Trademark is a logo or combination of numbers and characters which helps in distinguishing its products from others in the market. So, we can say that trademark filing can help a business invest in branding and ensure its unique branding in the market. It also helps the trademark owner to protect the trademark and prevent its fraudulent use. If one wants to scale up his business to increase profits, trademark filing plays an essential role in it. Also, a registered trademark is an intangible asset for a business and protects the company’s investments. We will discuss the process of filing a trademark application.
Trademark Filing: Key points to consider
The filing of the trademark attracts a lot of brand recognition. The little effort of yours will preserve the trademark and develop a unique identity of the brand. The several steps that the trademark filing process involves are:
Also see : List of well known Trademarks
Trademark Search:
Trademark search is an important part of the trademark filing process. It is critical to decide the goods and services for which one wants to apply for the trademark. Hence, trademark searching becomes essential as it tells the applicant whether the registration of a particular mark exists or not. If someone is already an owner of a specific trademark, you cannot have a similar one.
Related Articles: Manual of Trademarks Practice & Procedure
Submit the trademark application:
After the trademark search, you need to decide on the trademark and fill the trademark application to proceed further. You need to mention all the trademark information in your trademark application. Also, the filing of the trademark application takes place at the Indian Trademark Office.
Examination of the application:
Once you file the trademark application, the next step is an examination of the application. The trademark application goes to the examiner who examines the discrepancies of the application if any. Also, the examination process takes around 12-18 months from the priority date. The examiner reviews the application to determine the compliance of the application with the official rules.
Office Actions:
The examining attorney decides whether to register the trademark or not. If all the claims are correct, he will accept the trademark application without any due. Contrary to it, if the examiner decides not to register the trademark, he will issue a letter explaining the substantial reason for the refusal of the application. The examiner will claim to correct the deficiencies of the application.
The applicant must respond to the office action within 6 months of the action. The applicant must amend the claims which the examiner wants him to correct.
Publication of the mark:
If the examinee attorney raises no objection, or if the applicant overcomes all the objections, approval of the application takes place. So, after approval, the trademark office publishes the trademark in the “Official Gazette.” “Official Gazette” is a weekly publication of the trademark office. The trademark office sends a notice of the publication to the applicant stating the date of publication. Trademark office gives 30 days of time for the opposition of the trademark to happen if anyone wants to oppose it.
Notice of Allowance:
After the publication of the trademark, the next step is notice of allowance to the applicant. If there is no opposition regarding the trademark application, trademark office issues a notice of allowance to the applicant. Moreover, a notice of allowance means the successful survival of the trademark filing in the opposition period after publication.
Filing the Statement of Use (SOU):
A time period of 6 months is given to the applicant from the date of allowance to file the Statement of Use (SOU). The applicant needs to use the trademark in commerce and file SOU. However, if the applicant fails in doing so, it results in the abundance of the trademark application.
Reviewing the Statement of Use:
A Statement of Use (SOU) must meet minimum filing requirements before an examining attorney fully reviews it. If SOU meets the minimum filing requirements, the attorney determines whether it is acceptable to permit registration or not. If the examinee identifies no refusals or additional requirements, he approves the SOU.
Trademark Registration:
This is the final stage of the trademark filing process. Once you pass all of the above steps, the registration of the trademark happens. The following points are important to remember:
Registration Certificate Issue:
Within approximately 2 months after getting the approval of SOU, the USPTO issues the trademark registration. To keep the registration live, the applicant must file the specific maintenance documents. Hence, failure to make these filings will result in cancellation of the registration.
Monitoring Registration Status:
Even if your trademark registers, you should monitor the registration on an annual basis. So, it is important to check the status of your registration after making any of the filings to keep the registration alive.
Trademark renewal:
Once the trademark filing process completes, one has to renew it perpetually after every 10 years. Hence, the protection span of your logo or brand increases.
Looking for trademark filing – Your Trademark Team
You invest a lot in building your brand. You not just invest money in creating your logo and trademark, but the hours of effort into promoting your brand. Before you put this effort, you must make sure that it is in the right direction. Your Trademark Team (YTT) is a team of professionals who have years of experience in the trademark filing process. If you want to register your trademark, YTT with its world-class facilities and professional expertise would help you in doing so. We file quick and easy trademark applications for our clients at an optimal cost. Our team also provides timely notifications to our clients at each step. YTT is well aware of every guideline and the latest trademark laws to ensure our client’s trademark safety. We will also report you with the proper updates. To avail our services, Visit Your Trademark Team.