Trademark registration is a lengthy process and involves a number of steps until it is finally registered. After a person has filed an application to the Registrar, he can check the status of his application in the website ipindiaonline.gov.in. It is managed by the Trade Marks Registry, which administers the Trade Marks Act and the rules made there under.
After checking in to the website, a person can see five (5) options in the left corner of the site which are as follows:
- Trade Mark Application/ Registered Mark
- Trade Mark Indexes
- Receipt/ Acknowledgement for Postal Applications
- Track Legal Certificate Request
- Copyright TM-C
Out of which the first four are relevant for trademark users. In the right corner of the site, one can see “Guidelines for use” which sets out the guidelines to find and view details of registered trademarks and application status.
Trade Mark Application/ Registered Mark
After clicking the first option, one can see the status of his trademark registration application. A new window will pop up indicating two options “National/ IRDI Number” or “International registration Number”.
IRDI stands for International Registration Designating India through which another country which has applied for trademark in India can check its application status. National Number is for people who have applied for a trademark within the territorial jurisdiction. According to the Madrid Protocol, an international application may be based on either a mark that has already been registered or a mark that has been applied for but not yet registered. The international application can be filed only in respect of goods and/or services for either of the above mentioned basis.
If a person has applied for the registration within India, he can check his application status by clicking on the “National/IRDI Number”. If he has applied for the trademark outside of India, he will have to click on the option “International Registration Number”.
Another page to “View registered Trademark/ Application Details or View International Registration Details” will pop up after clicking on National/ IRDI number option or International Registration number option respectively. The applicant will have to enter the Application Number assigned to him at the time of registration, a captcha code and then the “View” button below the code.
By clicking on the view button one can see the updated trademark application status. The system shows a page with all the details of the trademark including the Class, Category, Type, Documents uploaded and the personal details of the applicant. It also shows the status with an alert notice indicating if the applicant needs to do something. For example, if the status shows “objected”, it means that the application has been objected and the applicant needs to prepare himself for the Show cause hearing. It can be seen in the status page that the information is “not for legal use”.
The steps of checking the status, in short, is as follows:
Ipindiaonline.gov.in > Trade mark Application/ Registered Mark > National, IRDI Number/ International Registration > Enter Application number > Enter Captcha Code > View.
This is the step by step instructions on how to check the trademark application status.
If a person wants to search index of registered trade mark/ application, he shall click on the second option in the home page which will redirect him to another page showing four index types; registered trademarks, Non-subsisting marks, Pending marks and Proprietor index, respectively.
The third option provides for all kind of receipts and acknowledgements to the proprietor of the trademark whenever he requires. The fourth option is to track legal certificate request for which a person has to enter the Receipt Number and the Receipt date of the application.
Guidelines for use
The website also provides guidelines to find and view details of Registered Trademarks and Application Status which are as follows:
General
- The module is intended to be used by the owners of the trademark as well as applicants of the trademarks in the Indian Trade Marks Registry.
- The owners of the mark can view the uncertified Electronic Trademark Register, present status of their mark, next date of renewal assignment, scanned copy of the Registration Certificate etc.
- The applicant of a trademark can view his status, examination report, status of opposition, if any.
- For viewing journal publication you may have to surf the trademark journal archive.
Trademark Application/ Registered Mark
If you know the Application Number of the Trade Mark whose details are to be find, enter the number and click the view button. If you don’t know the Application Number of the trademarks whose details are to be find, click the button “find details without Trade Mark Number/ Application Number, key- in the Trade Mark, Proprietor Name, Class and Goods/ Services and click the Search button to list the Registered/ Pending application status of your mark.
In the Trade Mark column, enter the Trade Mark (min 3 characters). In the Proprietor Name column, enter the name of the owner (min 5 characters, no prefix like M/s., Mrs., Smt., Dr., etc)
After an application for trademark registration, the Trade Mark Office processes the application, and it is in this period that objection or opposition to the registration of a trademark is raised. For these reasons, it is advised to regularly visit the above mentioned government website for checking the status of the trademark. If any objection or opposition arises, the applicant will have to give reply to the same and if he fails to do so within the prescribed time limit, the application is considered to be abandoned and the person will have to file an application all over again. Checking the status of an application for registration of a trademark has become so easy with the access of internet that any kind of information is just one click away. The more the applicant is aware of the status of his application, the easier it is for him to act upon whatever problems that might arise in the registration process.
