Trademark Registration

Why it matters

Without a registration your recourse against a copycat is limited, slow and expensive. With one, you have a document that establishes the right on its face.

Registering your company name at the MCA does not protect your brand. They are two separate registers with two separate purposes, and a company name gives you no trademark rights.

A registered mark is property. It can be licensed, franchised, assigned or sold, and it appears on the balance sheet as an asset rather than as goodwill nobody can point to.

It is far cheaper to register early than to rebrand later. Businesses that skip this step routinely discover the problem after the signage, packaging and domain have all been paid for.

Who needs this

Any business trading under a name it intends to keep

Businesses about to invest in packaging, signage, or a marketing push

Sellers on marketplaces, where brand registry programmes require a trademark application or registration

Anyone planning to franchise or license their brand

Businesses that have received a cease-and-desist letter, or sent one and found they had nothing to enforce

The process, step by step

Search before you file

The register is searched for identical and deceptively similar marks in the relevant classes. Almost every objection we see was findable at this stage. It is the cheapest hour in the whole process.

Choose the right classes

Protection is class-specific — there are 45 classes, and a mark registered for one does not protect you in another. Classes are chosen around what you actually trade in, not around everything you might one day do.

File Form TM-A

The application is filed online with the mark, the specification of goods or services, and the applicant details. You may use ™ from this point.

Examination

The registry examines the application and usually issues a report. Objections under the descriptiveness and similarity provisions are ordinary, not a disaster — but the reply is due within 30 days.

Publication and opposition

If the objection is cleared, the mark is published in the Trade Marks Journal. Anyone may oppose it for four months. Most marks pass through unopposed.

Registration certificate

If unopposed, the certificate is issued. Only now may you use the ® symbol.

Documents you will need

Sent to you as one consolidated checklist, not as a trickle of requests across a week.

01 The logo or wordmark file, where the mark is not plain text

02 PAN and identity proof of the applicant

03 Business registration proof, where the applicant is a company or LLP

04 Details of the goods or services actually traded

05 Date of first use, with evidence, if you are claiming prior use

06 Udyam or startup recognition certificate where a fee concession applies

07 Signed authorisation in favour of the attorney

Typical timeline

12–18 months to registration if uncontested — longer if objected or opposed

WHAT ACTUALLY MOVES IT

You can use ™ from the day of filing; ® only after registration

An examination report typically issues within one to six months

The four-month opposition window is fixed and cannot be shortened

A hearing, if one is required, is scheduled by the registry's own calendar

These are honest working ranges, not guarantees. Departmental workload, objections and document quality all move the real duration — and where an office is running behind, we say so at the quote stage rather than after you engage us.

Common mistakes

Skipping the search

Filing without searching is how you discover a conflicting mark after you have printed the packaging. The search takes an hour; the consequences of skipping it take a year.

Filing in the wrong class

A mark registered in the wrong class protects nothing you sell. Class selection is the single most consequential decision in the application.

Missing the 30-day reply window

An unanswered examination report leads to abandonment. The application is not paused — it ends, and the fee goes with it.

Assuming an available domain means an available name

Domain registration and trademark registration are unrelated systems. A free domain tells you nothing about whether the name is already someone's registered mark.

What happens after

The certificate is not the end of the matter. These are the obligations that start the day it is issued — and they are on the calendar we hand over, whether or not you engage us for that work.

Renew the registration every ten years

Use the mark as registered — significant deviation weakens your position

Watch the journal for similar marks and oppose within the four-month window where necessary

Record any assignment, licence or change of address with the registry

Keep evidence of continuous use; a mark unused for five years is vulnerable to removal

Questions we are actually asked

Can I use ® straight after filing?

No. ™ may be used from the date of filing. ® is lawful only once the mark is registered, and using it before then is itself an offence.

I have registered my company name. Do I still need a trademark?

Yes. The MCA register and the trademark register are separate. A company name stops another company being incorporated with the same name; it does not stop anyone trademarking a similar brand.

How many classes should I file in?

Only those you trade in or genuinely intend to. Filing across classes you do not use invites removal actions later and costs more up front.

What happens if someone opposes my mark?

You file a counter-statement, evidence is exchanged, and the registry hears the matter. It lengthens the process considerably, which is why the pre-filing search matters so much.