4 Common Reasons Why Businesses Need to Amend Their Registered Trademark

The growth of a company depends upon the safeguarding of its products or services. A trademark plays that role for a business. India is home to 24,61,937 registered companies, out of which 15,17,008  are active companies. In such a dense setup, trademarks become an essential tool to maintain originality and values, which are the foundation stones for a company. Trademarks are like the gatekeepers for businesses that obstructs any intruders from replicating any element from the business.Such that no one can use the product specifications or identification of a company without the company’s prior permission.

In this blog, we learn about trademarks including how to register a trademark and how to execute a trademark name search. ALso we will put emphasis on why businesses need to amend their registered trademarks.

The Definition of a Trademark

A trademark can be any element of a product or service such as words, symbols, or phrases, that legally differs that specific product from any other one in its specific field. Mostly, these elements are brand names and logos that can’t be replicated by other companies. A trademark solidifies the fact that the product is owned by a specific company. 

Trademarks set a distinguishable identity not only for businesses but also to the help of consumers. Moreover, in the case of service-related businesses, a service mark plays the role of identification and protection. A total of 11,97,743 trademarks were registered till December 2015 and since then this number has been on an increase with a significant percentage. From 2020-21 the no. of registrations increased from 3,34,805 to 4,31,213. 

Any enterprise would not be able to use brand names or logos that sound or seem similar to one already registered. For example, a company cannot use the logo of Amazon or have a brand name that sounds similar to Amazon. In India, trademark certificate of registration are symbolized by ‘R’ and unregistered ones by the symbol ‘™’.

The validity of a trademark never expires. This means that the law would recognize a trademark and work on the protection of trademarks indefinitely, with the condition that it keeps manufacturing, marketing, and selling its products or services.

Trademark name search

A suitable trademark name search would find suitable trademarks by filtering out similar trademarks and avoiding conflicts. To check if there is a trademark similar to your chosen company name, just go to ipindia online. It would inform you about identical trademarks (if any) that are already registered on the Govt. website.  

The buying and selling of trademarks also takes place. Moreover, for various financial profits, different companies with different trademarks collaborate and exchange exclusive licenses with each other under some conditions. This results in crossover brands.

How to register a trademark?

Registering a trademark has its own benefits. Now we will know how to register a trademark. There are two ways of registering a trademark- offline and online. We will enquire each way-

Registering offline-

1. First of all, select a trademark name. Trademarks can be registered across 45 classes of goods and services.
2. A trademark name search is useful to conduct once before choosing a trademark name.
3. Now, the  ™-A form must be filled. With such a form you can apply for a trademark belonging to more than one class.
4. If done offline, filing confirmation can take up to 20 days.

Registering online-

1. The first step is to choose a trademark name through the internet or a trademark name search.
2. The application must be submitted along with these required documents- proof of business registration, trademark softcopy, claim proof, and a signed power of attorney.
3. E-filing can be done on govt. Website.
4. Next, the application will be checked thoroughly by the Registrar of Trademark. Any identical trademark found will result in the cancellation of the application.
5. Once the application is accepted, your trademark name will be published.
6. Finally, if there are no opposition notices by another company claiming the trademark name, a trademark certificate of registration gets issued by the Registrar of Trademark.

Here is a stat showing the no. of examined Trademark applications and no. of Trademark registered-
 

Source

Can a Trademark be changed?

A trademark has to meet various conditions to be allowed to change by the Govt. The first step is to fill the ™-38 form with all the information about the changes desired to be made by the company such as its brand names and logos. The company must also inform its general consumers of any updated or changed marks. Here are the terms and conditions to keep in mind before altering a trademark-

• Any requirement concerning an updated public search would result in the refusal of trademark amendment by the Govt.
• The name of the firm can be changed on permission, if necessary.
• A shift in the way of usage and control is a valid explanation for trademark renewal.
• A change in the business address can result in a trademark change. However, the existing license must be canceled along with a new registration for a license.

Here is a representation of post-registration trademark amendment requests from FY16-FY21-
 

                                                                     Source

 

4 common reasons why Businesses need to amend their trademarks

Nothing is perfect in this world and trademarks are not an exception. Even if chosen very wisely and carefully, a trademark can fail. There are various reasons for the failure of a trademark. One of the most sensible things for a business to do would be to amend or make changes to their trademark. In the year 2021-22, a total of 29,773 post-registration changes were requested out of which 29,214 were rejected. So, here are four common reasons why businesses need to amend their registered trademarks- 
 

1.Wrong owner name

This is a common problem when starting a business. A budding business might often think about registering its trademark early to secure its motto, even before turning it into an LLC. This is a very understandable step. However, while doing the registration, the registrant is the owner of the proprietorship. Finally, when the trademark is achieved and the business turns into an LLC, the LLC does not own the trademark registration, but the business owner does. Thus, this becomes a common reason for businesses to amend their trademarks.

2.Wrong date of first use

The date of first use should always be correct in a trademark application. A date of first use is the date when the trademark was first used for e-commerce. Many businesses mistake it for the date of LLC registration or the date of domain name purchasing. This results in wrong information and challenges the trademark validity in the future. Any opposition company trying to find loopholes in your trademark would wish for something like this. The date of first use is an important piece of information that determines whether the trademark belongs to you or not. 
 

3.Stop using the trademark

The validity of a trademark is for an indefinite time. But this is only when the trademark is being used properly and regularly. Once a trademark is stopped being used, it does not exist as one. This is a common mistake that affects the protection of trademarks.

4.Wrong goods or services

Any goods or services that are listed during the trademark application process must be completely present in the company supplies. Most businesses do not realize this until checked or challenged by other companies. All the goods that were listed to be trademarked must be produced by the company at all times as specified. Failing in which a trademark registration can be cancelation of trademark certificate of registration or would require immediate amendments.

Procedure for Trademark Change in India

 Total applications for trademarks in the whole world (FY13-FY22)

Souce

Below given steps that can be taken to make amendments to trademarks in India-

1. The ™-O form must be updated in case of any modification or change to the trademark
2. Documents that contain the reasons behind the change requirement must attached to the ™-O form.
3. The change will be accepted and made in 3 months only if there is no objection received.

Bottomline

Trademarks play an important role in any business anywhere in the world. Without this, the rights of a business over its products or services could not be protected. Trademarks are an important intellectual property that not only safeguards the business identity but also builds trust and originality for their customers. However, there are many reasons why many trademarks get canceled or require amendments in the future. These are mostly related to wrong information during the trademark registration process or low maintenance and usage of a trademark. Such reason reduces the protection of trademarks and must be avoided at all costs.

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