If any business intends to protect its logo from misuse by any third party, it should file for trademark registration. Trademark registration would provide legal proof that you own the brand name and provide legal protection and a legal right to initiate an action and recover monetary damages from the third party in case of trademark infringement. Apart from this, other benefits of trademark filing are establishing trust and enhancing enterprise value by making your brand name intellectual property.

They are used interchangeably but are different from each other.

The different types of marks are wordmark which contains only words, device mark (label, logo, monogram or symbol), packaging marks (product packaging shape, colour mark (mark which claims colour as a distinctive factor) and sound mark (tunes or jingles).

Ten years from filing the trademark application is the validity period of trademark registration. You can renew your brand every ten years by paying renewal fees. Thus, there is no expiry period for a registered trademark.

The concept of Trademark classes originated from the international NICE classification systems adopted and followed in India and 90+ other countries. Under this classification system, the activities carried out under a brand name are categorized into classes. There are 45 trademark classes, of which class 1 to 34 cover manufacturing activities, class 35 covers marketing, trading, retail & wholesale services and class 36 to 45 covers service activities. The principle behind classification is that once a brand name is granted registration, its owner gets the protection that another person cannot register a similar mark in the same class for similar activities.

The typical objections which are received from the trademark department can be summed up as under:-

• The Brand name is similar to an already filed TM application.
• Brand name contains only generic / industry words.
• Brand name contains only characteristics like geographical origin, Quality etc., of the goods/ services provided under the brand name.
• The brand name can hurt religious sentiments or contains scandalous matter.
• Brand name contains Ashoka Chakra, Indian Emblem, National Flag and such other names & symbols which imply Government patronage.
  

In case you are looking to start your business journey and have not finalized your brand name yet, you can keep the following factors in mind while deciding upon the brand name:-

• Easy & short to speak , write and remember.
• It should not copy any existing brand name or be similar to any existing brand name.
• It should not have words (refer to common objection FAQ) due to which the trademark department objects to the registration.
  

You can use the ™ symbol immediately after your trademark application has been filed, which signifies that your trademark is under registration.

® is used for registered trademarks. It is used to caution the public that the brand is registered, giving notice of the legal ownership status. Also, it’s a punishable offence to use ® with an unregistered mark.

It takes 2-3 days to get your Trademark application filed. Still, complete registration usually takes around six months to a year or more, depending on the department's objection.

If your trademark is taken under a different class, it doesn't give them the exclusive right for the mark under all classes. You can file your trademark under the class in which your business activities fall. For example, Mr John is in the business of trading candles with a brand name. If you want to register the same brand name for photography services, you can use the same.

However, if the already registered mark is recognized as a well-known mark, the you cannot use the said mark in any class of the 45 class. This means you cannot have a brand name similar to the mark that has been approved as a well-known mark.

Well-known trademark are trademarks which have become popular in public due to their usage. Suppose anybody other than the owner of the said mark starts using the mark even for goods/services that the owner of the mark does not provide. In that case, the public will get confused that this business is also the owner of the well-known mark. You can access the list of well-known trademarks here.

Yes, suppose you wish to do business in Company, Firm or LLP, or any other organization mode. In that case, it is not compulsory for you to wait till the formation of your organization. The trademark can be filed before forming the entity in the name of any of the founders and then later be assigned to the organization. Alternatively, the creator of the brand/founder can keep the trademark in his name only and give a right to use the brand name with or without any royalty to the entity.

Form TM-A is filed for trademark application containing applicant details, business description, brand name, logo etc. and a power of attorney in authorizing the trademark agent.

The © symbol is generally used to derive the owner's copyright over some creative work. This includes:– Artworks- Photographs– Videos– Literature– Software.

The copyright protection is valid for a lifetime.

The Nice Classification (NCL), established by the Nice Agreement (1957), is an international classification of goods and services applied for the registration of marks. This classification system helps ensure standardized practices across all 90+ member countries to determine which activity will fall under which class. The Nice Classification (NCL) list is updated annually to include new products and services and, if required to re-classify any existing product/service in any other class.

The Vienna Code is a system of classification that categorizes the visual elements of the trademark. This codification was done under the Vienna Agreement. The Vienna classification categorizes the trademark symbol into 29 broad categories. Everything from Planet representations to representations of Animals has been classified, catalogued, and categorized. This enables the trademark department to check whether a logo filed for registration is similar to another registered trademark.

International Trademark is nothing but protecting your trademark in other jurisdictions other than the home country. For India, if an applicant has business outside India or sells or exports its products or services outside India, he can get his trademark registered outside India in any other country. This registration is called international trademark registration.

One can obtain international trademark registration either by directly filing a TM application in the foreign country in the language of the foreign country or by applying the Madrid protocol. It is an international treaty designed to simplify the international trademark registration process. Using this process, registrants can make a single application in their home language that can then be applied to over 90 member countries. However, it is essential to note that the application will not grant global trademark protection. It will only give protection for countries you select in your international application and pay that country's trademark fees. The most obvious advantage of using the Madrid Protocol is a simplified application process. Costs are comparatively lesser for getting multiple registrations in different countries through WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization).