Overview of Wordmark Registration in India

It is a category of trademark registration in India. In Wordmark registration, only the words and letters can be trademarked. This clearly means that you can register the brand name for your brand. In wordmark registration, the font and style of the word are not emphasised; instead, you need to select a unique name for your company and get it trademarked. As soon as the trademark owner receives the trademark registration, he gets the exclusive rights of using it, and no other can use the same trademark.

Trademark registration does the work of saving the company from any legal concerns and helps a company to get a unique image. It protects the company's goodwill, goods, and services. The Trademark Act, 1999, governs the trademark registration process.

Types of Trademarks

There are various types of trademarks that can be registered in India. Here is a list:

• Words mark or Service marks

Words mark is generally the brand name of the company that a person uses to identify his company along with the goods and services offered by the company. On the contrary, a service mark is a mark that service companies use to identify the services that a company offers.

• Product mark

Any product company can use this product mark. This mark is applied to the goods or products offered by the company. Moreover, there are 45 trademark classes, and 1-34 classes of trademarks represent the products category. Therefore, product mark is filed under 1-34 trademark classes based on the product category. It distinguishes one product from another.

• Logo

A logo or symbol is a printed design that denotes the motive or vision of the company. It is the figure that specifically talks about the firm's name, service, or product.

• Collective marks

Collective marks are the marks or signs that distinguish a company from other companies. It creates an identity of the company that is unique from other companies and makes it easy for people to recognise it.

• Certification marks

Certification marks are the marks that are used to define the quality or standard of the product or services offered by a company in order to provide assurance to the customers about the quality standards of the organisation. 

Advantages of Wordmark Registration

Wordmark registration has a lot of advantages, and a few major advantages are listed below:

• Protection of Intellectual Property

Trademark registration provides protection for the intellectual property of the company. Once a company registers a trademark, no other person uses the same mark. The owner of the trademark has all the rights to sue a person who uses their registered trademark in a court of law. Moreover, the registered trademark serves as the notice of information to the general public that this mark has been registered and no other person can use it without the owner's prior permission.

• Public representation of the brand

The owner of the trademark has the right to represent his brand in front of the public on any national platform. Moreover, once the trademark is registered, the trademark authority does not allow any other person to file a similar trademark.

• Legal Remedies

The trademark owner can restrict others from using the same mark, and if someone does so, he can sue the offender and recover up to triple damages. The owner is the only one who has exclusive rights over the trademark.

• Flexible

Wordmark is flexible, and the words or letters can be represented in any font or style, and there is no restriction to that. But the owner must pay proper attention to the spelling, as once the application is filed, the trademark will be registered only for the word that has been mentioned in the application.

Eligibility for Wordmark Registration

As understood, a wordmark is a category of trademark, and the process of registration of a wordmark is the same as that of a trademark, but the requirements for wordmark registration are different depending upon the entity. Let us study them one by one:

• An Individual

A person can also obtain the wordmark registration even if he does not owe any company. He can get the trademark registered for any future event.

• Partnership Firm

A firm can also obtain the wordmark registration, but the condition is that the names of all the partners must be mentioned in the trademark application, but the partners must not be more than 10. Furthermore, in the case of any minor partner, the name of his guardian shall be mentioned.

• Joint Owners

Joint company owners can file the trademark together, and the names of both owners must be mentioned in the trademark application.

• Proprietorship Firm

A proprietorship firm can file a trademark application in the name of the proprietor of the firm rather than filing it in the name of a proprietorship firm. If you include the proprietorship firm's name in your application, those details will be taken separately.

• Limited Liability Partnership

In the case of LLP, the trademark application is filed in the name of LLP and not in the name of the partners. As the trademark belongs to the company, partners cannot be the applicants, and they have a different identity separate from the company.

• Trust and Society

The trust and society can also register the wordmark, and the trademark application will be filed in the name of the person who is representing the society. He can be the chairman, trustee, or secretary.

• Indian Company

Any company, whether limited by shares, guarantee or unlimited liability, is a separate legal entity; therefore, it can register the wordmark registered on its own name. In the case of a company, the wordmark or any other form of a trademark will not be registered in the name of the promoter or director.

• Foreign Company

Suppose a company registered in any other country wants to get a wordmark registered in India. In that case, the wordmark will only be registered on the name of the company as registered in its country of origin. Furthermore, all the details, such as the company's name, nature, and country of registration, shall be mentioned in the application.

Important Points to Know before Submitting Application for Wordmark Registration

Before submitting the trademark application, the brand owners must choose whether to file for a word mark or device mark registration. They must choose whether to register just the brand name or logo of the brand or to submit distinct applications for both the brand name and the logo.

Rather than just a logo, companies' brand names frequently include words and designs. To ensure their company has the widest possible security, business owners should submit distinct trademark applications for their company name and logo. However, it would be costly to submit two copyright applications for the name and logo. Therefore, since the trademark can be represented in any way and offers wider security than a device mark, it is preferable to file it as a word mark.

In case you have registered your logo as a trademark, and later on, you have decided to change the logo of your brand due to any reason, the trademark will not protect the new logo as the protection is applicable only to the logo for which you took the trademark. Furthermore, in case you took a wordmark, you can change the logo if you want, which will not affect the trademark protection as the wordmark is for protecting the name of your brand and not the logo.

What documents are required for Wordmark Registration?

Following are the documents

• Pan Card

It is a proof of identity issued to every citizen of India after completing 18 years of age. It is verified and signed by the authorised signatory authority.

• Aadhar Card

It is also an identity proof signed by an authorised signatory.

• Certificate of Incorporation

The incorporation certificate of a company or LLP is required for the trademark process.

• Logo

A logo is a printed design or figure representing the company.

• Form TM-48

It is a legal document by which your trademark attorney submits your application to the trademark registrar.

Procedure of Wordmark Registration in India

The process of wordmark registration is discussed below:

Step 1 – Trademark Search

Selecting a unique name or logo for your brand is not enough. In comparison, there is a need to conduct a trademark search for your selected mark on the official website of the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks. There is a search option on this website where you can search for the mark that you have selected, and the search will tell you all about the mark you have selected, along with the legalities, if any.

Step 2 – Filing Trademark Application

Once you are done with the trademark search, and selected the name or logo that you wish to trademark. Now you can proceed towards preparing the trademark application. You have an option to either file the trademark application online or offline. In case you submit the application online, you will be provided with an application number that you can use for future reference.

Step 3 – Examination of the Application

The trademark application is then verified by the examiner, who checks the trademark application and properly verifies the documents. He has the option to either accept or reject the application after proper verification and examination.

• If the examiner finds that the application and the submitted documents are correct, he will approve the application and publish it in the trademark journal.
• In case the examiner has any objections to the application. Then the applicant is required to submit the response to the objections in one month. After checking the response, if the examiner is satisfied, then he accepts the application, and the mark is published in the trademark journal.
• If the examiner is still not satisfied, then he rejects the application, and the applicant may get the chance to present his view at the time of the hearing. In case of a satisfactory reply from the applicant, the examiner approves his application, and the mark publishes in the trademark journal. But, in case of a non-satisfactory response, the application is rejected, and no further chance is provided to the applicant.

Step 4 – Publication and advertisement of trademark

After proper scrutiny of the application by the examiner, the mark is published in the trademark journal for four months. In case there are no objections, the applicant is automatically granted the certificate of registration. On the contrary, if there are objections to the application, then the applicant has to submit a proper response within 30 days, and if his response is satisfactory, then he receives the certificate of registration.

Step 5 – Certificate of registration

Once the process of verification and objection is completed, the applicant is granted the certificate of registration by the registrar.

Step 6: Renewal of Wordmark

The certificate of registration is valid for a period of ten years. After completion of the prescribed period, the applicant can renew the trademark by paying the government fee.

Professionals at Corpbiz can provide you with the best services regarding trademark registration

As already understood, trademark registration is quite long and time taking, and even a single mistake can lead to the rejection of the trademark. Therefore, it is indeed required to get a professional who can help you with trademark registration while fulfilling all the legal requirements. Corpbiz is a legal technology platform that can fulfil all your legal requirements, and professionals holding years of experience in trademark registration can be the best fit for you.