What to do if my trademark is already filed?

If the mark is already filed by another company or has a registered trademark, then the other party have the priority of the mark provided the trademark is for the common business product.

What is the NICE Classification?

NICE classification is an international classification of goods and services for the purpose of trademark registration. There are 34 classes of goods and 11 classes of services.

How to choose the correct class for my trademark

For filing the trademark in India, you should know the appropriate class of trademark in which the goods and services covered. There is a total of 45 classes of the trademark to choose for your trademark. First 34 classes (1-34) cover goods and rest 11 classes (35-45) cover services.

What is the need to perform a Trademark Search?

The intelligent TM Search will help you to determine the mark you want to register for product or services is legally available or already used by another business to ensure not to infringe someone else's property rights. find the identical mark in the same class would restrain your mark to get registered.

Do I need to know a trademark class to perform a Trademark Search?

To perform a free trademark search before filing the trademark application you need to know the trademark classes as per the NICE classifications; international classification of goods and services. The trademark search contains the filters to find out a similar trademark in a similar class in order to eliminate the conflicts.

Is it mandatory to hire an attorney for Trademark Search?

Although it is not mandatory to hire an attorney for conducting a free trademark search before filing it's advisable to seek professional help to handle the trademark search. You will get the list of the marks similar to the proposed mark along with the attorney's legal opinion regarding the trademark registration possibilities.

What is preliminary Trademark Search?

A preliminary trademark search also known as knock-out search is an initial step in the trademark registration process before spending time and money for a mark. Generally, it involves the search through the trademark database either at ipindia (the government site) or quick company's trademark data search service. It's a quick search to determine the identical trademarks which are already registered for any products or services that are similar to yours.

However, a preliminary trademark search doesn't ensure the registration of the proposed mark. It only shows the obvious possibilities of conflicts with identical marks.

What is Comprehensive Trademark Search?

Comprehensive trademark search has a wider scope of search as compared to preliminary trademark search because comprehensive search is performed by the specialised attorneys. These attorneys or firms have access to the trademark database of multiple platforms including company names, state trademarks, domain name database, publications. The comprehensive search examines these additional databases for a complete and thoughtful comparison of terms.

Comprehensive trademark search is a formal search which gives the legal opinion regarding the risks you may face while registering your trademark.

Why is preliminary trademark advisable?

Preliminary trademark search eliminates the future possibilities of:

• Objections raised by the trademark examiner
• Suit for infringement
• Opposition proceedings

How do I select a suitable type of trademark search I need before registration?

Broadly, three types of trademark search one can perform before filing online trademark registration. Out of which informal and preliminary trademark search can be performed on your own. But comprehensive trademark search can be done by only experienced trademark attorneys. A comprehensive trademark search is always a better choice among all searches because it gives you more information and protection against risks of rejection of trademark application.

If you are already hiring the experienced trademark attorney for filing the trademark application then the trademark search will often be performed by the attorneys as a part of the trademark registration process.

How to select a trademark?

Selecting a good trademark is a crucial step to protect your intellectual property. In India different kind of trademarks are there, like word, sign, color, symbol, shape etc. but it has to be unique. Most people make mistakes while choosing the trademark or brand name. To minimize such mistakes, you need to follow the guidelines which are:

• Mark should be capable of being distinguishing the goods and services
• If your trademark is a word, it should be easy to remember and pronounce
• It should not be descriptive
• Generic words cannot be used as a trademark

How are the trademark symbols used in India?

In India trademark is designated by the two symbols, i.e. 'R' and 'TM'. Trademark symbol 'TM' is a provisional symbol, used for unregistered Trademarks and symbol 'R' signifies the registered trademark which can be used by the registered proprietor of the mark.