Cost of Trademark Registration – An Overview

Trademark is a part of IPR (Intellectual Property Right) which intends to safeguard the owner of the products and services from infringement. It comprises a name, word, or sign which distinguishes goods from the goods of other companies. A Trademark is a beneficial tool for the marketing of the goods and makes it easier for the owners and the clients, and increase the financing of the businesses. The cost of Trademark Registration can be divided between professional and Government fees. The former is fixed no matter where you live in India later; one will depend on the Trademark Attorneys. Paying too much to any expert for Trademark Registration can seem like a misuse of money and time; however, if you didn’t get the correct direction at the commencement, then you may finish up spending much more. Scroll down to check the Cost of Trademark Registration in India.

What does Trademark Deliver in Terms of Claims and Exclusive Rights?

A Trademark offers an owner with the exclusive rights to use in any required manner or to allow others to use it by accepting payment. However, suppose a proprietor desires to prevent its Trademark from being used unauthorized. In that case, they have to register their Trademark so that upon Trademark Infringement, they may get relief.

Any individual who claims to be the proprietor of the goods and services has to concern in writing to the appropriate registrar in a consented manner. The Trademark application must comprise the name of the goods, services or mark, class of goods and services, name & address of the applicant and time of use the Trademark. A Trademark Registrar can be an individual approved by Central Government by announcing it in the Official Gazette.

Cost of Trademark Registration

1. Government Fee:

Application for Collective Mark or Trademark Registration or Certification Mark or Series of Trademark for Arrangement of Goods and Services consisting in one or more than one class.

For individual or Small Enterprise or Start-up:

• Physical Filing – Rs. 5000/-.
• E-filing or Online Filing – Rs. 4500/-.

In all Other Classes:

Note: Fee for each class and each mark is:

• Physical Filing – Rs. 10,000/-.
• E-Filing – Rs. 9000/-.

Cost of Trademark for DSC (Digital Signature Certificate)

The Registry of Trademark charges Rs. 4000/– application. If you are registering for brand name and logo individually, it will be counted as two application forms for registration. If the brand name is registered within the logo & it’s all you need to register, it will be a sole application. You are required to pay by the several classes you are incorporating your Trademark in.

• Professional Fee:

You are needed to pay the professional fees for the registration of the Trademark. Such fees are to be paid because the Trademark Lawyer does the Trademark Search on your behalf. Intellectual Property Attorneys are learning with the Trademark database, and they will be able to notify you whether the logo or name is available. It is considered because if the Government raises an objection, you will conclude by paying a lot of money.

Trademark Opposition

Opposition Proceedings

Upon publication of an application in the Trademarks Journal, the Trademark application is open for opposition by third parties. Any individual may file an opposition to Trademark Registration with a time of three months from the publication date of the Trademark in the Trademark Journal. This time may be extended by one month, at the discretion of the Trademark Registrar, furnished the opponent files the extension request. The Trademark Act^[1] also provides that opposition to Trademark Registration may be filed by any individual whether he or she has a personal interest. Rule 47 to Rule 57 give detailed law and procedure concerning the opposition proceedings and should be remembered dealing with such proceedings. The challenger should set out a case on the basis of the grounds for opposing the application of Trademark. The challenger is at liberty to establish any ground to support his or her opposition, furnished that such ground is based on a law provision. Grounds that may be taken in a proceeding of opoosition comprises.

Grounds under Section 9 of the Act, 1999

A challenger, on the basis of the facts of the case, can take any of the levels listed in Section 9. Some of the levels are that the mark cannot be represented graphically or is barren of unique character or elaborative to the trade or the mark is of such nature as to deceive the public. It causes confusion as the mark comprises matters that can hurt religious feelings or includes outrageous or obscene matters, or its use is forbidden under the Emblems Act.

If the mark is elite of a shape of goods, then it will outcomes from the nature of the goods. The mark assumed to be constituted by the shapes of goods is essential to get the technical outcome, or the mark alleged to be constituted by the shapes of goods is essential to get the technical outcome or the mark or the mark alleged to be formed by the shape of goods gives appropriate value to the goods.

Section 11: Prior Rights of the Challengers

The grounds under this section are based upon the prior rights of the challengers. If the challenger has registered a Trademark, then the registration’s details should be mentioned in the Notice of Opposition, mentioning that the Trademark is similar to a registered Trademark. Concerning the similar goods or services or if it is similar to a well-established Trademark, then the law of passing off can be put in the case of Trademark Infringement.

Section 18: Untrue Claims

If the candidate claim to proprietorship of the Trademark is untrue, or the candidate’s claim to the utilisation of the mark is incorrect, or the candidate has no bona fide intention to use the mark concerning all the goods and services, for which Trademark Registration is to be sought. A number of other grounds can also be considered which are subject to complete refusal.

Trademark Objection Cost

The Government can raise a Trademark Objection to your application for different reasons, but in the case of objection, it is because of similarity in the name of an existing application or registration. Currently, if there is an objection, the Trademark Registrar will not charge, but you are needed to pay the Trademark Lawyer to get the objection removed. The lawyer fees will depend on the difficulty in the case; however, usually, it is not more than Rs. 5000.

Trademark Opposition Cost

It is a lot more difficult than Trademark Objection. Usually, the opposition is an objection raised by a company or business other than the Government. It usually states that an opponent or any other business considers that your application negotiates its rights. This includes several meetings with the Registrar of Trademark and concludes costing you more legal fees. For the first affidavit, you have to pay at least Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 10,000/.

Conclusion

You must plan out your budget whenever you desire to apply for a fresh Trademark application as the cost of Trademark Registration. If you don’t have a DSC or Digital Signature Certificate, then you should apply for a new one as early as possible. At the same time, you need to be prepared to pay the cost of Trademark Registration to the service provider who is going to handle all the Trademark application process.

Read our article:Recognise Your Suitable Class for Trademark Registration