A Simplified Guide On The Process Of Trademark Search India

In a world where first copies are easily available, it is very important to register a trademark for your brand name. It safeguards the brand from unauthorized use. One must check the availability of the trademark online before registration by following the trademark search process. It lets you know whether the brand is available for registration or if some other person has already registered or applied for a similar brand name. We will further discuss the step-by-step process to perform a trademark search India.

What is the trademark search process?

Trademark search is an important part of trademark registration. If the trademark search is not conducted properly then there is a greater chance of objection and rejection of the trademark application.

Before proceeding further, it is best to know about trademark class search. Before performing a trademark search it is important to identify the appropriate trademark classes of goods and services. You may use the trademark class search tool provided below to identify class by searching for specific terms related to goods or services.

Let us briefly understand the framework of performing a search. A trademark search can be of two types on the official portal of IP India and the same is provided below – 

1. Wordmark search – A wordmark search can be performed by entering the trademark as it is, that is in the form of a combination of letters. Further, the user is also required to input the class details for performing a trademark search. The intention of performing this search is to retrieve the existence of all confusingly similar marks from the records of the trademark registry.
   
   
2. Vienna Code Search – A Vienna code search can be performed by entering a six-digit code attributed to every element of artistic representation along with the class applicable to your product. After entering the details, a list of trademark/s appears on the screen based on the entered details.
   
   
3. Phonetic Search – This type of search is similar to a wordmark search. One is required to enter the trademark corresponding to the field of ‘phonetic’ on the search page. Further, the class details should be entered. A phonetic search retrieves all trademarks from the records of the trademark registry that are similar in pronunciation or sound to the searched trademark.

Let’s further understand the step-by-step approach to trademark search. 

Step 1: Selecting ‘trademark type’ for trademark search

Once the selection of class is done, the next step in the trademark search process is to check the availability of the brand name following the below-mentioned steps. A comprehensive trademark search can be performed at the official website of IP India public search, at the official trademark search portal

• Access the trademark search through the official trademark search India portal and you will be redirected to this page where you will be able to perform a name search.
  

• In the search type, keep the ‘Wordmark’ selected from the drop-down list.

Step 2: Performing the search

• In the first row, you will find another drop-down list corresponding to the wordmark, in which select ‘Contains’ and besides it write your brand name in the given box. For example, if the brand name is ‘Legalwiz’ and the appropriate class is 42, then enter the details in the requisite fields and click the ‘Search’ button.

After clicking the search button, the results related to the exact searched term will appear on the screen.

If you have not already noticed there is a drop-down menu corresponding to the field of ‘wordmark’. There are three options in the drop-down menu, that is, ‘start with’, ‘contains’ and ‘match with’.

1. Start with – This search filter allows you to identify merely those trademarks existing in the records of the trademark registry that starts with the details entered in the field of wordmark.
   
2. Contains – This search filter lets you retrieve results consisting of all trademarks that contain the searched term.
   
3. Match with – This type of search filter allows you to retrieve results consisting of all trademarks that match with the details entered in the field of wordmark. 

Step 3: Understanding the search results obtained from trademark search

Below are the search results of the query searched for in the previous step. 

The results of the search performed in the previous step are below. If you have performed a trademark search for the brand ‘Legalwiz’ and if you can see its existence in the records of the trademark registry then you may not proceed ahead with filing the trademark application. 

When you see a mark similar to your brand in search results, you should consider three most important things to check to understand its existence and validity among other things –

1. Primarily, check the ‘Application date’ field. It provides for the date on which the trademark application was filed.
   
2. Secondly, view details related to the ‘used since’ field. It provides the date on which the trademark was used for the first time.
   
3. Thirdly, you should check the ‘valid upto’ field. This merely means that for how long until the renewal, the trademark registry will keep this mark on the records of the trademark registry. 

Some other things worth consideration can be the goods description and the type of logo.

Step 4: Performing a ‘Phonetic’ Search online on the official Search Portal

A phonetic trademark search is performed to identify trademarks that are similar in sounds. 

To perform a search for the same, you may select phonetic from the very first drop-down list against Search Type and enter the brand name and class as described above and search again as under –

• It is important to check the brand name phonetically because it may be that there are no similar brand names but there are brand names which sound similar.
  
• For example, if your brand name is “seez” and no similar results are found in the trademark search but if there is a trademark application or brand registration with “ciz” then such result will show the same performance of a phonetic trademark search.
  
• The trademark registry will not approve the trademark application even if there is a phonetically similar brand name. So phonetic check is a must.

This complete guide will help you to do a trademark search and decide whether to pursue trademark application filing with the same brand name or is there a need to think of other different and unique brand names due to similar brands found in the search.

Conclusion

One can easily search the availability of the brand name using this guide but it is always recommended to seek the help of professionals. A professional possesses the required technical knowledge about the trademark laws and industry practices which will help in performing a comprehensive trademark as well as making an informed decision. However, the final discretion of the approval of the trademark application remains with the Trademark Registry. Legalwiz.in has an experienced and reliable team of individuals who can solve your trademark registration related queries. Feel free to contact us at support@legalwiz.in