Simply put, trademarks are distinctive characteristic indicators, used to distinguish products or services from a specific business. These can be any of the following: designs, images/pictures, signs, packages, labels, names, words, phrases, logos, symbols, or vouchers. It sets a brand's items apart from those of its competitors.

Trademarks are protected from infringement since they are the intellectual property of a business. Each country has its own value in intellectual property. The Trademark Act of 1999 protects trademarks in India and their rights.

How does Trademark Online Registration work in India?

A trademark owner can be anyone: a person, an organisation, or a legal entity that is in the business of manufacturing and development. In general, we can see an ‘R’ in a circle or a ‘TM’ in the square as a trademark symbol.

Now in India, online trademark registration is possible. But it can also be filed offline with the trademark registration office of the government which is the ‘Controller General of Patent, Design, and Trademark’, ‘The Ministry of Commerce and Industry’, and ‘The Government of India’.

Trademark registration requires some legal and original documents and the registration procedure is fairly simple. 

A Step-by-Step Guide to Trademark Registration Online

These are typically the steps involved in the trademark registration process in India:

1. Search for the Trademarks – When you start a business you will already have the name of your business in your mind, but it’s really arduous to get a unique name. So, the primary search is to check if it's identical to an established, trademarked business name. It will offer you forewarning in the likelihood of the trademarks because trademark litigation is an ordeal that will cost both time and money. It is always advisable to be prepared in advance. By doing this, your business will have a unique identity in the digital space along with a unique name. A good piece of advice here is to be creative, original and simple so people can remember your brand easily.
2. Trademark Application – When you choose the correct brand name which has not been registered under a trademark, you are good to go. You have to file the trademark registration application under the trademark registry of your country. Nowadays these applications can be filed both offline and online, in one of the five Registrar’s offices in India. You will get an instantaneous receipt for future preference. This process can be completed in minutes. As a trademark applicant, you will need to provide a number of documents along with the application. The documents required for trademark registration include TM-A, which is the trademark application form and/or Form-48, which will authorise a legal person to represent you.
3. Inspection – After filing the application, it is sent for Vienna Codification by the Registrar. This codification is applicable to the graphic elements of the trademark. Following this, the trademark is examined at the Trademark Registry office. It is ensured that the trademark fulfills the requirements for registration in India and is not similar/identical to any other trademark. The Examiner might object to the application, if so, in the Examination Report, the reply to which should be filed within the next 30 days. Such a reply is called a Trademark Objection Reply. Generally, the office might give results in three ways - accepted, partially accepted, and objected. If it is a pass, then your trademark gets published in a trademark journal in which all brands are registered. If it is partially accepted or objected then you have some months to fulfill all the requirements and after re-inspection, if it gets satisfied,  then your trademark is published in the trademark journal. This inspection requires around 1 to 2 years approximately.
4. Publication – Once you’re through with the inspection process, or the reply to the objection is accepted by the Trademark Registrar, your trademark is then published in the Trademark Journal. But it doesn’t end here.

   If anyone has an objection about your trademark, then there will be a fair hearing where the registrar will give a final verdict. If your trademark publication doesn’t get any objection for 3-4 months, then it can proceed for final registration. This journal is published on a weekly basis and contains fresh trademarks, whose application for registration was accepted. If there are no challenges to the application, it takes about 12 weeks following publication, for a trademark to get registered.

5. Certificate – Once your trademark is registered, you will get a registration certificate with the seal of your country’s trademark office. Trademark registration provides protection to your trademark for 10 years.
6. Renewal – Trademark registration in India can be renewed after 10 years. So, you should duly renew your trademark to ensure your brand and business are protected forevermore.