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All About Trademark Search Online in India
A trademark is an intellectual property that differentiates a product or brand from similar or different products. A trademark gives a company exclusive rights and ownership over the brands or products. A trademark can be a word, insignia, symbol, or phrase. Product names, nicknames, sounds, business names, slogans, color schemes, logos, and smells can all be trademarked.
Why is it Necessary to Conduct a Trademark Search?
Here are the reasons why you should conduct a trademark search before registering a trademark.
- It's better to be safe and conduct a trademark search before registering one, as it will help prevent any infringement of the applicable laws. You can check for the available trademarks and decide on the best one.
- It helps you check if the trademark that you want to register is available and avoid any duplicity or similarity with other registered trademarks.
- It helps ensure that the trademark is unique and also classified properly.
- Trademark public search helps avoid all possible conflicts.
What is a Trademark Search Database?
A trademark database is a collection of all the trademarks filed by different parties in India. All the registered trademarks are listed on the website of the controller of general of patent designs and trademarks. It also consists of all the trademarks applied, registered, rejected, and expired trademarks.
What are the Important Terms Associated with Trademark Search?
Before you move ahead and conduct your trademark search, here are some important terms you must know.
- Class Details - This section allows you to find the particular class that a product belongs to. The trademark search can be conducted in various languages.
- Well-known marks - This section consists of a list of all the well-known trademarks.
- Prohibited marks - It is a list of all the prohibited marks. If you use any of these marks, your application can get rejected. Some examples are - National, Mahatma Gandhi, ISO, etc.
- Vienna Code classification - Vienna Code is an international standard classification that classifies pictorial trademarks into 29 broad categories. If your trademark has a logo or an image in it, you can conduct a trademark search using the Vienna code.
What is the Procedure to Conduct a Trademark Search?
You can follow the below-mentioned steps to conduct a trademark public search -
- Step 1. Visit the trademark search India’s online website to search for the applied and registered trademarks.
- Step 2. Select the search criteria from the drop-down menu. Select either wordmark, Vienna code, or phonetic.
- Step 3. Now choose the level of match you want to search for from the options ‘start with,’ ‘contains,’ or ‘matches.’ For example, if you select ‘matches,’ the search result will show only those trademark names that match exactly with the entered wordmark.
- Step 4. After choosing the wordmark criteria, select the trademark class per the given classification.
- Step 5. Click on ‘search’ to display the results of the trademark search. Once you see the trademark search results, you can analyze them and select the available trademarks.
What are the Documents Required to Conduct Trademark Public Research?
You need to submit certain documents to search for a trademark. Given below is a list of documents required for trademark search.
- Aadhaar Card
- PAN Card
- Incorporation Certificate
- Partnership Deed
- Form-48 Signed
- Logo
- MSME Certificate
What are the Various Trademark Classes?
Given below are the 45 categories under which types of trademarks are classified.
Class | Description |
---|---|
Class 1 | Chemicals used in photography, agriculture, industry, science, horticulture, and forestry; chemicals for preserving food, unprocessed plastics |
Class 2 | Paints; varnishes; preservatives used for rust and wood; colorants; metals in powder and foil; printers and artists; decorators |
Class 3 | Bleaching and other things for laundry; cleaning; polishing; soaps; abrasive preparations; perfumery, cosmetics, hair lotions; essential oils |
Class 4 | Industrial oils and greases; dust absorbing; lubricants; fuels (including motor spirit) and illuminants; wetting and binding compositions; candles, wicks |
Class 5 | Pharmaceutical, veterinary, and sanitary products; diet products for medical use; baby food; fungicides, herbicides; disinfectants |
Class 6 | Common metals and their alloys; small items of metal hardware; metal building materials; Metal products not included in other classes; pipes and tubes of metal |
Class 7 | Machines and machine tools; transmission components; agricultural implements except those operated by hand; incubators for eggs |
Class 8 | Hand tools and implements (hand-operated); side arms; razors; cutlery |
Class 9 | Scientific, electric apparatus for recording, photographic, measuring, transmission, or production of sound and image; computers and data processing equipment |
Class 10 | Surgical, medical, dental, and artificial limbs; veterinary apparatus and instruments; eyes and teeth; suture materials; orthopedic articles |
Class 11 | Apparatus for lighting, steam generating, cooking, heating, refrigerating, water supply, sanitary purposes, drying, ventilating |
Class 12 | Vehicles; apparatus for transport by land, water, or air |
Class 13 | Firearms; explosives; fireworks; ammunition and projectiles |
Class 14 | Precious metals and alloys and products made of precious metals; jewelry, horological and chronometric instruments; precious stones |
Class 15 | Musical instruments |
Class 16 | Paper, cardboard; stationery; brushes; printed matter; typewriters; plastic materials for packaging; and office requisites |
Class 17 | Rubber, asbestos, mica; plastics in extruded form used in manufacturing; stopping and insulating materials; packing, flexible pipes |
Class 18 | Leather and its imitations; animal skins, hides, traveling bags; and trunks umbrellas, walking sticks; and parasols whips, harness and saddlery |
Class 19 | Non-metallic rigid pipes for building; building materials, (non-metallic), non-metallic transportable buildings; asphalt, pitch and bitumen; monuments, not of metal |
Class 20 | Goods of wood, cork, reed; furniture, mirrors, picture frames; cane, whalebone, shell, amber, mother-of-pearl, wicker, horn, bone, ivory; of plastics |
Class 21 | Household or kitchen utensils; articles for cleaning purposes; combs and sponges; glassware and earthenware; unworked or semi-worked glass |
Class 22 | tarpaulins, sails, sacks and bags, ropes, string, nets, tents, awnings, padding, and stuffing materials; raw fibrous textile materials |
Class 23 | Yarns and threads used for textile |
Class 24 | Textiles and textile goods, bed and table covers; not included in other classes |
Class 25 | Clothing, footwear, headgear |
Class 26 | Ribbons and braid; lace and embroidery, buttons, hooks and eyes, artificial flowers; pins and needles |
Class 27 | Carpets, rugs, mats, linoleum, and other materials; wall hangings(non-textile) |
Class 28 | Games and playthings, gymnastics and sporting articles not covered in others, and decorations for Christmas trees. |
Class 29 | Meat extracts; meat, fish, poultry, and game; preserved vegetables, dried and cooked fruits; milk and milk products; jams, fruit sauces; edible oils and fats, eggs |
Class 30 | Rice, tapioca, sago; coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, bread, confectionery, and pastry ices; baking powder; honey, treacle; vinegar; spices; ice; yeast, salt, mustard; |
Class 31 | Forestry products and grains and agricultural, horticultural live animals; seeds, natural plants, and flowers; fresh fruits and vegetables; foodstuffs for animals, malt |
Class 32 | Non-alcoholic drinks; beers, mineral and aerated waters, syrups and other preparations; fruit drinks and fruit juices |
Class 33 | Alcoholic beverages(except beers) |
Class 34 | Tobacco, smokers' articles, matches |
Class 35 | Business administration, office functions; advertising, business management, |
Class 36 | Monetary affairs; insurance, financial affairs; real estate affairs. |
Class 37 | Building construction; installation and repair. |
Class 38 | Telecommunications. |
Class 39 | Transport; travel arrangement; packaging and storage |
Class 40 | Treatment of materials. |
Class 41 | Education; entertainment; providing of training; sporting and cultural activities. |
Class 42 | Scientific, industrial analysis and research services; design and technological services; designing and development of computer software and hardware. |
Class 43 | Food and drink and services; temporary accommodation. |
Class 44 | Veterinary services, medical services, hygienic and beauty care, agriculture, forestry, and horticulture services. |
Class 45 | Legal services; security services for protecting individuals and property; personal and social services. |
Analyzing the trademark search results and selecting a unique trademark for your product requires expertise and legal know-how. You can get an eCA to assist you in getting a registered trademark.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q- How to check if a trademark is registered?
To check if a trademark is already registered and avoid duplication, you have to visit the official website of Trademark Search India. You can enter the required details and search for the applied trademark requests.
Q- Who is eligible for getting a registered trademark?
Any individual or a person who wants to get exclusive rights to a product, service, name, or design is eligible for conducting a trademark search and getting a registered trademark.
Q- How long is a trademark valid?
A trademark is valid for as long as 10 years from the date of applying for it. However, you can get your registered trademark renewed after the completion of 10 years.
Q- How many types of trademarks are there, and why is a trademark search important?
As per the Trademark Act of 1999, there are seven types of trademarks. The trademark search protects you from legal complications by finding a unique word, symbol, logo, or design for your product or brand.