Trademark Registration in Goa

Goa is a state in western India with coastlines stretching along the Arabian Sea. Factors like high literacy rate, tourism-friendly ecosystem, high per-capita income, low crime rate, strong connectivity, and harmonious industrial ecosystem are driving major industrial growth in Goa.

Among the 10 well-developed states, Goa tops the rankings in terms of public infrastructure and service utilities, making it a suitable place for starting a business or company. Once you have started a business it becomes essential to register your trademark and protect your brand identity.

Intellectual Property Rights are a very important asset class for any business, startup, or enterprise. Developing and protecting intellectual property such as Trademark, Patent, Designs, Geographical Indication (GI) with proper registration can help them to gain a competitive advantage.

It is essential to obtain trademark registration for the business name/trade name under the Trademarks Act 1999.A trademark provides protection to the owner of the mark by ensuring the exclusive right to use it or to authorize another person/entity to use the same in exchange of agreed consideration.

A trademark (also known as a brand name) may be a name, signature, word, letter, numeral, symbol, logo, device, packaging labels, tagline, the shape of goods, or any combination thereof to distinguish it from other similar goods or services originating from another seller. It is a distinctive sign which identifies certain goods or services as those produced or provided by a specific person or enterprise.

Who can file an application for Trademark Registration?

• An Individual Person
• Joint Owners
• Proprietorship Firm
• Partnership Firm
• Limited Liability Partnership
• Indian or Foreign Companies
• Trust, Society, NGO’s
• Banks, Insurance Company, Financial Institution, Stock Market Intermediaries
• Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies
• Schools, Colleges, Institutions and Universities

Invented and Coined Marks

• The invented/coined marks mean coining a new word that has no dictionary and does not resemble any other registered or applied trademark such as “Adidas”, “Samsung” etc.
• These are the strongest marks, and thus the easiest to protect.

Arbitrary marks

• Arbitrary marks mean mark which exists in popular vocabulary, but have no logical relationship to the goods or services for which they are used, like “Blackberry” for phones, “Apple” for computers, “Kangaro” for stationery items.
• These marks are comparatively easy to protect and register as a trademark

Descriptive and Suggestive Marks 

• Descriptive marks mean the mark describing the characteristic of the products, like using the mark “Fair” for the fairness creams, using the mark “Print Media” for newspaper publication.
• Suggestive marks mean the mark suggesting the characteristic of the products, like “Habitat” for home furnishings products, like “Airbus” for airplanes.
• These are considered comparatively hard to protect and register as a trademark

Well Known Trademarks

• While adopting any mark, the applicant should also keep in mind and ensure that the mark is not being used by any other person in India or abroad, especially if the mark is well-known.
• India recognizes the concept of the “Well-known Trademark” and the principle of “Trans-border Reputation”.
• Examples of well-known trademarks are Google, Tata, Yahoo, Pepsi, Microsoft, etc.

Generic marks

• Generic marks mean using the name of the product, for the product, like using the brand name “Wood” for furniture, “Jal” for packaged water etc.
• These marks are most difficult to protect as trademarks.