Table of Contents
Trademark Registration can seem like an overwhelming process. This list of 100 top services in trademark registration will, for sure, make it easy to find help that comes with experience and expertise.
These 100 Trademark Registration Services will be an accompaniment throughout the article that’s set out to discuss Trademarks and Trademark Registration – Well! a 100 in a continuous long list would have been made to lose their sheen.
Introduction to a Trademark
Trademark is an identification which a Corporation, a Company, a Firm is known by and engaged with, and with which, itself, conducts business in this market of a world – by business, it is meant selling of products and services within just its country of origin or worldwide.
Trademark is also a representation of a Business, i.e., its Offerings, Purpose, Values, its Drivers, Passion, Idea, Scope, Reach, its Conception, Origin, Inspiration, Personality – making ‘’The Business’’ stand-out!!
Why talk about Trademark Registration?
Trademarks remind people of the quality of the products and once the impression is created the trademark holds it.
In these Entrepreneurial times, take for example, India, where around 30K businesses took shape in 3 months, from April-June 2021, most would overlap in their products and services.
A business’s conduct and what it brings to the consumers (read customers) distinguishes it amongst all, but its identification through a physical representational form is what keeps it distinct – And, this distinction can be owned with a Trademark!
What does a Trademark look like?
At the outset, Trademarks used to be names – ‘Name of the Business’, ‘Name of the Owner’, just like that!
Now, a Trademark is of the 5 senses –
It can look like – Bunched-up Words, Names, Taglines/Slogans/Catchphrases, Symbols/Logos, any Graphics, incl. Animation.
It can feel, smell, sound and taste like something– any distinguishing or distinct Touch, Smell, Sound, Taste can be registered as a Trademark.
Quick Note List – 5 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
1. CLIDEL
2. STARTUPWALA
3. VAKILSEARCH
4. ONLINELEGALINDIA
5. COMPANIESINN
Quick Note List – 10 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
6. CORP BIZ
7. KANAKKUPILLAI
8. MYONLINECA
9. LEGALRAASTA
10. APPLY TRADEMARK
Can a Business do without a Trademark or its Registration?
A Business cannot do without a name, which would be its foremost trademarking, even without any other form of marking. Trademarks do not exist because of registration, but vice-versa.
Coming to, if a business needs trademark registration – there are Registered and Unregistered Marks. So, it can do without officially registering its trademark, in which case it will just be an unregistered mark and will not be entitled to the full ambit of legal protection like a registered mark.
Quick Note List – 15 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
11. TAXKRIYA
12. MAK LAW
13. GUPTA ANKIT & CO.
14. INDIA FILINGS APPLY
15. AAPKA CONSULTANTS
15/100 Trademark Registration Services
Trademark Registration + INDIA + WORLD
Registering a Trademark is about a Business getting certified as having the identity of that Trademark and exclusively so! No other business is then allowed to be identified or represented by that mark.
Quick Note List – 20 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
16. REGISTRATIONS INDIA
17. INTELLECT GOODWILL
18. VIDMA CONSULTING GROUP
19. MYCRAVE CONSULTANCY SERVICES
20. A TO Z SERVICES PVT. LTD.
The Territorial Nature of Trademarks –
Registration of trademarks is of national scope. A trademark needs to be registered separately for each country a business intends to expand its reach to. The registered trademarks go in the trademark registry of a country.
Quick Note List – 25 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
21. LEGAL RAJ
22. IP & LEGAL FILINGS
23. UNNATI
24. PATENT WIRE
25. RFK LAW
Trademark Registration – India
Trademark Registration in India is governed by ‘The Trademarks Act, 1999’. The application for trademark registration is to be made at ipgovindia.in. And, yes Trademarks belong to Intellectual Property, just like Copyrights, Designs and Patents.
Quick Note List – 28 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
26. CLEARTAX
27. MUTHIRAI
28. LEGAL GUIDES ASSOCIATES
Quick Note List – 31 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
29. AP4U Consulting
30. COMPANY REGISTRATION INDIA
31. ipMetrix
Registering Trademarks has Benefits – True
Howzzat?
Principally, trademark registration for a business is done to protect its identity and sovereignty from infringement. That is what the legal protection a registered trademark is entitled to as mentioned earlier –
- The proprietors of the business own it – this is protection by law for exclusive rights to a trademark
- The business can sue another, in case of imitation, or a bothering similarity that can rob its trademark of its originality and uniqueness
In India, an Unregistered (trade)Mark gets minimal protection under the common law (The Law of Torts)
Quick Note List – 37 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
32. Your Trademark Team
33. MS Legal Associates
34. PatnTech
35. FinTax
36. ExcelOn IP
37. Goyal Mangal & Co.
Trademark Registration – The World
The laws for trademarks are similar around the world.
The internationally governing body for intellectual property, WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) defines trademarks and lays down rules for their registration.
These rules are applicable to registrations of trademarks from foreign applicants happening in member or contracting states (nations) of WIPO.
The member states also have their own rules, but cannot disregard the ones from WIPO, wherever necessary *.
WIPO also provides an international form for applying for trademark registration in its member countries.
What all can constitute a Trademark? + Examples of Trademarks
WORDS
Trademarks of WORDS can be Names, Surnames, Forenames, Geographical Names, Clubbed Words, or Sentences like Slogans/Punchlines.
Quick Note List – 40 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
38. Le Intelligensia
39. LegalDocs
40. SOLUBILIS
Examples of –
Trademarks that are Names –
Puma, Nike, Gymboree, Nescafe, Infosys, Caterpillar, Apple, Reliance, Google, and several such.
These are all names that are random, fanciful and not descriptive of the products or services the businesses offer. These names fulfill the rule of ‘Distinctiveness’.
Quick Note List – 42 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
41. L.R. Swami Co.
42. Brand Liaison
GRAPHICS
Trademarks in Graphical Mode could be Devices, Figures, Drawings, Logos, Signs, Symbols in 2D and 3D, Holograms, Animated Logos.
Examples of –
Trademarks that are Symbols, Logos, Signs, Drawings, Figures, Graphics –
Nestle with its Nest and Nested Birds // Apple’s logo of an Apple // Puma’s Panther // Nike’s Tick Mark/Swoosh // Tesla and its logo in a specific color ‘Red’ // Mercedes Benz’s 3-pointed Star – a 3D mark // Google’s Browser Symbol in its trademarked colors of Red, Blue, Green, Yellow and many more such.
Quick Note List – 45 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
43. Manish Anil Gupta & Co
44. AeTx Consulting
45. KRISLAW
LETTERS, NUMERALS/NUMBERS
Letters, Numbers can, singly or in combination stand for a Trademark, just by themselves, if they can be in the form of a unique script, or uniquely positioned with distinct color combination, in which case they become Logos/Symbols/Signs.
Examples of –
Trademarks that use Letters and Numbers –
Google’s G with distinct color combination, McDonald’s M shaped like arches in the color Yellow, Coco Chanel’s mirrored Cs, 555 for detergent soaps in India, HDFC bank’s HDFC, similarly, ICICI bank’s ICICI and so many more as such.
Quick Note List – 50 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
46. SetIndiaBiz
47. PATRACODE
48. Knowledgentia Consultants
49. NurtureLabz Consulting
50. TMKerala (JV & Associates)
AUDIBLES (of Sound)
Trademarks as a Sound could be a Piece of Music, a Tone, a Ring, a Sequence of Notes, unique enough to become a signature sound of the business associated with one or more of its products.
The piece is usually required to be submitted as a recording – for instance USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) processes it this way.
The sequence of notes can also be submitted in text format.
Quick Note List – 53 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
51. Balaji Certification Services
52. HSA Consulting India LLP
53. Balaji IP Practice
Olfactory (of Smell)
A typical scent can also be trademarked. The cases of such trademarks are scarce, with only a classic example of Coco Chanel, which is a product line that itself is fragrances and scents.
The scent can be also be associated with a good, except when it is a natural characteristic of that good.
For example – rubber smell for tires cannot be claimed for proprietorship.
As quoted by WIPO, a case of Coco Chanel’s No.5 perfume, the scent of which was not trademarked because it was the natural smell of the products used in it.
A signature scent or fragrance in association with the product or goods or business can also be part of the Trade Dress.
Quick Note List – 56 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
54. S.K. Singh & Associates
55. Meeracorp Private Ltd.
56. Legal Wiser
What’s recordable of a scent or fragrance as a trademark?
- WIPO mentions a full and a complete description of the scent that can fit it as being unique, which is difficult
Example – ‘Smell of Freshly Cut Grass’ is Trademarked, & that description has been accepted for the description for depicting that scent uniquely
- It also mentions visual representation of the scent is accepted towards registering the scent, which is, again, ‘how does one visually represent a scent?’
Quick Note List – 62 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
57. Bavaria IP
58. TMR Services
59. R.K. Dewan & Co.
60. Numbro
61. NeuSource
62. Meerad
Touch & Taste
Touch amounting to Texture AND Taste amounting to Flavor – these unconventional forms for trademarks have been barely used, since it is hard for such indications to be outside the inherent quality of a product or its packaging.
The Velvet texture of the “Turgid’’ cover of Khvanchkara Wines is one example of the rare Touch trademark.
Whenever a Taste can become as distinct and unique so as to not step on the rights of others to be able to use the flavor, then it can become a Trademark. Being so hard, as to not be an inherent quality of the product, Taste is hardly pursued as a Trademark.
Quick Note List – 66 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
63. EbizFiling
64. TaxWalla
65. Hatkar’s
66. Icoreg Consulting Pvt. Ltd.
Absolute Requirements of Trademarks for Registration
Trademarks have to be a certain way – these requirements are also the purposes of Trademarks, the very reasons for their use.
- Trademarks are to be unique, that is unlike any other
- Trademarks should be profusely distinctive – this gives trademarks their distinguishing quality to separate the goods they represent from others, and clearly, without confusion indicate the origin of the goods (that is the business the goods or services belong to)
- Although, trademarks represent the products they are meant to identify, trademarks cannot give description of the product through them. So, trademarks cannot be descriptive of the goods and services –
As the description of the product will most likely not be unique, since most products are similar or of same kind, which makes them as much as everybody’s.
Quick Note List – 68 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
67. Law Desk India
68. SaiLakshmi IPR Consultants
- Trademarks that have been in use for a long time, acquiring distinctiveness in identifiability through long-term use by the consumers, and in this way, fulfill the absolute requirement of distinctiveness for registration
- Trademarks cannot become generic over time with respect to any of its represented goods and services. In that case, that trademark is removed from registration
- Trademarks cannot be used in place of Product Designations or Descriptions. This is easily derived from its absolute requirement of not being descriptive of the product
- Trademarks cannot be or bear similarity to Signs of other States, Government Organizations, Official Institutions
Quick Note List – 74 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
69. Prakash K Prakash
70. getmyCA
71. SG Consult-India
72. EStartIndia
73. Legal Service India
74. Embarkcorpserv
Impositions on Trademarks for being Registrable
- Trademarks are to be practically-feasible – for representation on or association with the connected goods/services, for recordability over prolonged periods of time
- Trademarks cannot be of misleading character
- They cannot be provocative, causing public disorder, disharmonizing, or immoral, or obscene
Quick Note List – 79 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
75. Filing Point
76. TMPundit
77. Sanchit Ranade & Associates
78. Setup Consultant
79. LawRato
Unregistered Trademarks – ‘Passing Off’
With all that prominence brought out about Trademark Registration, if its not being mandatory has also stuck out, then it would give to know about violations with regards to unregistered trademarks.
Just like Infringement happens to registered trademarks, Passing Off happens to the unregistered ones.
Passing Off is trying to pass of as another business, which has strong goodwill in the market.
A business that’s doing the passing-off is impersonating the other one, that is simply faking to be it or associated with it – This could be done by way of imitating the products, their packaging, or, some or all elements of the trade dress of the products. And, also by using similar marks, pricing or other standardized factors of the original business.
Passing Off, if deliberate, is done, obviously, to suck up all the advantages of reputation, sales, customer loyalty of the actual business.
Quick Note List – 82 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
80. Company360
81. Consultants Hyderabad
82. X=PERT Consultancy
Counter Action against Passing Off
Prosecution for Passing- Off is dealt under The Law of Torts.
The impersonated or the real business can claim itself, its identity back, by proving in the courts – That the passing-off is, clearly, confusing the customers between the original and the fake || That there is loss of business and actual damage in terms of goodwill, reputation, customer loyalty and so on.
<<< If the products are totally different and non-associative between any 2 businesses, any one alluding to the other in brand names, slogans or any other creative way, that would prove to be Passing-Off >>>
A catchphrase such as Electrified like a Tesla for a Chocolate or a Bizarre Dress would not constitute Passing-Off.
Quick Note List – 87 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
83. Trademark Registration
84. Trade Mark Registration Bureau
85. Benchmark Professional Services Pvt. Ltd.
86. Company Vakil
87. Biswajit Sarkar
The Process of Registering Trademarks
A Business or an Organization that’s looking to have a Trademark, the following is a typical process of Trademark Registration. It is standardized across consultancies offering Trademark Registration services.
Homework
Have a Trademark ready – could be any of many or many of any, meaning the Trademark(s) up for registration could be just 1 or more of any of the acceptable forms of Trademarks.
One should have a good idea of classification of goods as the Trademark shall represent that class of goods. A Trademark can be applied for multiples classes of goods.
Similarly, for services, where the mark is called as a Service Mark.
Sign up with a Trademark Registration Firm or Consultancy, and as available from most firms, get a free consultation on the process, and the class & validity of the Trademark that needs registration.
>>> Pay fee for getting started or the full amount, depends on the consultant <<<
Quick Note List – 92 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
88. LexOrbis
89. Anand & Anand
90. Kireeti Consultants
91. Sri Sai Services
92. Wise Filings
Pre-filing
The consultants will conduct a search of the Trademark Registry to ascertain, a Trademark like it does not already exist – any pending trademark or registered-recorded trademark, be it of any type or form can be searched for and verified for similarity with the new one to be registered.
The consultants will analyse the search results and with or without modifications take the application forward.
Submit all the required and suggested documents like the ID, Business, Address Proof etc.
Provide a User Affidavit, which is for the proof of use of the trademark, as it was prior to the trademark registration application.
Authorize the consultant firm to make the trademark registration filing [application] on behalf of the business or the business owner or the applicant, by signing the Power of Attorney [POA] – Form 48, and guidance is provided by the consultant.
>>>Pay the full amount, if pending, including all the Government Fees and GST <<<
Quick Note List – 95 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
93. RNA Technology and UP Attorneys
94. DMD Advocates
95. Remfry & Sagar
Actual Process
The application is filed by the firm online (which is the norm now) at ipindiaonline.gov.in
The application is to be accepted by the Trademark Registrar of the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trademarks office.
If the documentation is not flawed, the application is granted a Receipt.
The receipt is enough for the TM registering client or business to start using the symbol TM next to their Trademark.
*** This completes the main step – that is applying for a Trademark.
The straight, no-hitch time period of obtaining an approval of the Trademark application is 12-24 months, which is ideal.
Upon which, the Trademark becomes Registered – Certification is granted to the owner of the Trademark for its proprietorship. The Trademark of the Business can, then on, bear the symbol R.
Steps, Post-Application, what can go wrong?
- “Send To Vienna Codification”
The Trademark file, IF with graphical designs (logo, symbol and other elements) is sent to Vienna Codification process. The Trademark is assigned a Vienna Code based on what the graphical elements are in the Trademark
- “Formalities CHK. Fail / Pass”
Once encoded, the application is checked for all components, required for it to be complete and process-ready. It passes or fails based on its completeness.
Passing is Passing. That’s clear.
If ‘Failed’, the missing checks are to be provided from the applicant’s side for advancement to next stage
- “Marked for Exam”
The application at this point is at the Examiner, who scrutinizes the Trademark for violations of Trademark Rules, 2017. The trademark is either accepted or objected to. A Trademark Report is issued in either case
- “Exam Report Issued/Accepted” or “Objected”
If the Trademark is not satisfactory in its compliance of being one, then it is Objected To. Objection is to be replied to within 30 days with clarification in writing.
If written addressing does not solve the objection, a Hearing is called for, where in-person clarification is required.
That should solve it or the Trademark gets REFUSED. After which, the process goes on for review petition and appeals. These details can be read here.
*** The IPAB (Intellectual Property Appellate Board) comes into picture for appeals on refusals on review of refusals
- “Advertised before acc”.
This is when the accepted application from the previous stage is published to the Trademark Journal for advertisement to the public. This is a 4-month-window opportunity given to others to oppose the Trademark under any reason.
- “Opposed/ Accepted”
If no opposition notice is filed by anybody, the application is approved in 3 months, registering the Trademark – HURRAY! The Trademark gains a place in the Official Trademark Registry.
For the opposed applications, a countering response from the applicant’s side is to filed within non-extendible 2 months, not abiding by which will lead to the application being Abandoned by the authorities
This is kind of, a bare-bone process of trademark registration. There are many nuances to it, which is where the expertise of the consultants takes over.
Quick Note List – 100 of Top 100
Trademark Registration Services
96. IP Neeti
97. WeR Consultants
98. TITUS & CO
99. Gopakumar Nair Associates GNAs
100. ROYZZ & Co.
Classes of Goods & Services
A Trademark application is filed for goods or services under a specific class.
A Class for the products / services signifies their nature, usage/function.
India uses the NICE Classification, which has 45 classes to arrange the variety of produce. Classes 1-34 are for products that are Goods and classes 35 thru 45 are for Services.
The NICE Classification is issued a new edition every year, since 2013
Here is a look at the most used Classes, internationally, for Trademark Registration – class list by courtesy of IP India, where a full list can be viewed.
Classes for Goods
Class 9. Scientific, nautical, surveying, electric, photographic, cinematographic, optical, weighing, measuring, signalling, checking (supervision), life saving and teaching apparatus and instruments; apparatus for recording, transmission or reproduction of sound or images; magnetic data carriers, recording discs; automatic vending machines and mechanisms for coin-operated apparatus; cash registers, calculating machines, data processing equipment and computers; fire extinguishing apparatus
Class 25. Clothing, footwear, headgear
Class 29. Meat, fish, poultry and game; meat extracts; preserved, dried and cooked fruits and vegetables; jellies, jams, fruit sauces; eggs, milk and milk products; edible oils and fats
Class 30. Coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, rice, tapioca, sago, artificial coffee; flour and preparations made from cereals, bread, pastry and confectionery, ices; honey, treacle; yeast, baking powder; salt, mustard; vinegar, sauces, (condiments); spices; ice
Class 31. Agricultural, horticultural and forestry products and grains not included in other classes; live animals; fresh fruits and vegetables; seeds, natural plants and flowers; foodstuffs for animals, malt
Class 32. Beers, mineral and aerated waters, and other non-alcoholic drinks; fruit drinks and fruit juices; syrups and other preparations for making beverages
Class 33. Alcoholic beverages(except beers)
Classes for Services
Class 35. Advertising, business management, business administration, office functions
Class 41. Education; providing of training; entertainment; sporting and cultural activities
Class 42. Scientific and technological services and research and design relating thereto; industrial analysis and research services; design and development of computer hardware and software
Things to Remember
Conclusion
This write-up, while, aiming to bring out the best services in Trademark Registration, has tried for an all-round coverage of Trademarks, the due process of Registration, and norms & facts surrounding Trademarks for gaining slightly more than sufficient understanding on the subject.
It hopes to be a conduit that will lead the readers and pursuers somewhere.
Recommended Reads
Top 100 Trademark Registration Lawyers in India
Frequently Asked Questions
Vienna Code is purely a Numerical Code assigned to a figurative or graphical Trademark based on what those figurative or graphical elements are.
Example: If the Trademark in its graphical form is a Star & Moon Lit Night, its Vienna Code could be like 1.7.6, as listed in Vienna Classification, called the ‘The Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks’.
The code classifies the figurative elements in hierarchy of Categories, Divisions & Sections which increase in particularity moving down.
Vienna Classification was done to have a common way of looking at graphical trademarks. The Classification comes under Vienna Agreement, which many countries are party to.
The party-countries can have Vienna Classification or their own National Classification to generate codes for marks as deemed fit.
However, if Vienna Codification is used, the countries are obliged to provide the code in the official registry and the registration certificate against the Trademark.
Vienna Code helps in making Trademarks, graphical in nature, to become available for anticipation searches that check for duplicates and similarity of what’s there, to the upcoming ones. This was the purpose of coming up with the classification.
Madrid Protocol (of 1989), comes under Madrid Agreement (of 1891). Madrid Protocol governs the Madrid System, an International System of Trademarks facilitating the registration of Trademarks internationally.
The nations that are signatories to this treaty are termed as Contracting Parties.
India joined the international treaty of Madrid Protocol in 2013.
Madrid Protocol has brought in norms for international registration of trademarks.
It grants a system which can be used as a one-stop shop for making business brands registrable across many countries, so for international trade, the businesses can have their products / services protected in those territories.
Madrid System is hosted by WIPO and is used for applying for international Trademark registration and governance of those applications with respect to the Madrid Protocol.
WIPO processes, formally, the international applications for trademark registration before handing over to the IP Offices of Contracting Parties for their final decision on granting or not, the sought protection to those Trademarks in their territories.
WIPO is World Intellectual Property Organization. It was established in 1967 by WIPO Convention. It is a central organization for rules, laws, policies, services and cooperation on intellectual property like Patents, Designs, Trademarks, Copyrights, which are applicable internationally. It aims for development of Intellectual Property System for advancement of global creativity and innovation.
WIPO is a self-funding agency of the UN, having the member countries of the UN, also for itself.
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