PUBLIC SEARCH OF TRADEMARK INDIA

A trademark public search is an important step in the process of adopting or registering a trademark. This search confirms whether the name or logo is similar to a registered trademark.

A trademark Attorney or agent usually searches with the Trademark office to find out if anyone has already registered identical trademarks. Such a search is conducted before filing the trademark application.

Generally, Trademark office do not charge anything for public search, but Attorney or Agent may charge, the cost is between Rs 0 and Rs 500.

TRADEMARK SEARCH

A trademark search is an important step in the process of trademark registration process. Before filing a trademark, search is required to be conducted to determine the mark you want to register for product or services is available or already in use by another.

Trademark search can be conducted yourself, but if you face any confusion, you should hire an attorney for conducting a free search as they will give you valuable input about the proposed mark and also possibility of the mark attaining registration.

WHY TRADEMARK SEARCH IMPORTANT

Trademark search has following advantages:

Trademark search will avoid clash with identical registered trademarks.
Trademark search informs you about marks which are visually, structurally, phonetically and deceptively similar to the proposed mark.
Trademark search gives a clear idea about the proposed mark and the possibility of attaining registration.
Proper trademark search reduces the chance of objection from Trademark registry.
Trademark search ensures not to infringe someone else intellectual property rights.
Trademark search eliminates conflicts with similar trademarks.

TRADEMARK CLASS

To perform a trademark search before filing the trademark application you need to know the trademark classes as per the NICE classifications. For proper search and trademark filing, you should know the appropriate class of trademark in which goods and services covered. There are total 45 classes of trademark, which will fall according to goods and services from which you are required to select the exact class. First classes (1-34) cover goods and rest (35-45) cover services. For e.g. Tea falls in Class 30, Cement & Plywood in Class 19. Likewise advertising falls in Class and construction falls in Class 37. Trademark classification list is given on IP India website: ipindia.gov.in (Trademark →Classification of goods & services.

HOW TO CONDUCT TRADEMARK SEARCH

Trademark search is generally conducted in the Indian trademark database. Trademark search type is divided into three types: Word mark, Phonetic, and Vienna Code.

Word mark Search- During the time of this search three things to be taken care of and they are- choosing the word mark option, entering the word name and then class. It is to be remembered that same word mark will appear for that class only. For Search in other classes, class details has to be entered every time.

Phonetic search- Phonetic search helps when trademarks use the same pronunciation. Similar-sounding trademarks can create confusion, and one can use phonetic search for these. Therefore, you can follow the same step mentioned above for the phonetic search of the trademark.

Vienna code search- This type of search is performed to find a similar device mark. The trademark office provides a Vienna code for the trademark applicant having such mark. While doing a Vienna code search, one must enter the Vienna code followed by the class of the goods or service.

The link for trademark search is:-

Go to IP India website: ipindia.gov.in
Select Trademark and click related links
On related links click Public search
On clicking public search, you are directed to external website, where you have to click, yes.
On clicking yes, a new page will open, where you need to select word mark or phonetic in Search type.
In the next step, enter the name of trademark you desire to conduct search in the first box. In the second box, you are required to enter the class (only one class at a time) as per the goods or services.
In the end, click search and immediately all the trademark which are similar or deceptively similar to the search mark will appear with all the details like applicant name, company name, type of mark, class, goods description, status of the mark, date of application etc. from where you get an idea where your trademark stand.

CONCLUSION

Therefore, conducting a trademark search is an integral part of filing a trademark application to know whether your brand name can be registered under the Trademark Act. If any similar mark exists in the market on search, change your mark. Such a search gives idea about the use of the mark by any other party. Based on such a search, we guide our client to apply trademark so that possibility of registration is maximum.

Feel free to reach out to us at Agarwal Consultancy for all your trademark registration-related queries and assistance!