Trademark Registration in Raipur

What can be registered

A trademark can be a name, a logo, a slogan, a combination of these, and in principle sounds and distinctive packaging or shapes, provided the mark is capable of distinguishing the applicant's goods or services from everyone else's. A mark that is merely descriptive of the goods, or that has become the generic name for a category of product, cannot be registered — which is why a made-up or distinctive name is easier to protect than a literal description of what the business does.

Government fees

• ₹4,500 per class for individuals, sole proprietors, DPIIT-recognised startups, and Udyam-registered MSMEs, filing online
• ₹9,000 per class for companies, LLPs and other entities, filing online
• Physical filing carries a ₹500 surcharge per class over the online rate in each category
• The concession for startups and MSMEs is not automatic — it must be actively claimed at the time of filing, with the applicant category correctly selected and a valid Udyam or DPIIT certificate on record. Filing as an individual proprietor when the business has since been incorporated, or forgetting to attach the certificate, forfeits the concession.
• Each class is a separate fee and a separate scope of protection. Registering in one class protects the mark only for the goods or services that class covers — using the same name in an unrelated class is not automatically protected, and a competitor is free to register it there.

The 45 classes, and a change that took effect this year

India follows the international Nice Classification system, with 34 classes covering goods and 11 covering services. The 13th Edition of the Nice Classification took effect on 1 January 2026, which moved some goods and services between classes. A business relying on an older class list, or copying the classification a competitor used some years ago, may be filing under the wrong class without realising it.

Getting the class right matters beyond the filing fee. Protection extends only to what is actually covered, so under-classifying leaves real business activities unprotected, while over-classifying is simply an unnecessary cost. Where a business genuinely operates across several classes — a manufacturer that also runs retail outlets and offers after-sales service, for instance — filing in only the obvious class leaves the others exposed.

The registration process

Timeline

Where no objection or opposition arises, registration typically follows within 12 to 18 months of filing. Examination itself is now often completed within a few months rather than the year or more it could take historically, though an objection or an opposition extends the overall timeline considerably — sometimes well beyond 18 months. A clean pre-filing search is the best insurance against both.

Using the mark while the application is pending

The ™ symbol may be used immediately on filing, and indeed before filing, to signal a claim to the mark. The ® symbol may only be used once the registration certificate has actually been issued — using it before that point is a false representation and can attract penalty. Businesses eager to signal registered status sometimes make this mistake, and it is easily avoided.

Validity and renewal

A registered trademark is valid for ten years from the date of filing, and may be renewed indefinitely for further ten-year terms — there is no maximum number of renewals, which is why long-established brands can hold trademarks decades old. Renewal is filed in Form TM-R, and should be filed before expiry rather than left to the grace period that follows it, since the grace period carries a surcharge and the mark is at risk of removal from the register if it lapses without renewal.

The startup and MSME fee concession applies only to the initial application, not to renewal — renewal is charged at the standard rate regardless of the applicant's category.

Situations we deal with regularly

A business that has traded under a name for years without registering it. This is common, and the risk crystallises the moment a competitor registers the same or a similar name first — at which point the earlier, unregistered user may have to prove prior use to defend its own position, rather than simply relying on a certificate.

A business expanding into online marketplaces. Registration is generally required to enrol in brand protection programmes on major e-commerce platforms, which is often the point at which an unregistered business first feels the cost of not having filed earlier.

Manufacturers and traders operating across several product lines, where the classification needs to reflect the actual spread of the business rather than only its original activity.

A business converting from a proprietorship to a company or LLP. The trademark, if registered in the proprietor's own name, needs to be assigned or the ownership recorded correctly against the new entity — an easy step to overlook amid the rest of a conversion.

Scope of our work

We conduct the pre-filing search across word, phonetic and visual similarity; advise on class selection under the current classification, matched to the business's actual and planned activities; prepare and file Form TM-A, correctly claiming the startup or MSME concession where available; respond to examination reports; monitor the journal for opposition and represent the applicant if one is filed; track renewal dates and file Form TM-R in good time; and advise on assignment where ownership needs to move between a proprietor and a subsequently formed entity.