Trademark in India

davidmichael

Hey,

Can anybody give me info on Trademarking in India? is it difficult?expensive etc?

ambro25

It is no more or less difficult than in, say, Russia, China and many other non-EU jurisdictions. And no more or less expensive than in these countries, either. But significantly more expensive than in Ireland or in the UK.

I believe the application procedure there is still the 'old system', so registration will depend on both absolute grounds (is the mark registrable?) and relative grounds (does someone else own an earlier identical/similar mark, which would make yours non-registrable?)

I say 'old system' because in certain jurisdictions, e.g. in the UK and for Community TMs, the relative grounds are not a ground of rejection anymore (owners of relevant earlier TMs must oppose your application, or it becomes automatically registered).

Costs for India may be slightly more than filing and prosecuting an application for a registered European ('Community') TM including official fees, so expect low four-figures, potentially rising to mid four-figures if the Indian TM Office raises relative/absolute grounds of refusal. Expect the procedure to take a while, as well (a good few months, if not a year and a bit, between application and registration).

You should consult a local TM attorney, as foreign (e.g. Indian) TM firms still rarely act directly for overseas (e.g. Irish) private inviduals or businesses (due to credit risk factor). Or, if they do, will likely require you to pay fees (professional + official) upfront. They usually prefer to receive instructions from a local (e.g. Irish) TM firm, which more or less garantees they'll be getting paid.

Dunno if I'm allowed to post this or not, but hey! Although I'm not based in Ireland (I'm on the Irish TM Register, but on the island next door ), I could act for you about this.

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

I'd agree Ambro, use a specialist company for patenting and make use they have a local expert. India is the kind of place you need someone on the ground to get paperwork through.

davidmichael

Thats excellent guys, I'll be in touch. Thanks!