To register a brand as a trade mark in India you need proof of who the applicant is, a clear copy or wording of the mark, a signed authorisation if an agent files for you, and, where you claim you have used the brand from an earlier date, evidence of that first use. A plain word mark needs no logo file at all. The application is filed on Form TM-A under the Trade Marks Rules 2017, and both the official fee and part of the checklist depend on who the applicant is.
Who is applying decides half the checklist
A trade mark is registered in the name of a legal person, not in the name of a shop. That person can be a sole proprietor, a partnership firm, a limited liability partnership, a private limited company, a trust or a society. The Registry compares the name on the application with the name on every document you attach, so the two have to match exactly. A business that trades under one name while its bank account or GST registration stands in another is the most common reason a filing stalls.
- Sole proprietor: the proprietor's PAN, an address proof such as Aadhaar or a passport, and proof that the business exists, such as a GST certificate or a municipal trade licence.
- Partnership firm: the firm's PAN, the partnership deed, and the name and address proof of the signing partner.
- LLP or private limited company: the certificate of incorporation, the entity's PAN, and a board resolution or written authorisation identifying who may sign.
- Trust or society: the registration certificate, the entity's PAN, and the trust deed or memorandum of association.
If two people or two entities own the brand jointly, the application must name all of them as joint applicants. A mark registered in one name only becomes a problem the day the partnership or the joint venture ends, because the registration follows the name on the certificate.
The core documents, applicant by applicant
The table below is the shortest way to see what changes with each type of applicant. What never changes is the need for a clear mark and a correct applicant name.
| Applicant | Identity and address | Proof the business exists |
|---|---|---|
| Individual or proprietor | PAN, Aadhaar or passport | GST certificate or trade licence in the same name |
| Partnership firm | Firm PAN, partner's ID | Partnership deed |
| LLP or private limited company | Incorporation certificate, entity PAN | Board authorisation for the signatory |
| Trust or society | Registration certificate, PAN | Trust deed or rules |
A foreign applicant filing without a place of business in India has to give an address for service in India, and the mark is examined on the same footing as an Indian application.
The mark itself: word mark or logo
You first decide whether you are claiming a word mark or a device, that is, a logo. A word mark protects the name in any font, size or colour, and you attach no image at all. A device mark protects a specific visual representation, so you must attach a clear reproduction of the artwork.
For a device or a combined mark, the image has to be sharp enough to be printed in the Trade Marks Journal. Keep the artwork in black and white unless colour is genuinely part of your identity, because a black and white mark gives you the wider protection and saves you from filing the same logo again in every colour you later use. The size, resolution and file-format limits are prescribed in the Rules, so check the current requirements on the Registry's portal before uploading rather than assuming what your designer produced will pass.
Form TM-48 and filing through an agent
If a trade mark agent or an advocate files for you, you have to give a power of attorney. Under the Trade Marks Rules 2017 this is filed on Form TM-48. It should be signed by the applicant and, where the applicant is a company or a firm, by a person authorised to sign for it. A properly signed TM-48 lets your agent sign the application, answer examination reports and appear in hearings without fresh authority each time.
The TM-48 is the document that most often holds up a filing because it is left unsigned or is signed by someone the Registry does not accept as authorised. If the mark is being filed from a Kolkata office, the agent can file and prosecute everything online, so you do not travel to the Registry for routine steps. Our note on registering a trade mark online in India walks through the online journey from application number to registration certificate.
Fees, and the MSME and startup concession
The official fee depends on the applicant category and on the number of classes you file in. A natural person, a startup recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, and a micro, small or medium enterprise registered on Udyam pay the reduced e-filing rate. Every other applicant pays roughly twice that amount. The figures sit in the First Schedule to the Trade Marks Rules and are revised from time to time, so confirm the current schedule before you pay rather than relying on a figure you saw last year.
To claim the lower rate, register on Udyam first and keep the certificate ready, or obtain your startup recognition. Attach it with the application. A claim for the small-enterprise rate made without the supporting certificate is normally rejected and the higher fee is then demanded.
Date of first use and the evidence that counts
If the brand is already in use, you can claim priority from the date you first used it. You state that date in the application and you must be ready to prove it. The evidence that carries weight is contemporaneous: invoices and bills that show the mark, packaging and labels, advertising material, and, for an online business, dated screenshots of your listings and social pages.
A certificate or an affidavit written up after a dispute has little value on its own, because it proves only that someone repeated the claim on paper. If you have not started trading yet, you file on a proposed-to-be-used basis and no use evidence is needed at the time of filing.
What happens after the application is filed
You receive an application number, and the mark then goes to examination. If the examiner raises objections, you reply within the time allowed. If the objections are overcome, or there are none, the mark is advertised in the Trade Marks Journal. Third parties then have a window, currently four months, in which to oppose. If nothing is filed, or an opposition is decided in your favour, the mark is registered for ten years and can be renewed each decade.
The objections themselves are usually about identical or similar marks already on the register, or about descriptiveness. That is why a clearance search before filing is worth doing, and why the paperwork has to be right the first time. If you are incorporating a company that will hold the brand, our checklist on documents for trade mark registration for a private limited company sets out the entity documents to keep ready.
What you do not need to send
Applicants often over-file. You do not need a notarised affidavit about your own name, you do not need a certificate of brand ownership from any department beyond the entity documents that prove the applicant exists, and you do not need a translation of every paper if the originals already read in English. For a plain word mark you send no image at all.
You also do not lose the application because the mark is not yet registered. Registration follows examination and advertisement, and the protection you rely on runs from the date of filing, provided the application is later accepted. What you do need is a correct applicant name, a clear mark, and, when you claim an earlier date of first use, the invoices to back that date.
One more point on classes. A single application covers one class of goods or services, and the fee is charged per class. A brand used for both goods and services, or across several categories, may need more than one class, and the documents and fee repeat for each. Decide the classes from what you actually sell or offer, not from what you hope to sell, because filing in a class you do not use exposes the mark to a non-use challenge later.
Where filings most often stall
- The name or address on the proof does not match the applicant name in Form TM-A.
- Form TM-48 is missing, unsigned or signed by the wrong person.
- The small-enterprise fee is claimed without a valid Udyam or startup certificate.
- The logo file sent for a device mark is blurred or too small to reproduce.
- A date of first use is claimed that the attached invoices do not actually support.
Each of these is curable, but each costs weeks. For a Kolkata or West Bengal brand owner who wants the marks handled end to end, see our page on trade mark registration in Kolkata, or book a consultation and bring the documents listed above.