Trademark
An Overview
Trademark in simple words is a symbol of the product or service. It can be a text, design, symbol, logo, sign, slogan, tag line of a company, product, service, brand, etc.
Trademark is administered by Controller General of Patents, design, and Trademarks which reports to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Trademark symbols – R is used when the Trademark is registered and TM is used when Trademark is applied but not yet registered. The trademark application number is received within 1-2 working days after the application is filed. Individuals or companies can start using TM once the application number is received. It takes 8-24 months to register a trademark in a straight forward case. Once approved, the registered symbol can be used.
Trademark registration helps in
- Creates Market recognition of your products and services. Customer can easily distinguish yours from various others available in the market
- Creates appreciating asset: Brands recognition are valuable assets which generally appreciates your products and services value over a period of time. Eg., a product of a specific brand will have high value than the one made locally without any brand.
- Safeguards your brand or a product(s) or service(s) from duplicates available in the market. It also helps avoid legal complications if someone else registers a trademark under the same brand before you
- Trademarks are for a lifetime and need renewals every 10 years