Updated : July 5, 2024Documents required for Trademark Registration
Overview : Registering your brand name and logo under the trademark act is necessary to provide it a legal shield against infringement or any kind of misuse of these primary point of contact and recogntion of a company. Register your business brand name and/or logo as soon as possible to put a halt on any sort of infringement and misuse of your brand name, logo or other products/services, etc.
The trademark registration documents needed for trademark registration may vary from one entity (whether individual or business) to others. The blog helps you develop better insights into required documents for trademark registration with the list provided.
A trademark plays a crucial role in a business, in fact it is an intellectual asset that deters competitors from using similar names, logo, and other marks. Simply put, you can say that trademarking your brand name and/or logo, or any other presentable business identity, provides protection to your business’s unique features. It not only restricts uses of similar logo or mark of your business by any other entity, but also provides protection to the distinctive identity enabling your potential customers to easily distinguish and recognize your brand, and/or products/services. Eventually, trademark registration with required documents for trademark registration helps build brand recognition and goodwill in the market that increases brand loyalty of the business.
Now, you understand how important a trademark registration can be and why startups are emphasizing on registering their brand name, and/or logo under trademark act. Go for trademark registration with the concerned authorities to safeguard your brand name, logo, or any slogan/mark consisting of your business objectives and morals. A number of trademark registration documents are required to apply for trademark registration in India.
What are the essential documents required for trademark registration?
Since, registration of a trademark is essential for protecting your business name or logo from any unauthorized use, or infringement. Over a period of time, it emerges as an asset for a business. Entrepreneurs may register their business name, logo or any special slogan, etc. by sticking to the list of documents required for trademark registration.
Depending upon the type and nature of the business entity, given below are various essential lists of trademark registration documents required for successful trademark registration in India.
Documents Required for Partnership Firm
For a partnership firm, the required trademark registration documents are listed below;
- Form TM-A
- LOGO (graphical representation)
- Power of Attorney (POA)
- MSME Certificate, if applicable
- Startup Recognition Certificate (DPIIT), if applicable
- Partnership Deed / Registration Certificate to Establish First Usership
- Details of Trademark Owner
- User Affidavit
Documents Required for Company/LLP
For a company or LLP, the documents required for trademark registration goes as;
- Form TM-A
- Certificate of Incorporation to establish date of first use
- Power of Attorney
- LOGO (graphical representation)
- MSME Registration Certificate, if applicable
- Startup Recognition Certificate (DPIIT), if applicable
- Details of Trademark Owner
- User Affidavit
Documents Required for Sole Proprietor or Individuals
If any sole proprietorship or individual wants to go for trademark registration, he/she needs to provide a certain set of documents that are common in both of them. Those are;
- Form TM-A
- LOGO (graphical representation)
- Power of Attorney
- Details of Trademark Owner
- User Affidavit
Common Documents Required for Trademark Registration for all types of Businesses
Though the list of documents required for trademark registration varies from one type of business entity to another, there is also a provision for common documents requirement for trademark registration for all types of businesses in India. The common documents required for trademark registration goes as;
1. Power of Attorney of an Agent
Each trademark application must contain the Power of Attorney granted to the agent who’s filing the application on the owner’s behalf.
2. Graphical Representation of Trademark
Representation of Trademark impacts customers’ behavior and preferences greatly. Therefore, before applying for trademark registration ensure that your chosen mark possesses the characteristic to be represented graphically.
3. Affidavit of the User
With a trademark application, it is necessary to attach a User Affidavit especially when the applicant claims a date of first use of trademark. A few other supporting documents also need to be submitted along with the user affidavit. Those documents include Commercial invoices and business formation-reflecting certificates, etc.
Procedure of Trademark Registration
The below-mentioned steps are needed to be followed for filing trademark registration application in India;
Step 1: Filing Trademark Application
The first step in the process of trademark registration is filing a trademark application by visiting the IPR Portal. The whole process is online and thus can be finished within a few working hours if an applicant provides each supporting signed documents properly.
Step 2: Reply to Examination Report
A trademark examiner reviews your trademark application and afterward issues a report of examination. After that, an applicant has 30 days to respond to the examination report with comprehensive supporting information and documents to enhance their application’s chances of approval.
Step 3: Show Cause Hearing
If the applicant’s submitted reply to the examination report doesn’t satisfy the examiner, then the applicant is provided a chance to attend a show cause hearing.
Step 4: Publication in Trademark Journal
After approval of the trademark application by the trademark examiner, it is published in the Trademark Journal and open to public opposition.
Step 5: Public Opposition, if any
The approved trademarks are published so that the general public can access and oppose this registration within 120 days from the publication date. The trademark will be registered in case, no opposition is raised within the specified period.
Step 6: Registration of Trademark
Eventually, the applicant receives a Certificate of Registration of his applied trademark by the Registrar of Trademarks. This Certificate comes with a validity of 10 years from the date of filing application. After that period, it can be renewed for a further ten year period.
Post obtaining your trademark registration certificate, you can use the registered trademark symbol (®) right away with your company name.
If you follow these steps for trademark registration after fulfilling the list of documents required for trademark registration, you can get your brand name or logo registered successfully within the specified time duration.
Conclusion
In this highly competitive business world, building a brand requires multitudinous efforts. And therefore, protecting a brand’s vital assets primarily Name and Logo has come up as the need of the hour. Trademark registration is the tool that provides full protection to your company’s primary point of contact and identification. It enables potential customers, business professionals or other people to know about the brand and its area of operations.
A trademark registration application for registering brand name or logo or both can be filed by an individual or business entity if they fulfill the eligibility criteria and have all the documents required for trademark registration.
