Which Trademark Registry Handles Your Application? A City-by-City Guide
The five Registry offices, the rule that decides yours, and a state-by-state and city-by-city table.
- Written by
- Advocate, intellectual property
- Reviewed by
- Registered Trade Marks Agent
- Updated
- · 6 min read
India’s Trade Marks Registry has five offices: Mumbai (head office), Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad. Under rule 4 of the Trade Marks Rules, 2017, your application goes to the office whose territory includes your principal place of business in India, or, if you have none, your address for service in India. Filing is online for everyone; the office decides who examines the file and hears any objection or opposition.
- Reviewed by
- Registered Trade Marks Agent
- Last updated
On this page · 7 sections
How is the right trademark office decided?
By rule 4 of the Trade Marks Rules, 2017, which defines the appropriate office of the Registry. The test is the same whether you file yourself or through an agent:
- Principal place of business in India. If the applicant has one, the office whose territory includes it is the appropriate office. For a company this is usually the registered or head office in India; for an individual or proprietorship, the main place of business.
- Joint applicants. The principal place of business of the applicant named first decides.
- No place of business in India. For foreign applicants, and Indians who carry on no business in India, the address for service given in the application decides.
Where you live or where your agent is located does not matter if you have a principal place of business in India. A Pune company that instructs a Delhi agent is still handled by the Mumbai office, because Pune is in Maharashtra.
Why the office matters even with e-filing
Applications, replies and fees are all filed online through IP India’s comprehensive e-filing system, so you never need to visit the office. The office matters because it examines your application, lists show-cause hearings and runs opposition proceedings. Most hearings are now held by video, but the examiners, cause lists and practice notes belong to that office. Appeals from orders of the Registrar now go to the High Court, after the Intellectual Property Appellate Board was abolished in 2021, and the location of the office that passed the order is relevant to which High Court hears the appeal.
Which office covers my state?
Territorial jurisdiction of the five Trade Marks Registry offices.
| Office | States and union territories |
|---|---|
| Mumbai (head office) | Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh |
| Delhi | Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh |
| Kolkata | West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Andaman and Nicobar Islands |
| Chennai | Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Puducherry, Lakshadweep |
| Ahmedabad | Gujarat, Rajasthan, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu |
Based on the Registry’s notified territorial jurisdiction. Confirm the current notification on IP India before relying on it in a dispute.
Which office handles applicants in these cities?
Cities we file for most often, with the office that handles a business whose principal place of business is there.
| City | State | Trade Marks Registry office |
|---|---|---|
| Navi Mumbai | Maharashtra | Mumbai |
| Mumbai | Maharashtra | Mumbai |
| Thane | Maharashtra | Mumbai |
| Pune | Maharashtra | Mumbai |
| Nagpur | Maharashtra | Mumbai |
| Indore | Madhya Pradesh | Mumbai |
| Bhopal | Madhya Pradesh | Mumbai |
| Raipur | Chhattisgarh | Mumbai |
| Delhi | Delhi | Delhi |
| Bengaluru | Karnataka | Chennai |
| Chennai | Tamil Nadu | Chennai |
What about foreign applicants, branches and moves?
A few situations come up often.
Foreign applicants. A company with no principal place of business in India must give an address for service in India, usually its agent’s office, and that address fixes the office. An applicant using our Vashi office as the address for service is handled by the Mumbai office. Our pages for US companies and UK companies explain the rest of the process.
Several branches in India. Only the principal place of business counts, not branches, factories or warehouses. Use the same address consistently across applications so that related marks stay with one office.
Moving after filing. A change of address is recorded on the appropriate form, but it does not normally move a pending application or proceeding to another office. Plan the address before filing a family of related marks.
Oppositions. An opposition is handled by the office that holds the opposed application, wherever the opponent is located.
Individuals and proprietorships. A sole proprietor’s principal place of business is the main shop, office or unit from which the business is run, not necessarily the home address. Give the same address that appears on GST or Udyam registration so the records match.
Does the office affect how long registration takes?
Workload varies by office
Each office has its own queue for examination and hearings, so timings differ somewhat between offices and over time. You cannot choose the office to avoid a queue, because jurisdiction follows your principal place of business. Our guide on how long trademark registration takes sets out the stages that apply everywhere.
Do patents, designs and copyright follow the same offices?
No. Each right has its own office structure, so a business with a full IP portfolio deals with different offices for different rights.
- Patents. The Patent Office has its head office in Kolkata and branches in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. The appropriate office depends on where the applicant resides, is domiciled or has a place of business, or where the invention actually originated, and for foreign applicants on the address for service in India. A Maharashtra applicant is handled by the Mumbai branch. See our patent filing page.
- Designs. Design applications are examined by the Designs Wing of the Patent Office in Kolkata, whatever the applicant’s location. See design registration.
- Copyright. The Copyright Office is in New Delhi and handles applications from all over India online. See copyright registration.
Trademarks are therefore the only one of the four rights where your state decides the office in the way set out above. All four are filed online, so in practice the differences show up mainly in hearing lists and correspondence.
Questions about Trade Marks Registry jurisdiction
Can I choose which trademark office examines my application?
No. Rule 4 of the Trade Marks Rules, 2017 fixes the appropriate office by your principal place of business in India, or your address for service if you have no place of business in India.
Do I have to travel to the trademark office for a hearing?
Usually not. Most show-cause and opposition hearings are held by video conference. Your agent attends and files written submissions where needed.
Which office handles a startup registered in Bengaluru?
The Chennai office, which covers Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Puducherry and Lakshadweep.
Which office handles businesses in Madhya Pradesh or Chhattisgarh?
The Mumbai office. Its territory covers Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, so applicants in Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur and Raipur are handled in Mumbai.
Does my agent’s location change the office?
Not if you have a principal place of business in India. The agent’s address matters only when it is your address for service because you have no place of business in India.
Where is the head office of the Trade Marks Registry?
In Mumbai. The Registry is part of the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, with branch offices in Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad.
Which office handles a business based in Goa?
The Mumbai office, which covers Goa along with Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
