Trademark registration in India starts before Form TM-A. We help you search the brand, assess similarity, choose the right class, prepare the application and stay on top of the Registry process.
Government filing fees are charged per class and per mark. Professional fees are separate. No search can guarantee registration or eliminate every infringement risk.
A quick search is useful. A useful trademark assessment goes further: name similarity, phonetic similarity, class overlap, goods/services, applicant status and the way you intend to use the mark all matter.
This page does not perform a live Registry search. Your actual search should be conducted against the official Trade Marks Registry database before filing.
We keep professional fees separate from government fees. That way you can see what you are paying for and what goes to the Trade Marks Registry.
₹4,999 + GST
For a straightforward one-mark, one-class filing where the basic search and information are ready.
₹6,999 + GST
For founders who want a more thoughtful search and filing strategy before committing the government fee.
₹12,999 + GST
For startups and growing brands that need broader IP planning around names, classes and future growth.
Government fee is additional: ₹4,500 per class per mark for eligible Individuals / Startups / Small Enterprises filing online, or ₹9,000 per class per mark in other cases. Objection replies, hearings, oppositions, expedited examination, rectification and other contested/procedural work are not included unless specifically stated in the engagement.
A company incorporation certificate does not automatically give you exclusive trademark rights over the brand you use. Brand protection needs its own strategy.
Protect distinctive names, logos and other eligible marks used to distinguish your goods or services.
Registration provides the statutory framework for enforcement against infringing use, subject to the Act and facts of the dispute.
A registered brand can become part of the company's commercial and intellectual-property asset base.
Clear ownership and IP hygiene can make diligence cleaner when you raise capital, license a brand or sell a business.
Brand protection becomes increasingly important when selling through marketplaces, social channels and digital advertising.
Registration is valid for 10 years and can be renewed repeatedly, allowing a brand to be protected over the long term.
Sometimes the strongest filing is a word mark. Sometimes the logo matters. Sometimes both deserve separate consideration.
Protect the word/name itself, independent of a particular logo presentation, where registrable.
Protect the distinctive visual representation. Scope depends on the mark filed and registration.
A distinctive slogan or phrase may be considered for registration when it functions as a trademark.
Sound, shape, colour combinations and other forms can have specific legal and evidentiary requirements.
Registrability depends on the mark, evidence, statutory grounds and Registry examination. Not every creative brand element can be registered.
India uses the Nice Classification system. Classes 1–34 cover goods and Classes 35–45 cover services. The class should reflect what your business actually sells or intends to sell under the mark.
Filing in every possible class can be expensive and unnecessary. Filing too narrowly can leave important commercial activity unprotected. We help founders map the brand to the business before filing.
See Trademark Class Guide →Goods — from chemicals and machinery to clothing, food, cosmetics and more.
Services — including business, finance, education, technology, hospitality and legal services.
The same brand may need protection in more than one class where the business genuinely spans multiple categories.
The description of goods/services should be deliberate, accurate and aligned with the intended use.
One of the easiest ways to misquote trademark registration is to hide the statutory fee inside a “package price”.
| Applicant category | E-filing TM-A | Physical filing | Fee basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual / Startup / Small Enterprise | ₹4,500 | ₹5,000 | Per class, per mark |
| Company / LLP / Other applicants | ₹9,000 | ₹10,000 | Per class, per mark |
Official fees shown are based on the current IP India fee schedule. Eligibility for the concessional category must be established with the required proof. Statutory fees can change by government notification.
We make every stage visible so founders know what has happened, what is pending and what could happen next.
Look for identical and similar marks and potential conflicts.
→Map your actual goods/services to the right class.
→Prepare mark representation, applicant data and evidence.
→Submit the TM-A application and pay statutory fees.
→Monitor examination, objections, hearing, publication and registration.
A simple word-mark application can be relatively straightforward. A prior-use claim, startup/MSME concession or agent filing can require additional evidence or authorisation.
We ask for the minimum relevant documents rather than collecting paperwork that has no purpose.
Clear representation of the word, logo or other mark being filed.
Identity and address details appropriate to the applicant type.
Incorporation, partnership, GST or other relevant business evidence where applicable.
DPIIT recognition or eligible small-enterprise proof when claiming the concessional fee category.
If claiming prior use, supporting evidence and user affidavit may be required.
Power of Attorney / Form TM-48 where the application is filed through an authorised agent or attorney.
The Registry may examine the application, raise objections, accept it, publish it and receive opposition from third parties.
The Registry examines the application and may issue an examination report with objections.
If objections are raised, a response must be filed within the prescribed period. A hearing may follow where required.
An accepted mark is published in the Trade Marks Journal and becomes open to third-party opposition.
If the opposition period passes without a successful opposition, the mark can proceed to registration and certificate issuance.
The official IP India workflow states that third parties can oppose within four months of journal publication. Contested matters can take substantially longer.
The biggest mistake in trademark registration is treating the process as “find name → pay fee → certificate”. A mark can be refused for statutory reasons, face an objection, or be opposed by a third party. Good trademark work begins before filing.
Similarity, pronunciation, goods/services and other legal factors can matter.
MCA name approval and trademark rights are different legal questions.
The applicant must satisfy the applicable category requirements and provide proof.
Examination, publication and possible opposition remain part of the process.
Searching for “trademark registration”, “trademark registration online”, “brand name registration” or “trademark cost in India”? Start with the decisions that actually affect protection.
A trademark is a sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those of others. In practical business terms, it is the identity customers associate with your product or service: a name, word, logo, slogan or another registrable mark. Trademark law in India is primarily governed by the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and the Trade Marks Rules, 2017.
The important point for a founder is that trademark protection is connected to the mark and the goods or services for which it is used or proposed to be used. You are not simply registering a word in the abstract. The application identifies the mark, proprietor and class/specification of goods or services.
A startup can spend months or years building a brand before thinking seriously about intellectual property. That creates a commercial risk: the business may discover later that another party has a similar or conflicting mark, or that its chosen brand is difficult to protect in the classes that matter.
Registration provides statutory rights to the registered proprietor and creates an important legal foundation for enforcement. It also makes ownership easier to demonstrate during commercial transactions, licensing, investment diligence or an eventual sale. Trademark registration is therefore not only a “legal formality”. It can be part of the company's long-term asset and risk-management strategy.
Yes. An individual can apply for a trademark. You do not have to form a Private Limited Company merely to submit a trademark application. This can be useful for founders who have selected a brand and want to protect it while deciding the final business structure.
However, ownership should be planned carefully. If a founder later transfers the brand to a company, the business should maintain clear documentation around ownership and assignment. For a startup expecting investors, founders should consider IP ownership early so that the company—not an unrelated individual— ultimately holds the business's important intellectual property where appropriate.
The official government fee for a new TM-A application filed online is currently ₹4,500 per class per mark for an Individual, Startup or Small Enterprise, and ₹9,000 per class per mark for other applicants. Physical filing is ₹5,000 and ₹10,000 respectively. The fee is charged per class and per mark, so a multi-class strategy increases the statutory filing cost.
Professional fees are separate. Current market pricing ranges widely. IndiaFilings currently advertises trademark filing services starting at ₹1,899 plus GST for one of its packages, with government fees payable directly to the government. Other providers publish higher bundled prices. ClearTax, for example, currently shows substantially higher indicative service prices on its trademark page. The difference is not necessarily apples-to-apples because search depth, drafting, monitoring, representation and objection support can vary.
StartStartup's pricing is deliberately transparent: professional assistance starts at ₹2,999 + GST, while the statutory government fee is shown separately. This lets a founder compare providers by actual scope rather than by an artificially low headline price that excludes the government fee.
The Trade Marks Rules provide a concessional filing fee for Individuals, Startups and Small Enterprises. The current IP India fee schedule lists ₹4,500 for e-filing and ₹5,000 for physical filing for that category. Other applicants pay ₹9,000 and ₹10,000 respectively.
A founder should not assume that simply calling a business a “startup” is enough. Where the concessional category is claimed, the relevant status and supporting documents should be available. DPIIT recognition is particularly relevant for the Startup category.
India follows the Nice Classification system. There are 45 classes: Classes 1 to 34 cover goods and Classes 35 to 45 cover services. The correct class is important because trademark registration is connected to the goods/services specified in the application.
For example, a technology startup may consider services in Class 42, while a retail or business service may consider Class 35. A food brand could require a different class depending on what it manufactures, sells or provides. These examples are illustrative—not a substitute for class-specific analysis.
The goal is not to file in as many classes as possible. The goal is to identify the classes that reflect the commercial use of the mark and create a sensible protection strategy.
It depends on the brand strategy. A word mark focuses on the name/word itself, while a device mark protects the visual representation filed. A startup that changes its logo frequently may place greater strategic importance on protecting the word mark. A business whose visual identity itself is a major differentiator may also consider a logo filing.
Filing decisions should consider distinctiveness, budget, future branding and how the mark is actually used. There is no universal “best trademark type” for every business.
IP India's current filing workflow begins with checking trademark availability: searching existing trademarks, assessing similarity and conflicts, deciding between a word mark and logo mark, and identifying the correct Nice class or classes. The official Trade Marks Registry also provides a public search interface.
A practical search should not stop at an exact spelling. Similar-sounding names, visually similar marks, translations/transliterations and marks covering related goods/services can be relevant. Search results also need context: the status of a mark, proprietor, class and specification all matter.
No. A search is a risk-reduction exercise, not a guarantee. The Registrar examines the application under the Trade Marks Act and Rules, and third parties can oppose a mark after it is published in the Trade Marks Journal. A good search helps a founder make a better decision before paying the filing fee, but it cannot eliminate every possible objection or dispute.
TM-A is the prescribed application form for registration of a trademark for goods or services. The current IP India workflow describes TM-A as the new application route and permits single-class or multi-class filing. The application contains the applicant details, representation of the mark and the description of goods or services, along with supporting material where applicable.
Requirements vary according to the applicant and filing circumstances. Common materials include the trademark representation, identity/address details and business proof where the applicant is an entity. If an applicant is claiming the concessional startup or small-enterprise fee, the relevant proof should be provided.
If the applicant claims prior use, a user affidavit and supporting documents may be required. If the filing is made through an agent or attorney, an authorisation such as Form TM-48 may be relevant. The objective is not to upload every document a website can list, but to provide the documents relevant to the actual filing.
Filing creates the application record, but registration is not automatic. The Registry examines the application. If objections are raised, the applicant needs to respond within the prescribed period. The official Trade Marks Registry's standard operating procedure states that the reply to an examination report is to be submitted within one month; failure to respond can result in abandonment.
If the mark is accepted, it is published in the Trade Marks Journal. Third parties can oppose the application within four months of publication. If there is no successful opposition, the mark can proceed to registration and the registration certificate is issued. An opposition can create a much longer and more involved proceeding.
An objection is not the same thing as final refusal. An examination report may raise objections based on absolute or relative grounds or other issues. The applicant can respond with legal and factual arguments, evidence and supporting material as appropriate. Depending on the response, the Registry may accept the application or provide a hearing opportunity.
This is why a filing-only service should not be confused with complete trademark representation. StartStartup's standard packages focus on search, filing and monitoring; substantive objection replies, hearings and contested proceedings should be scoped separately because the work depends heavily on the facts and legal issues involved.
There is no single guaranteed registration timeline. Filing can happen quickly once the application is ready, but examination, objection handling, journal publication and opposition can extend the process. The Registry's official workflow confirms multiple stages between filing and registration.
Be cautious of providers promising a guaranteed registration certificate in a few days. A professional can control the quality and timeliness of its own work, but it cannot guarantee how the Trade Marks Registry or third parties will act.
“TM” is commonly used to indicate a claimed trademark. The ® symbol is associated with a registered trademark. Founders should not treat filing as equivalent to registration. The legal rights and representations associated with a registered mark depend on actual registration and the applicable law.
Under Section 25 of the Trade Marks Act, registration is for 10 years and can be renewed for further periods of 10 years. IP India's current trademark guidance confirms that a registered trademark is valid for 10 years from the date of application and can be renewed indefinitely, subject to the prescribed process and fee.
Yes, Startup India's intellectual-property framework includes a panel of facilitators for recognised startups. Under the SIPP framework, the government bears the facilitator's professional fee for eligible IP filings, while the startup bears the applicable statutory fees. The current Startup India 2026 schemes playbook also describes a 50% rebate on trademark/design statutory fees for DPIIT-recognised startups under the SIPP scheme.
This is a benefit that should be checked against the startup's current DPIIT recognition and the current scheme rules before filing. It is separate from the standard ₹4,500 concessional TM-A fee category and should not be presented as a universal discount for every startup.
Ideally, trademark research should happen before the brand is fully built. Check the proposed name, search the relevant classes, examine similar marks, check domain/social availability separately, and consider whether the name is distinctive enough to protect. If the brand is already being used, preserve evidence of first use.
For a startup, the best time to think about trademark ownership is usually before significant money is spent on packaging, advertising, app development, marketplace listings and customer acquisition. Protecting the brand early can be much cheaper than rebranding after a conflict appears.
Clear answers to the questions founders usually ask before filing.
Tell us the proposed name, what you sell, where you operate and whether you already use the brand. We'll help you understand the search, class and filing route before you commit.
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