A recognizable word, phrase, or symbol that helps to identify a particular product and legally distinguishes it from all other products of the same category is referred to as a trademark, the ™ full form. A trademark recognizes the company’s ownership of the brand and helps distinguish a product from other, similar products.
In lay terms, a trademark, also known as a brand name, is a visual symbol that may be a word name, signature, label, or combination of colors.
TM Full Form in Company
The full form of TM in company is Trade Mark. It is represented as ™.
Purpose of a Trademark
In the context of today’s business, a trademark serves many purposes. It identifies the products or services and their country of origin. It maintains its excellence and promotes products and services. It also develops a brand for the products or services.
Another primary function of a trademark is to stop unfair competition between businesses that rely on customer misinterpretations to increase sales.
There are some requirements for registering a trademark. They are mentioned as follows:
- The chosen trademark should be able to be graphically displayed.
- It should be possible to differentiate the products or services of one business from those of rival businesses.
- To be indicated, it must be used or proposed to be used as a mark on products or services.
Importance of Registering a Trademark
You must register your trademark if you want your business and brand to stand out from the competition. The necessity to rebrand is eliminated when you register your trademark to prevent market impersonation of your item or service.
Furthermore, if you wish to safeguard your rights and protect your intellectual property, trademark registration in India is necessary.
A trademark not only guides customers but also deters infringement. If you have registered a trademark, you are entitled to specific legal safeguards and preventative actions. Among these protective measures are:
Recognition of a Product’s Quality: Customers link a product’s quality to the brand name, and an opinion about a particular brand’s quality develops in the market. This helps a company draw in new customers since they can tell a product’s quality by its logo or brand name. The physical evidence of the value and quality of your product or service is provided by trademark registration. Customers connect a trademark with the caliber of a service or commodity.
Builds Goodwill: The value of a trademark registration reflects the reputation and quality of a product or service. The market familiarity and consumer confidence that come with trademark registration. The trademark makes the established caliber of your goods and services known to all, which fosters consumer confidence and goodwill. It helps to develop devoted clients who constantly prefer your trademarked brand over rivals and long-term consumers who do the same.
Safeguarding Your Brand: A trademark registration certifies ownership of the name, logo, or brand. It protects you from unauthorized third-party use of your trademark. The trademark registration demonstrates that you have complete ownership of the product and that you have the exclusive right to use, market, and alter the items in any way you see fit.
A Trademark is Enduring: Once registered, a trademark can exist forever. Any company that registers a trademark keeps it forever. Yes, trademark registration must be renewed every ten years, but the brand will always be known by the identity it provides.
Who Can Apply for a TradeMark
Once the trademark is officially registered, the person whose name is listed as the applicant on the Trademark Registration form will be identified as the trademark’s owner. Any person, business, or LLP may submit an application for registering a certain trademark as an applicant.
How To Apply for a TradeMark?
The following are steps you need to take in order to apply for a trademark:
Step 1: Look for a unique brand name online
This is the quickest and easiest technique for any beginner to create a memorable and intriguing brand name. Since most generic names would already be in use, choosing a weird and unique brand name is undoubtedly a good choice. The best thing about choosing a brand name online is that you may develop certain terms using a combination of generic phrases to give your business a distinctive brand name.
Step 2: Prepare an application for registering the trademark
For registering the trademark online, the following supporting documentation must be provided with the application:
- Proof of Business Registration: You must show evidence of the directors’ identities and addresses in support of your registered business. PAN cards and Aadhar cards are acceptable forms of identification proof for sole proprietorship businesses.
- The trademark is in soft copy.
- The applicant registering for a trademark must sign a power of attorney.
Step 3: Submitting a registration application for the brand name
There are two methods for submitting the registration applications.
- Manual filing: If a person opts for manual filing, he will have to travel to the Registrar’s Office of Trade Marks and deliver the application for registration manually. They must then wait for the receipt of the acknowledgment for at least 15 to 20 days.
- Electronic filing: If the individual uses an electronic filing system, they will obtain a receipt of recognition on the official website. The trademark symbol can be used next to the brand name after receiving recognition.
Step 4: Examining the brand name application procedure
Once the application has been submitted, the Registrar of Trademarks will review the application to ensure that all requirements have been met and that the brand name is as per the law. Additionally, it should not be similar to any pending or already-registered trademark.
Step 5: Your brand will be published in Indian trademark journals
After the Registrar of Trademarks conducts an inspection, your brand name will be published in the Indian Trade Mark Journal. Within three months of the publication date, there should not be any opposition from any third parties. If there are no objections, as stated above, the Registrar of Trademarks will issue the Trademark Registration Certificate.
Trademark Your Company Name & Logo Using These 7 Simple Steps
FAQs on TradeMark
The following are frequently asked questions to help you better understand trademarks and their purpose.
Q1. What are the requirements and fees associated with big trademark transactions?
Depending on the kind of application, the fees for registering a trademark cost up to Rs. 4000.
Q2. What is listed in the trademark register?
The class of a trademark, the goods or services for which it is registered, details affecting the scope of the rights granted, the address of the proprietors, their business particulars, the application date (if applicable), and instances in which a trademark has been registered with the consent of the owner of an earlier mark are all included in the electronic trademark register.
Q3. Can the application or registration be corrected in any way?
According to the guidelines outlined by the law, alterations or modifications are permitted.
Q4. Can a registered trademark be taken from the registry?
A request for the removal of a trademark can be made to the Registrar using the specified form. However, there must be an explanation for why the trademark is incorrectly recorded on the register.
Q5. Can my trademark be lost?
Yes, your trademark can be lost in two different ways. The first is due to a decrease in utilization. Non-use is the second method by which you might lose your trademark. The trademark must be used correctly going forward, or it will stop being recognizable. The trademark for your company is regarded as abandoned if it is not used for two years or more.
A good trademark should be easy to say and recall while also being distinctive and one-of-a-kind. The brand value and reputation a brand name carries have a significant impact on a consumer’s choice to buy products or hire services. Because it deters rivals from adopting identical names or logos, intellectual property is important for a business.