Different Types of Trademark Applications in India

Filing a trademark application is the first step towards trademark registration in India. The process involves filing a description of the trademark to be registered, a description of the goods or services for which it is intended to be used, and all supporting documents required with the application, to the Indian Trademark Registry.

The application is then examined by the concerned authority at the Registry to ensure that the Trademark filed meets all legal requirements and is available for use by the applicant. If approved by the examiner in his examination report, the trademark is further published in the Trademark Journal for any public objections. If no public objection is received, the trademark is registered, and a certificate of registration is issued to the applicant.

The trademark application is crucial in securing exclusive rights to ownership of an applicant’s unique marks of identity just as a brand name, a logo, a label, a symbol, and so on. In India, there are three different types of trademark applications that can be filed, namely :

• Ordinary Trademark Application : This is the most common type of trademark application in India, and it is filed to protect a trademark that is intended to be used or is being used in the normal course of trade. An ordinary trademark application can be filed for a word mark, device mark, combination mark, or a three-dimensional mark.
• Collective Trademark Application : A collective trademark is used by members of a collective group or organisations to indicate that their goods or services originate from the members of the group. A collective trademark application can be filed by any association, society, or other organisations that are composed of members who have a common or shared interest in the goods or services provided under the mark.
• Certification Trademark Application : A certification trademark is used to certify that the goods or services in relation to which it is used meet a certain standard of quality, accuracy, origin, or other characteristic. Certification trademark applications can be filed by any person, including an individual, a partnership, or a company, who is competent to certify goods or services.

It is important to note that regardless of the type of trademark application filed, it must meet certain criteria to be accepted and registered by the Indian Trademark Registry Office. These criteria include distinctiveness, non-descriptiveness, and non-objectionable to any existing trademark.