Trademark Registration in India
Search, classification, filing and prosecution through to registration — protecting the name you have spent years building, with ™ usable from the day you file.
- ™ usable from filing day
- 10-year validity, renewable
- Objection reply included
- Search before filing
At a Glance
- ™ symbol
- From filing
- ® symbol
- On registration
- Validity
- 10 years
- Renewable
- Indefinitely
- Classes
- 45 total
What Is Trademark Registration?
A trademark protects the identity you trade under — your brand name, logo, tagline or a distinctive combination of them. Without registration you rely on common law rights, which are expensive and uncertain to enforce. With registration you hold an exclusive statutory right to use the mark for the goods or services it covers, and a clear basis to stop others from using something confusingly similar.
The process rewards patience and punishes haste. Once filed you can use the ™ symbol immediately, but registration itself typically takes a year or more: examination produces an objection in a large proportion of cases, which must be answered within the prescribed period; the mark is then advertised in the Trade Marks Journal; and there is a four-month window in which anyone may oppose it. Only after that clears does the certificate issue and the ® symbol become usable.
Two decisions determine the outcome. The first is the search — filing without a proper search across the register and common law use is how businesses discover, a year in, that someone already holds a similar mark. The second is class selection: there are 45 classes, and your registration only protects you in the classes you file in. Filing in the wrong class is a common and expensive error that leaves the actual business unprotected.
What You Can Register
Word mark
StrongestThe brand name itself as plain text, protected regardless of how it is written or styled. Generally the most valuable form of protection.
- Protects the name in any font
- Broadest protection
- File this first if budget is limited
Device / logo mark
Visual identityYour logo, symbol or the stylised representation of your name, protecting the visual identity as it appears.
- Protects the visual design
- Filed as an image
- Often filed alongside the word mark
Composite mark
Name + logoName and logo together as a single mark, protecting the combination as used in the market.
- Protects the combination
- Narrower than a word mark alone
- Useful for established lockups
Class selection
45 classesGoods fall in classes 1 to 34 and services in classes 35 to 45. Your protection extends only to the classes you file in, so this decision defines the scope of your right.
- 34 goods classes, 11 service classes
- File in every class you trade in
- Multi-class filings possible
Benefits
What you actually gain from Trademark Registration.
An exclusive statutory right
Registration gives you the exclusive right to use the mark for the goods or services covered, and a clear legal basis to stop copycats without proving reputation from scratch.
An asset you can license or sell
A registered trademark is intangible property. It can be licensed, franchised, assigned or valued on the balance sheet — none of which is straightforward with an unregistered mark.
Marketplaces enforce it for you
Amazon Brand Registry, Flipkart and other platforms require a registered trademark for brand protection tools, which is how sellers get counterfeit listings removed quickly.
Startups pay less to file
Recognised startups, individuals and small enterprises pay a reduced government filing fee, and DPIIT-recognised startups additionally get a 50% rebate with facilitator fees borne by the government.
Eligibility
Check where you stand before applying — we confirm all of this on the first call anyway.
Who can apply
- Any individual, proprietorship, partnership, LLP, company, trust or society claiming to be the proprietor of the mark.
- The applicant must be using the mark or genuinely intend to use it for the goods or services applied for.
- Foreign applicants can file in India, generally through an agent with an Indian address for service.
- There is no requirement to have a registered business — an individual can hold a trademark.
What can and cannot be registered
- The mark must be distinctive and capable of distinguishing your goods or services from others'.
- Purely descriptive marks, generic terms and marks that directly describe quality, quantity or purpose are usually refused.
- Marks identical or deceptively similar to an existing registered mark or a prior application in the same class will be objected to.
- Marks that are scandalous, deceptive, or that hurt religious sentiments, or that contain protected emblems and names, cannot be registered.
Documents Required
Applicant documents
- PAN and Aadhaar of the applicant, for individuals and proprietorships
- Certificate of Incorporation, partnership deed or LLP agreement, for entities
- Udyam Registration Certificate or DPIIT recognition, to claim the reduced government fee
- Address proof of the applicant
- Form TM-48 — power of attorney authorising the agent to file
Mark documents
- The logo or device in the prescribed image format, for a device mark
- A clear statement of the word mark, if filing text only
- List of goods or services to be covered, with the classes identified
- Date of first use of the mark, with supporting evidence if claiming prior use
- Evidence of prior use — invoices, advertisements, packaging, website archives — where user rights are being claimed
How We Help You Get Trademark Registration
What we handle for you, and the order we do it in.
Comprehensive search
A search of the trademark register and of common law use before filing, so you find out about a conflicting mark now rather than after examination.
Class and mark strategy
Deciding which classes to file in and whether to file the word mark, logo or both — the decisions that define what your registration actually protects.
TM-A filing
Application filed with the Trade Marks Registry, with the reduced fee claimed where you qualify as an individual, startup or small enterprise.
Objection reply
Drafting and filing the reply to the examination report within the prescribed period, with legal grounds and supporting evidence — this is where most applications are won or lost.
Hearing representation
Representation at the hearing before the examiner where the objection is not resolved on written submissions alone.
Opposition and renewal
Handling opposition proceedings if a third party objects after publication, and renewal management before the ten-year expiry.
Step by step
- 1
Search and clearance
2 – 3 daysSearch across the register and common law sources to assess whether the mark is available and what conflicts exist.
- 2
Class selection and preparation
2 – 3 daysIdentifying the correct classes and drafting the specification of goods or services, along with any user affidavit for prior use.
- 3
Filing
1 dayTM-A filed with the Registry and the application number issued. You can begin using the ™ symbol from this point.
- 4
Examination
3 – 12 monthsThe Registry examines the mark and issues an examination report. Objections are common and are answerable within the prescribed period.
- 5
Objection reply and hearing
1 – 6 monthsReply filed with legal grounds and evidence, followed by a hearing before the examiner if the objection is maintained.
- 6
Publication and registration
6 – 12 monthsAdvertised in the Trade Marks Journal with a four-month opposition window. If unopposed, the registration certificate issues and the ® symbol becomes usable.
Why Choose SetuBridge
What working with us is actually like.
We tell you when the answer is no
If you are not eligible, or the timing is wrong, or your credit record needs fixing first, we say so on the first call — before you have paid us anything.
One team, start to finish
The same people who assess your case prepare the file and follow it up. You are not handed to a different desk after the sale, and you never re-explain your business.
700+ businesses, ₹103 Cr+ facilitated
We have run this process across 28 states and most sectors, so we know which departments, portals and branches move quickly and which need chasing.
Fees agreed in writing, upfront
You know the cost before work starts. We never ask you to pay anything to a government official or bank employee, and no legitimate consultant will.
Follow-up is the actual work
Most applications do not fail at filing — they stall at an unanswered query or a missed deadline. Chasing those to closure is the bulk of what we do for you.
You keep every document
Certificates, acknowledgements, login credentials and filed copies are handed over to you. Nothing is held back to keep you dependent on us.
₹103 Cr+
Funding facilitated
700+
Businesses helped
85%
Success rate
28
States covered
Frequently Asked Questions
Realistically 12 to 24 months from filing to registration if the application proceeds smoothly. Examination alone can take several months, objections add time, and the journal publication carries a four-month opposition window. You can use the ™ symbol from the day you file, so you are not unprotected while you wait.
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Protect your brand with a registered trademark
Talk to a SetuBridge advisor. We'll tell you honestly whether this is the right fit for your business — no charge for the first conversation.