Logo Registration Online in India: Process, Fees & Brand Protection
Logo registration means filing your logo with the Trade Marks Registry under the Trade Marks
Act, 1999, so that you hold exclusive statutory rights over that artwork in the goods or
services you name. You can file it online in about an hour if your artwork, applicant details
and class selection are ready. The government fee starts at ₹4,500 per class for individuals,
DPIIT-recognised startups and small enterprises.
Government Fee Per Class (Individual / Startup / Small Enterprise)
₹4,500
Registration Validity
10 Years, Renewable
Online Filing Time
About an Hour
Key takeaways
A logo is registered as a "device mark" (or a composite mark if it includes words).
It protects the design, which a plain word mark does not.
Government fees are charged per class, so a logo filed in three classes costs three
times the single-class fee.
Filing in black and white generally gives the broadest colour coverage. Filing in
colour narrows it.
You can use ™ the day you start using the logo. You can use ® only after the
registry actually registers it.
Whoever drew the logo may own the copyright in it. Get a written assignment from
your designer before you file.
What is Logo Registration and Why is it Essential?
Logo registration is the formal grant of trademark rights over a visual symbol, monogram, emblem
or stylised lettering that identifies your business. The application is made to the Controller
General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks through the IP India official portal. Once
registered, the registration is valid for 10 years and can be renewed in 10-year blocks.
Why bother, when you can simply start using the logo? Because unregistered use gives you a
weaker position. You can still bring a passing-off action, but you must prove reputation and
goodwill, and that takes evidence such as invoices, advertising spend and customer recognition.
A registered logo changes the burden. You show the certificate, and the other side has to
explain why their lookalike isn't infringing.
Registration also helps in ways that don't involve a courtroom:
Marketplaces and domain registrars take takedown complaints far more seriously when
you attach a registration number.
A bank, investor or acquirer reading your due-diligence folder treats a registered
logo as an asset rather than a hope.
You can license or franchise the logo with defined terms.
Is a logo automatically protected by copyright?
Partly. The artwork is a copyright "artistic work" from the moment it is created. But copyright
protects the drawing, not the fact that customers associate it with your business, and the first
owner is generally the person who made it. If a freelancer designed your logo and nothing was
signed, they may still own it. Under the Copyright Act, 1957, an assignment must be in writing.
Collect a signed assignment before you file, because the registry asks you to be the proprietor
of what you are registering.
If you want to register the brand name too, that is a separate filing. Our trademark
registration online service covers word marks and logos together.
Difference Between Word Mark and Logo Trademark (Device Mark)
A word mark protects the name in plain characters, whatever the font or styling. A logo
trademark (device mark) protects the specific visual form: the symbol, layout, lettering style
and, if you claim it, the colours. Many brands file both, because each blocks a different kind
of copying.
Think of a coffee brand called "Ember Roast" with a flame-shaped coffee-bean icon. The word mark
stops a competitor from selling "Ember Roasts" in any lettering. The logo registration stops
someone from copying the flame-bean icon even if they rename their product. Neither filing fully
does the other's job.
| Feature |
Word Mark Registration |
Logo / Device Mark Registration |
| What is protected |
The word(s) in any font or style |
The specific artwork, design and styling |
| Best for |
Brand name you may re-style later |
A distinctive emblem you intend to keep |
| Effect of a redesign |
Unaffected |
A major redesign may need a fresh filing |
| Scope against copycats |
Similar-sounding or similar-looking names |
Visually similar logos, even with different names |
| Application content |
Text of the mark |
Image file of the logo |
| Colour coverage |
Not applicable |
Black-and-white filing covers all colours; colour filing is limited to those
colours
|
| Cost |
Same government fee per class |
Same government fee per class |
Two points trip people up. First, if your logo contains the brand name, the registry may ask you
to disclaim exclusive rights over descriptive words inside it. Second, if you rebrand the
typeface later, check whether the new version is still the "same" mark. A small refresh usually
survives. A new concept does not.
Should I file the logo in black and white or colour?
File in black and white unless colour is truly what makes the logo distinctive. Under Section 10
of the Trade Marks Act, a mark registered without any colour limitation is treated as registered
in all colours. That gives you room to change brand colours later without losing coverage. File
in colour only when the colour combination is the identifying feature.
Step-by-Step Procedure to Register a Logo Online in India
The logo registration process online has seven stages, and most delay comes from stages 1 and 5.
1
Search first
Use the registry's public trademark search to check for identical or similar marks in
your field. Search both the words and the visual elements, such as "crown" or "leaf"
device descriptions.
2
Finalise the artwork
Prepare a clean, high-resolution image of the logo as you will actually use it. Don't
file a draft you'll revise next month.
3
Choose your classes
India uses the Nice Classification, which has 45 classes: 1–34 for goods and 35–45 for
services (see the WIPO Nice Classification). A clothing brand with an online store
usually needs Class 25 for apparel and Class 35 for retail services.
4
File Form TM-A online
Enter applicant details, upload the logo, state the goods or services, state the date
you first used the mark (or say "proposed to be used"), attach a power of attorney (Form
TM-48) if an agent files for you, and pay the fee.
5
Respond to the examination report
The examiner checks the mark against Sections 9 and 11 of the Act and issues a report.
Many logo applications draw an objection. A reasoned reply is due within the period
stated in the report, so don't let it sit. Our trademark objection reply service handles
this stage.
6
Journal publication and opposition window
An accepted mark is advertised in the Trade Marks Journal. Anyone can oppose within
three months, extendable by one month. If someone does, you file a counter-statement and
the matter goes to evidence and hearing.
7
Registration certificate
If there is no opposition, or you win it, the registry registers the mark and issues the
certificate.
Timelines vary with registry workload and whether anyone objects or opposes, so treat any quoted
number of months as an estimate. An unopposed, uncontested logo filing is the fastest path. Each
objection hearing or opposition adds time.
Can I file a logo trademark application myself?
Yes. The portal allows direct filing by applicants. The risk is not the form but the decisions
behind it: wrong class, a thin goods description, or a similarity you didn't spot in the search.
Errors in the goods description are hard to widen later, so it pays to get it right at the
start.
What can cause a logo to be refused?
The usual grounds are similarity to an earlier mark (Section 11), or lack of distinctiveness,
such as a plain geometric shape or a generic image of the product itself (Section 9). Marks that
look deceptive, or that resemble national emblems and protected symbols, face refusal as well. A
logo built around one memorable, unusual device passes more easily than one built from stock
icons.
Documents Required for Logo Registration
The documents required for logo registration depend on who the applicant is, but the core set is
short:
Logo file: a clear JPEG or similar image of the exact
artwork.
Applicant identity: PAN and address proof for an individual;
incorporation certificate or partnership deed or LLP agreement for an entity.
Power of attorney (Form TM-48): signed, if an attorney or agent
files for you.
Goods or services description and the class(es).
Date of first use with supporting proof such as an invoice, a
dated brochure or website capture, if you claim prior use.
Startup or MSME proof: a DPIIT recognition certificate from
Startup India or an Udyam registration from the Udyam portal, if you want the
reduced fee.
Logo assignment or designer declaration: if someone else created
the artwork.
The last item isn't strictly demanded by the form, but skipping it is how disputes begin. A
designer who later claims ownership can cloud a perfectly good filing.
Logo Registration Fees Breakdown (Startups vs Companies)
The logo trademark registration cost has two parts: the government fee, which is fixed, and the
professional fee, which varies by provider. Startups, individuals, sole proprietors and small
enterprises pay a concessional fee of ₹4,500 per class for e-filing, half the ₹9,000 per class
that companies, LLPs and larger firms pay. Physical filing costs ₹5,000 per class for the lower
category and ₹10,000 for the higher one.
| Applicant type |
E-filing fee per class |
Physical filing fee per class |
|
Individual, sole proprietor, DPIIT startup, small enterprise
|
₹4,500 |
₹5,000 |
|
Company, LLP, partnership firm, other entities
|
₹9,000 |
₹10,000 |
Fees are charged per class, so scope drives cost. A logo in three classes costs ₹13,500 for a
startup and ₹27,000 for a company on e-filing, before professional charges. To claim the lower
slab, a startup needs DPIIT recognition and an MSME needs Udyam registration. Attach the
certificate when you file.
Other costs can arise later:
Objection hearings and replies add professional charges, not government fees.
Expedited examination is available on request for an extra government fee. As I
understand the Rules, it is ₹20,000 for the lower category and ₹40,000 for others.
Confirm this on the official fee schedule before you rely on it.
Renewal falls due every 10 years, with its own fee per class.
Fee rates have been revised before and can be again. Check the fee schedule on the
IP India portal on the day you file.
When to Use ™ Symbol vs ® Symbol After Filing
Use ™ as soon as you start using the logo as a brand, including right after you file. Use ®
only once the registry has registered the mark. Filing an application, even one with an
application number, does not entitle you to ®.
The ™ symbol has no registration requirement. It signals that you claim the logo as a
trademark. A common mistake is to treat ® as a "pending" marker. It isn't. Section 107 of the
Trade Marks Act makes it an offence to falsely represent a mark as registered, with punishment
of up to three years' imprisonment, a fine, or both. Putting ® on packaging before your
certificate arrives is a risk with no upside.
The practical rule: ™ from day one of use, ® the day the certificate issues, and an updated
artwork file for your packaging team when it does.
Do I need to renew a logo registration?
Yes. Registration lasts 10 years from the date of application, and you renew for further 10-year
terms by filing the renewal request with the prescribed fee. Put the date in a calendar. A
lapsed mark can be restored, but only within a limited window and at added cost.
Why Choose LegalDev India for Logo Registration?
LegalDev India's legal team has more than 10 years of experience in intellectual property law,
brand protection, and trademark logo registrations before IP India. For you, that means the
decisions that decide a logo application get made by people who have handled these filings
before the Registry: search interpretation, class selection, goods description and objection
strategy.
Here is how we handle a logo filing:
We run a similarity search on both the name and the visual elements before you pay
any government fee.
We tell you plainly if your logo is likely to draw an objection and what that could
mean for timing.
We check the designer-ownership position so the application is filed by the right
proprietor.
We prepare the objection reply if the examiner raises one, so you are not starting
a new engagement mid-process.
Tell us your brand, your classes and your timeline, and we will confirm the scope and the cost
in writing before filing.