Trademark basics
What a trademark is, why registration matters, and how to choose a name that is easier to protect.
What is a trademark?
A trademark is a sign that tells customers who stands behind a product or service, and sets it apart from a competitor's. It can be a word, a logo, a slogan, a colour, a shape, a sound, or a combination of these. Your brand name, your logo and your tagline can each be a separate trademark.
A trademark does not have to tell people the maker's name or address. It only has to give customers a reliable link to one business they can trust.
Trademark, trade name or brand?
- Trade name: the name of your business.
- Trademark: the protected sign on your goods or services.
- Brand: the overall reputation, built from many trademarks. One large company can own thousands of registered marks across a dozen brands.
Why register your trademark?
Exclusive rights
Registration gives the legal right to stop others using the same or a confusingly similar mark for the same or related goods and services.
Easier enforcement
Acting on a registered mark is far simpler than proving rights in an unregistered one through a passing-off action.
A business asset
A registered mark can be licensed, franchised, assigned or shown to investors.
Protection for customers
Counterfeits harm your reputation, and fake medicines, cosmetics or spare parts can be dangerous.
The ® symbol
You may use ® only after registration. Until then, use ™. See the symbols guide.
Time matters
Your rights in the register date from your application, so filing early helps if someone else picks a similar name later.
Protection is limited to classes and countries
A registration covers only the goods and services listed in it, grouped into the 45 classes of the international Nice Classification. Each extra class costs an extra government fee. That is why the same common surname can belong to a fast-food chain for restaurants while another business uses it for a bookshop, as long as customers are not confused.
Rights are also territorial. An Indian registration protects you in India only. To expand abroad, you file country by country, or use the Madrid Protocol, an international system that covers India, the United States, the UAE and more than 130 other countries through one application.
Next steps
- Find your class with our free class finder.
- Selling in the US too? See US trademark filing support.
What makes a strong trademark?
The less a name describes the product, the stronger it is and the easier it is to register.
| Type of name | Example | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Invented word | Kodak, Google | Strongest and easiest to register |
| Real word used in an unrelated way | Apple for computers | Strong |
| Hints at the product | A name suggesting speed for a courier service | Usually registrable, but weaker |
| Describes the product | "Best Rice" for rice | Usually refused, unless it has become known as your brand through long use |
| The product's common name | "Furniture" for chairs | Cannot be protected |
Names that mislead buyers (for example, a "wool" name for synthetic clothing), or that copy flags, emblems or well-known brands, are also refused.
Search before you file
A quick search of the Trade Marks Registry shows whether an identical mark is already on record. A full search goes further. It looks for marks that sound or look similar, related classes, company names, domain names, and brands already in use in the market.
A search done before you spend on packaging, signage and advertising can save you a costly rebrand later. No search can guarantee registration, because the Registry examines every application independently.
Ready to check your name?
Send us your brand name and what you sell. We reply within one working day.
Start a free trademark checkAfter registration
Renew every 10 years
An Indian registration lasts 10 years from the filing date and can be renewed indefinitely.
Use it
A mark left unused for more than five years can be removed from the register on another party's application.
Watch the Journal
New applications are published in the Trade Marks Journal. A trademark watch flags similar marks so they can be opposed within the four-month window.