Service Overview
Trademark registration is the legal process of getting your brand name, logo, tagline or other mark recorded with the Trade Marks Registry under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, so you get the exclusive right to use it nationwide and can stop anyone else from copying it. The government fee is ₹4,500 per class for individuals, DPIIT-recognised startups and Udyam-registered MSMEs, and ₹9,000 per class for companies and LLPs, filed on Form TM-A through the IP India portal. A clean, unopposed application usually takes 8 to 18 months to reach full registration, though you can start using the ™ symbol the same day you file.
This page covers the complete process: search, classification, filing, objections, opposition, the certificate, renewal, and the mistakes that cost people their brand name. We wrote it from ten years of researching trademark and IP filing procedure for founders and small businesses across India, and we have kept the tone the way we'd explain it to a client sitting across the table, not the way a government form reads.
Timeline
8-18 months, unopposed
Govt. Fee (per class)
₹4,500 / ₹9,000
Filed On
Form TM-A, IP India Portal
What Is Trademark Registration and Why Does It Matter?
A trademark is any sign capable of distinguishing your goods or services from someone else's: a word, a logo, a slogan, a combination of letters and colours, or in rarer cases a sound or shape. Registration is what converts that sign from something you merely use into something you legally own across the whole country, in the classes you registered it under.
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What rights do you actually get? - the exclusive right to use the mark for the goods or services in your class, the right to sue for infringement in a civil court (not just rely on weaker "passing off" claims), the right to license or franchise the brand, and the right to stop customs from letting counterfeit goods bearing your mark into the country. An unregistered mark still has some protection under common law (passing off), but proving passing off means proving reputation and confusion from scratch every time. A registration certificate does that proving for you.
Is trademark registration mandatory in India? No. You can run a business and use a brand name without ever registering it. Registration is not a licensing requirement like GST or Udyam. It is a protective step, and in our experience the businesses that regret skipping it are almost always the ones that grew fast enough to attract a copycat.
Who Can Apply for a Trademark Registration in India?
Anyone with a genuine intention to use the mark can apply.
Individuals and sole proprietors, applying in their own name, at the discounted ₹4,500 per class government fee
DPIIT-recognised startups, who also get the ₹4,500 rate on production of a valid Startup India certificate at the time of filing
Udyam-registered MSMEs, same concession, on production of the Udyam certificate
Private limited companies, LLPs, partnerships and trusts, who pay the full ₹9,000 per class rate regardless of turnover or size
Can I Register a Trademark Before Registering My Company?
Yes, and this is worth knowing early. You do not need a company or LLP to exist before you file a trademark application. Many founders file as an individual applicant first (to lock the name down while private limited company registration paperwork is still moving) and later use a formal trademark assignment to transfer the mark to the company once it is formed. If you plan to do this, keep a paper trail of the assignment; it will matter if the mark's ownership is ever questioned.
What Can You Actually Register as a Trademark?
A brand name or business name, in plain text (a "wordmark")
A logo or device mark, the visual design alone or combined with text
A tagline or slogan, provided it is distinctive rather than a generic phrase describing the product
A combination mark, word plus logo plus colour scheme filed together
Non-traditional marks such as a sound, a shape, or a specific colour combination, which India does allow for under the Trade Marks Rules, though these face a higher evidentiary bar and are filed far less often than word or device marks
Registering the wordmark and the logo as two separate applications, rather than one combined mark, is usually the stronger strategy: it means you can still enforce the name even if you later redesign the logo, and vice versa.
How Do You Check If Your Brand Name Is Available? (Trademark Search)
A trademark search is the single most skipped step, and it is the reason most objections and oppositions happen in the first place. Before you file, search the IP India Public Search portal (tmrsearch.ipindia.gov.in) for your proposed name across every class relevant to your business.
The portal offers three search types, and running only one of them is where most self-filed applications go wrong:
Wordmark search
Checks for identical or near-identical text matches.
Phonetic search
Checks for names that sound alike even when spelled differently ("Kwik" surfacing "Quick," for example). This is the search type people skip most often, and it is the one that catches the objections that actually stick.
Vienna Code search
Checks for visually similar logos, using a six-digit code that categorises the image elements in a device mark.
Why Does a Prior Search Matter So Much?
If an identical or deceptively similar mark already exists in your class, filing anyway does not make it disappear; it just delays the bad news by several months, after you have already paid the government fee, and after you have possibly started printing packaging with a name you cannot keep. Running all three search types across every class you plan to file in, before you spend a rupee, is the cheapest insurance in the entire process.
What Happens If a Similar Trademark Already Exists?
You have three realistic options: pick a different name or a distinguishable variant, negotiate a coexistence or consent letter with the existing owner (workable when the goods or use are genuinely different), or proceed anyway and prepare for an examination objection under Section 11, which is a much harder position to argue from than starting clean.
How Do You Choose the Right Trademark Class?
India follows the Nice Classification system, which currently runs 45 classes: Classes 1 to 34 cover goods, and Classes 35 to 45 cover services. The Nice Classification's 13th edition took effect from 1 January 2026 and reshuffled some goods and services headings, so if you are working from an old class list, check it against the current edition before you file.
How do you find the right class for your business?
Match your actual goods or services to the class heading, not the class number you've seen a competitor use. A software product usually needs Class 9 (downloadable software), and if you also sell the same product as a cloud service, you separately need Class 42 (SaaS/technology services); filing only in Class 9 for a purely cloud-delivered product is one of the most common class mismatches we come across, and it is exactly the kind of objection that costs an applicant a second filing fee.
Can you register in multiple classes?
Yes, and each class is filed and paid for separately, even within the same application form. If your brand covers clothing (Class 25) and retail of that clothing (Class 35), that is two class fees, not one.
What happens if you choose the wrong class?
The examiner will raise an objection during examination, and correcting the class typically means filing a formal amendment and, in some cases, a completely fresh application in the correct class, which means paying the government fee again and losing your original filing date for that class. Getting the class right the first time is worth the extra ten minutes of research it takes.
What Is the Step-by-Step Trademark Registration Process in India?
From search to certificate, the process runs through the IP India portal.
1
Trademark search
Across wordmark, phonetic and Vienna Code (device) modes, in every relevant class.
2
Select the class
Select the correct class or classes for your goods and services.
3
Prepare documents
Prepare your documents (see the documents section below).
4
File Form TM-A
File Form TM-A on the IP India e-filing portal, along with the government fee.
5
Get your application number
Receive your application number, which you can start monitoring immediately, and from this point you may use the ™ symbol.
6
Examination
A Trade Marks Examiner checks the application against absolute grounds (Section 9) and relative grounds (Section 11, conflicting prior marks).
7
Respond to an objection, if raised
Within 30 days of the examination report.
8
Publication in the Trade Marks Journal
Once the examiner is satisfied.
9
Opposition period
Four months during which any third party can oppose the registration.
10
Registration certificate issued
If the application clears the opposition window unopposed (or the opposition is decided in the applicant's favour).
What Documents Do You Need for Trademark Registration?
Documentation depends on who is applying and what kind of mark you're filing.
| Applicant Type |
Core Documents |
| Individual / sole proprietor | Identity proof (PAN, Aadhaar), address proof, a signed Power of Attorney (Form TM-48) if a trademark agent is filing on your behalf |
| Company / LLP | Certificate of incorporation, PAN of the entity, board resolution or authorisation letter authorising the signatory, Form TM-48 |
| Startups / MSMEs | Everything the entity type above needs, plus a valid DPIIT recognition certificate or a valid MSME/Udyam registration certificate, to claim the ₹4,500 concession |
| Logo applications | A clear image of the logo (JPEG, standard size specifications on the portal) |
| Marks claiming prior use | A User Affidavit stating the date since when the mark has actually been in use, along with supporting proof (invoices, packaging, advertisements, website archives) |
A user affidavit is only required if you are claiming a "date of first use" earlier than the filing date; if you are filing on a "proposed to be used" basis, you skip it, but you also start with a slightly weaker position if a conflicting mark shows up later, since you have no prior-use date to fall back on.
How Much Does Trademark Registration Cost in India?
The statutory government fee, prescribed under the First Schedule of the Trade Marks Rules, 2017, has two tiers for e-filing:
| Applicant Category |
Govt. Fee / Class (e-filing) |
Govt. Fee / Class (physical filing) |
| Individual, DPIIT startup, Udyam MSME |
₹4,500 |
₹5,000 |
| Company, LLP, partnership, trust |
₹9,000 |
₹10,000 |
A few things about this fee structure that catch people out:
- It is charged per class, per mark. Three marks across two classes each is six separate fee payments, not one.
- The MSME/startup concession only applies at the initial filing stage; renewal, at ₹9,000 per class, is charged at the same rate for every applicant category, with no concession.
- Filing an objection reply itself carries no separate government fee, but a Notice of Opposition (Form TM-O), whether you are filing one or defending against one, carries its own fee, roughly ₹2,700 to ₹4,500 per class depending on applicant category.
- The government fee is the floor, not the total. A professional or attorney fee for search, filing, and handling any objections sits on top of it, and varies by provider and how much post-filing support you need.
We are not going to quote a single "total cost" figure here, because the honest answer depends on how many classes you need and whether an objection or opposition comes up along the way. Anyone who gives you one flat number before running your specific search and class analysis is guessing.
How Do You Apply for Trademark Registration Online?
The application is filed on Form TM-A, through the IP India trademark e-filing portal. E-filing is the standard route now; it costs less per class than physical filing and gives you an instant digital acknowledgment and application number you can track immediately.
Can You File It Yourself, or Should You Hire Help?
Nothing legally stops an individual from filing their own application. Where we see self-filed applications run into trouble is class selection and the wording of the goods/services description, both of which drive most of the objections that follow. If your brand name is genuinely distinctive, your class is straightforward, and you are comfortable navigating a government portal, self-filing is workable. If your name is even mildly descriptive, or your business spans two or three classes, professional filing tends to save more in re-filing costs than it charges in fees.
How Long Does Trademark Registration Take?
An unopposed, unobjected application typically takes 8 to 18 months from filing to registration certificate. That range moves depending on:
- Registry backlog at the time you file, which varies by region and by year.
- An examination objection, which can add roughly 3 to 8 months while you respond and, if needed, attend a hearing.
- An opposition, which is the biggest timeline risk: a contested opposition proceeding, taken through evidence and a hearing to a final order, commonly adds 18 to 24 months on top of the base timeline.
- How complete your original filing was, since incomplete descriptions or missing documents generate their own round of correspondence before examination even starts.
You can use the ™ symbol from the day you file, regardless of how long registration takes; the ® symbol is reserved for marks that have actually been granted a registration certificate.
How Do You Check Your Trademark Application Status?
Track your application on the IP India portal using your application number. The status field moves through a fairly standard sequence, and each stage means something specific:
| Status Shown |
What It Means |
| Formalities Check Pass | Your application has cleared the basic paperwork check and is queued for examination |
| Marked for Exam | An examiner has been assigned and examination is underway |
| Objected | The examiner has raised a Section 9 or Section 11 concern; a reply is due within 30 days |
| Accepted and Advertised | The mark cleared examination and is published in the Trade Marks Journal, opening the four-month opposition window |
| Opposed | A third party has filed a Notice of Opposition during that window |
| Registered | The mark cleared the opposition period unopposed, or won a contested opposition, and the certificate has issued |
| Abandoned | A required deadline (an objection reply, or an opposition counter-statement) was missed, and the application has lapsed |
You can also monitor your application or registration status at any point using our trademark status check tool.
What Happens If You Get a Trademark Objection?
An objection is an internal Registry concern, raised by the Examiner, not by another business. It comes in an Examination Report and cites one of two grounds:
Section 9 (absolute grounds)
The mark is considered too generic, descriptive, or non-distinctive to function as a trademark on its own.
Section 11 (relative grounds)
The mark conflicts with an identical or deceptively similar mark that is already registered or pending in the same or a related class.
How Do You Reply to a Trademark Objection?
You have 30 days from the date the examination report is uploaded to file a written reply, addressing each ground the examiner raised, supported by evidence where relevant (prior use invoices, distinctiveness arguments, differences from the cited conflicting mark). Miss the 30-day window and the application proceeds toward abandonment under Section 132; there is no automatic extension, and asking for one after the fact rarely helps.
Is an Objection the Same as a Rejection?
No. An objection is a query you get the chance to answer, and most objections are cleared through a reply, sometimes followed by a trademark hearing before the Examiner. A rejection is what happens if the examiner remains unsatisfied after your reply and any hearing; even then, you retain the right to appeal.
What Is Trademark Opposition, and How Is It Different from an Objection?
Opposition happens after your mark clears examination and gets published in the Trade Marks Journal. From that point, any person, not just a competitor or an earlier registered owner, has four months to file a Notice of Opposition on Form TM-O. This four-month window is fixed by Section 21(1) of the Trade Marks Act and, since a 2017 rules amendment removed the Registrar's discretion to extend it, it genuinely cannot be extended for any reason.
| Factor |
Objection |
Opposition |
| Raised by | The Trade Marks Examiner | Any third party |
| Stage | Before Journal publication | After Journal publication |
| Legal basis | Sections 9 and 11 | Section 21 |
| Your deadline | 30 days to reply | 2 months to file a counter-statement, once you're served |
| Nature | Administrative, between you and the Registrar | Quasi-judicial, an adversarial proceeding between two parties |
| What happens if you miss the deadline | Application heads toward abandonment | Application is deemed abandoned, with no condonation |
If your mark is opposed, the harshest deadline in the entire process is the counter-statement: once the opposition notice is served on you, you have two months, non-extendable, to file your defence, or the application is deemed abandoned by default, regardless of the merits of your case. Read our full breakdown of the trademark opposition process if you are already facing one.
What Happens After Your Trademark Is Registered?
Once registered, you receive a Registration Certificate, and you may now use the ® symbol next to the mark, wherever it appears on packaging, marketing, invoices or your website. Using ® before actual registration is a misrepresentation and can itself invite legal trouble; ™ is the correct symbol to use for anything still pending.
Registration does not physically stop someone else from ever using a similar name; it gives you the legal standing to make them stop. If you spot infringement, the usual path is a cease-and-desist notice first, escalating to a civil infringement suit (and, for counterfeit goods, a criminal complaint or a customs recordal) if the infringer does not comply.
How Long Is a Trademark Valid, and How Do You Renew It?
A trademark registration is valid for 10 years from the date you originally applied, and it can be renewed indefinitely for further 10-year terms; there is no cap on how many times you can renew.
When and How Do You Renew?
File Form TM-R on the IP India portal, anytime up to a year before expiry. See our dedicated trademark renewal page for the full form-by-form walkthrough.
The renewal government fee is ₹9,000 per class, for every applicant category; the startup/MSME discount does not carry over to renewal.
Miss the expiry date, and you still have a 6-month grace period to renew with a late surcharge, before the mark is removed from the Register altogether.
Once removed, restoring a lapsed mark is possible in a limited post-expiry window, but it is a harder, costlier process than simply renewing on time, and after that window closes the mark is gone for good and open for anyone else to file. Set a calendar reminder at the 12-month mark before expiry. This is the single easiest deadline in the entire trademark lifecycle to protect against, and also, in our experience, one of the most commonly missed once a brand's early team moves on and nobody owns the renewal calendar.
Trademark Registration vs Other Business Registrations
People conflate these often enough that it is worth being direct about it:
- Trademark registration is not company registration. Registering a company or LLP with the MCA protects your legal entity name from being used by another company with the identical name; it does nothing to stop a competitor from using your brand name on their products under a differently named entity.
- Trademark registration is not GST registration. GST registration is a tax compliance requirement, unrelated to brand ownership.
- Registering your company name does not register your brand name. These can be, and often are, two entirely different things (a company called "Bright Ventures Private Limited" trading under the brand "Zenko").
- Owning a domain name does not give you trademark rights. A domain purchase is a hosting arrangement, not a legal ownership claim, and someone else can still register the same name as a trademark and, in principle, come after your domain use.
Common Mistakes That Delay or Kill Trademark Applications
- Filing without a proper search, especially skipping the phonetic search, which is where most avoidable objections originate
- Choosing a generic or purely descriptive name ("Fresh Bakery" for a bakery) that struggles to clear Section 9 on its own merits
- Filing in the wrong class, or in too narrow a class that misses how the business actually operates
- Getting applicant details wrong, particularly filing in an individual's name when the business already operates as a private limited company, which complicates a later assignment
- Missing the 30-day objection reply window, the single most common cause of an otherwise strong application going abandoned
- Not monitoring the Trade Marks Journal after publication, and finding out about an opposition only once the two-month counter-statement clock is already running low
- Letting a renewal deadline slip because ownership of the "who tracks this" task was never assigned inside the business
- Not knowing that a registered mark can be corrected, rather than re-filed from scratch, when a genuine clerical error slips through; that is what a trademark rectification application is for
Get Professional Assistance for Trademark Registration
If you would rather have this handled end to end, this is what a trademark filing engagement typically covers:
Trademark search, across wordmark, phonetic and Vienna Code modes, in every class your business actually needs
Class selection, matched to your real goods and services rather than a generic template
Application filing, Form TM-A prepared and filed correctly the first time
Documentation, including the Power of Attorney, DPIIT/Udyam certificates where applicable, and any user affidavit
Examination reply, if an objection is raised, drafted to the 30-day deadline
Opposition defence, if a third party opposes your mark after publication
Registration certificate follow-through, tracking the application to final issuance
Renewal management, so the 10-year clock never quietly runs out on you
Talk to our trademark team to get your search and class recommendation before you file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Trademark registration is the legal process of recording your brand name, logo or other distinctive mark with the Trade Marks Registry, giving you exclusive nationwide rights to it in your registered class. It matters because it converts a brand you merely use into a legal asset you can enforce in court, license, and stop others from copying.
The government fee is ₹4,500 per class for individuals, DPIIT startups and Udyam MSMEs, and ₹9,000 per class for companies and LLPs, filed online. A professional or attorney fee sits on top of this and varies by provider; the total also depends on how many classes you need and whether an objection or opposition comes up.
You file Form TM-A on the IP India e-filing portal, after completing a trademark search and selecting the correct Nice class, along with the applicable government fee and supporting documents. E-filing is cheaper than physical filing and gives you an instant application number to track.
An unopposed, unobjected application typically takes 8 to 18 months from filing to certificate. An examination objection can add roughly 3 to 8 months, and a contested opposition can add 18 to 24 months on top of that.
Yes. Individuals and sole proprietors can apply directly, in their own name, and qualify for the discounted ₹4,500 per class government fee.
Yes. You can file as an individual applicant and later assign the mark to your company once it is incorporated, provided you keep proper documentation of that assignment.
Search the IP India Public Search portal using all three search types: wordmark (identical/similar text), phonetic (sound-alike names), and Vienna Code (similar logos), across every class relevant to your business, before you file.
There are 45 classes under the Nice Classification: Classes 1 to 34 cover goods, and Classes 35 to 45 cover services.
Yes, but each class is a separate government fee, charged per class per mark, even within a single application form.
Individuals need identity and address proof plus a signed Power of Attorney (Form TM-48). Companies and LLPs need their incorporation certificate, PAN, and an authorisation letter or board resolution. Startups and MSMEs additionally need their DPIIT or Udyam certificate to claim the discounted fee. A logo image is needed for device marks, and a user affidavit is needed only if you are claiming prior use.
Yes. A logo can be registered on its own as a device mark, or combined with your brand name as a composite mark; registering the wordmark and logo as two separate applications generally gives stronger, more flexible protection than one combined filing.
Yes, provided the name is distinctive enough to clear Section 9 (not purely generic or descriptive of the product itself) and does not conflict with an existing mark under Section 11.
The Examiner issues an Examination Report citing Section 9 or Section 11 concerns, and you have 30 days to file a written reply. If the examiner remains unsatisfied, a hearing may be scheduled; only after that does the application risk actual refusal.
An objection is raised internally by the Registry's Examiner, before publication, and gives you 30 days to reply. Opposition is filed by any third party, after your mark is published in the Trade Marks Journal, within a fixed four-month window, and if you are opposed, you get two non-extendable months to file a counter-statement.
Track it on the IP India portal using your application number. The status moves through stages like Formalities Check Pass, Marked for Exam, Objected, Accepted and Advertised, Opposed, and finally Registered (or Abandoned, if a deadline is missed).
A registration is valid for 10 years from the date of application, and it can be renewed for further 10-year terms indefinitely.
Yes, using Form TM-R, at a government fee of ₹9,000 per class, filed up to a year before expiry, with a 6-month grace period (plus surcharge) available if the deadline is missed.
You can use ™ as soon as you file your application, even before it is examined or registered, to signal that you are claiming the mark.
Only once the Registry has actually issued a Registration Certificate. Using ® before that point misrepresents your legal status and can create its own liability.
You can send a cease-and-desist notice, and if that does not resolve it, file a civil infringement suit; for counterfeit goods, a criminal complaint or a customs recordal to block imports is also available. A registered mark gives you a much stronger legal footing for all of these than relying on unregistered common-law rights alone.
Conclusion
A registered trademark converts a brand you merely use into a legal asset you can enforce, license, and defend - and the process, run cleanly, starts with a proper three-mode search and the right class, not a guess. Most avoidable delays trace back to a skipped phonetic search, a mismatched class, or a missed 30-day or two-month deadline once an objection or opposition lands.
If you'd rather not navigate the IP India portal, class selection, and Registry timelines alone, LegalDev India's trademark team can handle the search, filing, and any objection or opposition response, end to end.