or the classes.

In the name of whoever will own and use the brand. A company should apply in its own name so the mark is a company asset that survives a founder leaving and shows cleanly in investor diligence. A proprietor applies as an individual and pays the lower fee. A mark filed by a founder can be assigned to the company later, at a cost.

No. Registration is territorial. An Indian application or registration can be extended to other countries through the Madrid Protocol with a single international application designating the countries you want, each charging its own fee. Founders selling abroad usually file in India first, then extend within six months to keep the Indian priority date.

Ten years from the filing date, renewable every ten years without limit. Renewal is filed in Form TM-R up to six months before expiry; there is a grace period with a surcharge after that, and eventually the mark is removed. A registered mark not used for five continuous years can also be removed on a third party's application, so keep using it.

It depends on who used it first, where and for what. Indian law protects a genuine prior user even against a later registration, so a well-documented first-use date matters. If the other business is in a different class or region, both marks can coexist. If it is the same business type, we tell you the risk plainly and, often, suggest a different name before you spend on filing.