Brand Protection can be leveraged by filing of Trademarks and additional protection can be availed by claiming legal protection of Product Packaging, Configuration & Appearance.
To apply for a trademark in India, applicants need to understand step by step process of trademark registration, cost and procedure. The trademark process starts with brand clearance trademark search to ensure strong protection of trademark rights
The trademark office in India provides online process of trademark filing in India, wherein applicants can also conduct an online trademark search in various classes of goods and services.
A trademark search in India is conducted at the IP India trademark search database. Applicants can enter at least three characters to search for a trademark in India. Along with that, the class of goods or services is also required. For example, if an applicant wants to search for trademarks protecting the brand “Starbucks”, the users can conduct trademark search in multiple classes, including relevant class for food products (covering coffee, bakery items), beverages (covering coffee, tea), food and beverage services (covering restaurants), packaging items (covering cups, coffee collars, tissue papers) etc.
Hence, to conduct a thorough trademark search in India, it is advisable to cover more than one classes of relevant goods and services.
As a first step, conduct a proper trademark search. After confirming that the brand is clear and available for trademark registration in India, file the trademark application by filling trademark form TM-A at the online filing (e-filing) portal of the Indian Trademark Office. Documents required include high resolution image of the logo in size of 8cm by 8cm for filing device trademark, and an affidavit of use for claiming prior usage of the trademark in India. The trademark office requires an evidence of prior use in India, which can be an invoice issued to a customer containing the mark or logo for which the trademark protection is sought.
The trade dress protection states the highlights of the visual or sensual appearance of a product that may likewise incorporate its bundling, shape, blend of hues or combination of colors which might be registered and protected from being utilized by rivals or competitors in connection to their business and administrations. The trademark incorporates their shape (3 dimensional), bundling, shading, visual computerization of the item.
The concept of trade dress originated in U.S.A. It was considered as the overall appearance of the labels, wrappers and containers used in packaging a product. With improvement of law, various components were included in the definition of trade dress which at present makes a shape or design of a product as a trade dress. For example, the packaging of McDonald’s burger, Coca-Cola’s bottle shape is a part of its trade dress, even the theme of a restaurant may be considered a trade dress.
Trade dress lays down the visual highlights of a product that may incorporate shape, size, shading (or shading blends), graphic designs and packaging. It incorporates the general appearance of a product. It helps customers in distinguishing results of a specific producer or a manufacturer. Every such component is ensured under the Trade Marks Act, 1999. It is essential to keep competitors from emulating trade dress since they can be effectively duplicated in this way influencing the goodwill and benefits of the proprietor or owner of the trademark.
Under Section 43(a) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, it is referenced that commercial usage of any word, term, name, image, gadget or a blend of the abovementioned or false description of origin, distortions, which has impacts of confounding or misleading different people into confirming the products/commercial exercises is prohibited. It additionally covers the words, images, shapes, and so on which is used in commercial advertisement that distorts the points of interest about the products relating to a geological cause, characteristics, among others.
An experienced trademark attorney works closely with the clients to secure brand protection rights by way of trademarks and contributes greatly to boost the intellectual property portfolio of clients. While providing trademark law and advisory services, the trademark lawyer works in collaboration with various teams, such as, for example, in case of a technology company, the trademark lawyer collaborates with the Legal, Engineering and Product Management teams. The trademark expertise covers trademark procurement, trademark prosecution and enforcement of trademarks.
An intellectual property lawyer, or an IP Counsel works on both patent and trademark matters. In addition to trademark related consulting, the patent attorney works closely with the clients to conduct patent prior art searches, draft provisional patent applications, write patent claims, draft non-provisional patent applications, review and amend patent applications, review patent claims during patent infringement, prepare patent claim charts, prepare evidence of use charts, check for patent validity, perform freedom-to-operate analysis, conduct due diligence, perform patent litigation analysis and execute comprehensive projects related to patent valuations.
Law Office of Patent Attorney Rahul Dev offers high value software patent drafting and patent due diligence services to clients by using proprietary and efficiently proven process along with a fixed fee costs, for performing comprehensive patent investigations and providing clients with strong patent reports for decision making.
We provide comprehensive Patent and Trademark legal services via our global network to create valuable patent portfolios and resolve complex patent disputes by providing patent litigation support services.
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Advocate Rahul Dev is a Patent Attorney & International Business Lawyer practicing Technology, Intellectual Property & Corporate Laws. He is reachable at rd (at) patentbusinesslawyer (dot) com & @rdpatentlawyer on Twitter.
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