A Trademark is a kind of a protection towards the Intellectual Property. Trademark distinguishes various products and services by providing a brand value to them in the market. This non-deliberately attaches a quality value to all the products. The process of applying for the trademark is lengthy and it requires that the owner files a very long application and attach all the necessary documents to get the privilege.
Benefits of Trademark Registration
The following are some benefits of the trademark Registration Process in India :
1) Exclusivity
The owner of the registered trademark has the power and the exclusive rights over it. The person can utilize the same as per his benefits for all the items that fall under the class of trademark as specified in the application. The owner enjoys the privilege of prosecution where he feels that the same has faced infringement.
2) Reputation
The trademark supposedly builds the trust and the reputation of the goods and services it represents. The consumers tend to understand the significance of the quality associated with the trademark. This makes them more loyal to the company. The trademark ensures a unique identity to the company in the sense that the customers can trust on the goods and services provided by the company.
3) Product Differentiation
A trademark offers a “brand name” to the product and services associated with the same. It gives an identity to the company which is special and cannot be used by any other company. The logo also conveys the company’s vision and the quality of the products it supplies. The product differentiation feature is very important in a market where competition prevails. So it serves as a tool for product differentiation.
4) Signifies Quality
As the trademark offers identity to the products and services, the consumers associate the brand name or the trademark with the quality of products it offers. It becomes a measure of quality and the consumers start to compare the quality of various associated products with the name or logo. The quality plays a very important role in determining which product wins in the market. It becomes a mark of the quality of goods and services.
5) Asset to the Organisation
The enrolled and registered trademark enjoys privilege of exclusivity and cannot be used or managed by any other organization. It invites consumers who hear its name and about its quality. The registration enables the right of prosecution against the party for the infringement of the registered mark. A lot of organization invests a significance amount of funds in the formation of Intellectual Property for the organization which in return transforms to Intangible asset for the organization.
6) Symbol representation
The registered trademark can be represented as a symbol for the association. No other organization can use the same to differentiate the product or services. In case where the same happens, the symbol gives the power to the owner to exercise his rights in the court. A symbol gets stored in mind of the consumers easily. As well as, the advertisement of the product becomes easier.
7) Infringement safety
As stated above, the symbol or the registered trademark gives the exclusive rights to use the same to the owner and if it is used by a third party without the required permission of the owner, the owner can sue the party in court exercising the rights of action against infringement. The Trademark Act, 1999 gives this right to the proprietor of the mark. Any party, who feels that their trademark is used without the permission of the concerned proprietor, can present its arguments in the court session against the infringement.
8) Global Coverage
The trademark registered in India, can be further registered in different nations globally. For the applicants intending for registration outside India, an application along with an established goodwill in India can be presented.
9) Attracts Human Resource
Young talents are attracted by the companies who have a name in the market. They want to work in the well-known company. The name of the company is established by the trademark. So people get attracted to work for these companies. Thus it attracts good human resource. Human resource is one of the most important raw materials of the company. Not only that the trademark attracts young and better human resource, but also it encourages the present reserve of human resource to work for the development of the company.
Initiatives Taken by Indian Government for ease of Trademark Registration
During the year, the Intellectual Property Office has been radically transformed through numerous initiatives that have contributed tremendously to easing of access to the Intellectual property (IP) system, efficiency in processing of IP applications, uniformity and consistency in the examination of applications, transparency and dissemination of IP information, bilateral cooperation at the international level, and raising the awareness level of the public.
- Transparency and dissemination of information: The official website provides vast information relating to patents, trademarks, designs and geographical indications. The real time status of IP applications with entire file wrappers and e-registers is now open to the public, providing a strong tool to the public that can now be an integral part of the IP system. An innovative tool, showing the stock and flow of patents and trademarks applications at every stage of its processing, has ushered in transparency.
- Modernization of administration: The IP system embarked on its e-journey by introducing the complete electronic processing of Patents and Trademarks applications through specialized modules. To cater to the immense flow of the papers filed, a single central server at IPO Delhi is in place. Since India has a unique intellectual property office wherein there are 4 patent offices and 5 trademark offices, there is need for strong intra-office connectivity. The system is unique in itself since there is automatic generation of application numbers as also automatic allotment of the request for examination which is sequential and thus transparent and user-friendly.
- Online e-filing facilities– Comprehensive online e-filing facilities for patent and trademark application were introduced in 2013-15 which provided the stakeholder 2 major advantages. First, an applicant can file an application virtually 24×7 and secondly, applications can be filed from the comfort of their workplace/ homes.
- Comprehensive payment gateway– The IPO allowed the e-filers the facility of using debit cards, credit cards and internet banking. This year, e-filers were given the facility of using debit cards, credit cards and internet banking of over 70 banks for making payment of fees for all forms.
- 10% rebate on online filing- To encourage online filing of the applications, a 10% rebate on online filing of applications and documents has been introduced; online filing has jumped from under 30% to over 80% in just a year
- Fee Concession for MSME: MSMEs account for 45% of total industrial production and the total contribution of MSMEs to India’s GDP is 38%. To encourage them to innovate and seek protection for their inventions, a 50 % fee reduction has been provided for MSMEs.
- Human Resources: An additional 1033 plan posts have been created, including 666 posts for Patents & Designs and 367 posts for Trademarks and GI at various levels. Already, recruitment is underway. Patent and Trademarks examiners are also being taken on contract to deal with the backlog.
- Madrid Protocol: The operationalization of the Madrid protocol for international protection of trademarks provides the user the facility of protecting his trademark in 90 countries by filing a single application in one language with one set of fees filed at the Trademarks Registry. Till June 2015, 13,666 international applications designating India have been received at the Trademarks Registry, India.
- International Search Authority and International Preliminary Examining Authority: India has been recognised by the World Intellectual Property Organization as the 17thInternational Search Authority and International Preliminary Examining Authority in the world. It began its operations in 2014 and till date, 758 international applications have been received and 575 reports issued. India prides itself on providing quality reports at the lowest cost among the international players like USPTO, EPO, JPO etc. At present it has been recognised as ISA/ IPEA for nationals of Republic of Iran.
- IPR Awareness Programmes: Awareness creation is one of the major planks of the modernization scheme of IP system, as this will educate the stakeholders about the benefits of registration of their rights as also educate the general public, particularly the business community, on perils of infringement of IPRs held by others/ dealing in pirated and counterfeit products. These programmes are also expected to sensitise the enforcement agencies such as state police forces, and the judiciary.
