Trademark registration in Kolkata and across India

A trade mark search is the cheapest part of the process and the part most often skipped. We search the Trade Marks Registry public database for identical and phonetically similar marks in your class and in neighbouring classes, and we check company names on the MCA portal and domain availability at the same time.

Phonetic and conceptual similarity matters as much as exact matching, because an examiner and an opponent will both look at how a mark sounds and what it suggests, not only how it is spelled.

If the search shows a real conflict we say so before you spend on filing, since filing fees are not refundable regardless of outcome.

India follows the Nice Classification, with classes 1 to 34 covering goods and 35 to 45 covering services. Protection is granted only in the classes you file in, so a restaurant registering only its food class may find nothing stopping another party using the name for retail services in class 35.

We map your current business and your realistic expansion over the next few years, then recommend the classes worth the fee. Filing in every conceivable class wastes money; filing in one to save money usually costs more later.

The specification of goods and services within the class matters too. Wording that is too narrow leaves gaps, and wording that is too broad invites objection.

Applications are filed on Form TM-A through the Trade Marks Registry. The government fee for electronic filing is 4,500 rupees per class per mark for individuals, startups and small enterprises, and 9,000 rupees per class per mark for other applicants, with higher rates for physical filing. Professional fees are separate and quoted before we begin.

Once filed you receive an application number and may use the TM symbol immediately. The Registry examines the application and may raise an examination report, to which a written reply is required, sometimes followed by a hearing.

On acceptance the mark is advertised in the Trade Marks Journal, opening a four-month window for third parties to oppose. If no opposition is filed or an opposition is decided in your favour, the mark proceeds to registration and you may use the registered symbol.

Examination objections are common and are not the end of the application. They usually cite descriptiveness or lack of distinctiveness, or similarity to an earlier mark. Replies are argued on evidence, including proof of use, distinctiveness acquired through trading and the differences between the marks in question.

Oppositions are contested proceedings with pleadings, evidence and a hearing. Many settle through a coexistence arrangement, which is often the commercially sensible outcome for both sides.

Registration lasts ten years from the date of filing and is renewable on Form TM-R. We diarise renewals, because a lapsed mark can be restored only within limited windows and at additional cost.