How Should You Do A Trademark Search in India?
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Awareness in regards to Intellectual Property (IP) such as trademarks has gradually increased among Indian individuals, startups, and companies from the past many years. Nowadays, almost every businessman wants to protect a mark, sign, or symbol that can identify his products or services from other entrants. Statistics showed that the number of applications being filed for the registration of trademarks is continuously increasing. Hence, it is crucial for all who wish to enjoy the issue-free benefits of Trademark Registration in India to do a detailed search prior to applying for the same. It will make the applicant confident about the uniqueness of his mark, and increase the probabilities of successful registration. The main purpose of this article is to provide the readers with clarity on how to do the Trademark Search in India.
Trademark Search
A trademark refers to a sign, symbol, logo, or expression that identifies products and services from a particular source. A Registered Trademark gives its owner the exclusive right to use his mark and prevent it from being used by others without his consent.
A Trademark Search is what allows you to know the probabilities your mark possesses for being successfully registered. Knowing such probabilities in advance will help you save your precious time and hard-earned money by not proceeding with the Trademark Registration that has little or no chance of becoming successful. It determines whether the projected mark is existing for the use in relation to certain products or services. As per Indian law, in a trademark search, similar wordmarks and similar names in a specific class can be widely searched. Moreover, a trademark search can be done in the Indian Trademark Registry Database or third-party service provider website.
Steps to do Trademark Search
To do the trademark search in India, you need to visit the official site of the General of Patents, Designs, and Trademarks. The search can be done in any of the following two ways:
- Wordmark Search: For the representation of like wordmarks. Steps to do this are as follows:
Step 1: Once the official website opens up, select the search type as ‘Wordmark’ on the top of the webpage
Step 2: In the box present next to the ‘start with’ box, enter the wordmark you want to search
Step 3: Determine the class from 1 to 45 under which your products or services fall.
Step 4: After entering the suitable class, click the ‘search option.’ A report that shows all the similar trademarks and trademark applications will be generated.
Step 5: Choose the option of ‘show detail.’ It will display all the information like application number and date, owner’s details, and trademark status, validity, and description.
Step 6: Click the ‘tick box’ button, followed by clicking the ‘report’ option to save the details of the particular trademark application.
- Phonetical Search: For the representation of phonetically similar words. It includes the wider scope of trademark search that provides the user with an assurance that no similar mark exists in case of sound of the mark. Almost every step to do phonetic search is similar to wordmark search except step 1, where you will need to select the search type on the top of the webpage as ‘Phonetic.’
Bottom Line
People often have a query whether a positive trademark search report will serve them with the 100% possibility of success. Well, the answer is no; it doesn’t. Although even the Trademark Attorneys in India and outside find the trademark search beneficial in several ways, it may not provide precise predictions. It is because sometimes, trademark search reports could not identify all potential grounds for rejection or refusal. Hence, it is better to always proceed to Trademark Registration Process under the supervision of an experienced Intellectual Property Law Firm. For more visit: https://www.kashishipr.com/
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