What is a Trademark?

Basically, a trademark is a brand or a logo that you use to distinguish your product from those of your competitors. The term Trademark is the legal term for  “intellectual property”. 

One can also say that a Trademark is typically a name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, image,  or a combination of these elements. A trademark identifies the brand owner of a particular product or service.

All you should know on Trademark Registration:

Trademark Registration is a legal procedure provided under the Trade Marks Act, 1999. Through trademark registration or you can say logo registration/brand registration, you can protect your brand or logo by restricting other people from using the same.

What is a Trademark Watch service?

Trademark registration is a long process that has to pass through various steps. Ebizfiling Trademark watch provides the services of keeping a close watch at each stage of the Trademark registration process and doing the needful as and when needed to prevent the client from missing out on any important stage which can affect the registration of the trademark. 

Why Trademark Watch services are important for you?

It is important to keep the track of the Trademark registration application in the following two circumstances:

1. During the Pendency of the Application
2. After registration

Benefits of Trademark watch Service:

• By subscribing to the trademark services, we ensure that you get notified of the important stage of your Trademark Registration Application.
• In case of objection or opposition, we make sure to make you prepare with the reply and justifications.
• The facility of a representative to appear before the trademark officer would be given 
• In case of a third-party objection, you will be notified.
• You don’t miss out on the important hearing dates etc.
• Track of all relevant trademark registers to identify applications for identical and similar trademarks would be kept.
• Process of monitoring the trademark and looking out for all the similar marks that are registered would be available. 

Role of  Ebizfiling Trademark Watch Service at each stage:

Following are Important post-application steps and through the EbizFiling Trademark Watch service, you can keep a track of the important dates and ensure that your IP is not being used in an unauthorized manner.

Step 1- Examination Of the Trademark

      1.1- In case of the objection of the Trademark examiner

      1.2- In case of dissatisfaction of trademark officer

Step 2- Journal Publication

Step 3- Opposition Of Trademark

Step 4- After Registration Watch 

Step 1- Examination Of the Trademark:

What is an examination of the trademark?

After the trademark application passes the formalities check through the stage Vienna Codification, the trademark examiner will take up the task of checking the acceptability. Where the trademark officer will review the trademark application for correctness and issue a trademark examination report. Here the Trademark Officer can accept the trademark registration application and allow for trademark journal publication or object to the trademark registration application.

Role of EbizFiling:

1.1 What if there is an Objection to Trademark Application?

If the trademark application has been issued an adverse examination report by the trademark examiner, the trademark applicant will have to appear before the Trademark Officer and will have to address the Trademark objections raised. 

Here the EbizFiling Trademark Watch Service will notify if there is an objection to your Trademark Application and if needed by you we will arrange the representative at extra cost to appear on your behalf and address the objection in front of the trademark officer,

1.2 In case of dissatisfaction of the Trademark Officer:

If the trademark Officer is not satisfied with the Applicant’s justification, he can file an appeal against the decision of the application before the Intellectual Property Appellate Board. Here as well the Trademark watch service will notify you and will arrange an attorney to challenge the decision in front of the IP Appellate Board.

Step 2- Journal Publication:

Once the trademark registration application is accepted by the Trademark Officer, it gets published in the Trademark Journal which is published weekly and contains all the accepted trademark by the trademark registrar. 

Step 3- Opposition Of Trademark:

The objection of the third party is said to be the opposition of the trademark. Once the trademark is published in the trademark journal, the public will have an opportunity to object to the trademark registration within 90 days of the publication, if they believe they will be damaged by that registration.

But there is an opposition made by the third party within 90 days of the publication,  hearing will be called for by the Trademark Hearing Officer where both the Trademark applicant and the opposing party will have to appear with justification for the justification or rejection of the trademark application. Based on the hearings and the evidences, the trademark hearing officer will accept or reject the trademark registration application.

Here as well the EbizFiling Trademark Watch service would be very helpful as we will keep track of the process and will hire an attorney to appear in the hearings on your behalf and try to protect our Trademark.  

It is very important to know that If the trademark applicant does not respond to the trademark registrar within the prescribed time, the judgement would be given in favor of the third party and the status would say abandoned. If you miss the hearing because of the lack of knowledge of the dates, your application can be rejected. 

Step 4- Trademark Registration:

Once there are no objections or opposition for the trademark registration application, the trademark registration certificate and the trademark manuscript will be prepared and sent to the trademark applicant. Once the trademark registration certificate is issued, the trademark is considered to be a registered trademark of the owner, granting the trademark owner exclusive use of the mark. The ® symbol can now be placed next to the logo or trademark.  

Step 5- After Registration Watch:

Even after the registration process is completed, our Trademark watch Services provides trademark owners or applicants to be alerted when similar or identical trademarks to theirs are being filed. For that we will keep a watch over the status every six months, we will also notify about the due date the Trademark renewal etc. 

And even keep track of whether similar or identical trademarks to theirs are published in one of the jurisdictions and classes the service has been subscribed for after the registration.

If the owner determines that the published trademark may cause conflict with theirs, they will be able to present opposition actions against the application, aiming to prevent its registration.

Trademark Watch Services is a newly emerging idea in recent times in India. It is a very useful service for people who want to register their trademark successfully but fails to keep track of the status of the registration process. That is when EbizFiling trademark watch service becomes useful and comes as the savior.