Filing guides
Trademark filing in India: classes, specifications and what to send
Getting an Indian trademark application right at filing — the applicant details, the specification, and the choices that are harder to fix later.
Draft — pending professional review. This piece has not yet been cleared by a named professional. Passages marked for verification contain legal specifics that must be confirmed against current law before publication.
Most of the difficulty in an Indian trademark application is decided at filing. The mark, the applicant and the specification are all easier to get right once than to correct under examination.
What to send
- The mark, in the exact form it is to be filed
- Applicant name, address and legal constitution, as they should appear on the register
- Goods or services, or a plain description we can classify
- Whether the mark is in use, and if so from when
- Your client or matter reference
- Any known conflict, coexistence agreement or prior filing
Verify before publicationConfirm the current classification edition applied by the Registry, and current practice on multi-class applications and per-class official fees.
Specifications
A specification drafted for one jurisdiction does not always transfer. Broad terms that are accepted elsewhere may draw an objection in India, and an over-narrow specification bought to avoid objection can leave the commercially important goods unprotected.
This is a judgement call, not a clerical one. Specification and classification decisions are settled by a trademark professional before filing rather than inferred from the instruction.
Verify before publicationSet out current Registry practice on acceptable specification language, use of class headings, and objections commonly raised against broad terms.
After filing
Verify before publicationDescribe the examination timeline, the period for responding to an examination report, and current practice on show cause hearings.
This material is general information about Indian IP practice and procedure. It is not legal advice, it does not create an attorney–client relationship, and it should not be relied on for a specific matter without professional advice on the facts.