Trademark Registration in India for UK Companies
Trade Marks Act, 1999 · Designs Act, 2000 · Patents Act, 1970
A UK company protects its trademark in India by filing with the Trade Marks Registry, directly through an Indian agent or by designating India in a Madrid application filed through the UKIPO. India examines every application on absolute and relative grounds; an unopposed direct filing can register in under a year, and Madrid designations are decided within 18 months.
- Reviewed by
- Advocate, intellectual property
- Last updated
- English throughout. Filings, examination and hearings in India are in English; no translations needed.
- Brand, design and patent together. One Indian agent for trademarks, registered designs and patents.
- UK priority preserved. Six months for trademarks and designs, twelve for patents, claimed from your UK filing.
- Indian office
- Trade Marks Registry (Mumbai via our address)
- Routes
- Direct or Madrid via UKIPO
- Language
- English
- Priority
- 6 months (TM, design), 12 (patent)
- Madrid refusal period
- 18 months
What is the right route into India for a UK brand?
Most UK brand owners reach India in one of two ways, and the right one depends on how many other countries are in the plan.
A Madrid designation of India, filed through the UKIPO as office of origin, is efficient when India is one of several new markets. It rests on your UK application or registration, and for five years the international registration depends on it. The Trade Marks Registry examines the designation like a national application and must notify any provisional refusal within 18 months. A refusal is answered through an Indian agent.
A direct Indian application on Form TM-A, filed by an Indian agent, suits a UK company for which India is a priority market or whose UK mark is still under challenge. It gives you an Indian representative from the start and an Indian file that does not depend on the UK base mark. A foreign applicant without a place of business in India gives an Indian address for service, which also fixes the Registry office; through our Vashi office that is the Mumbai office.
How Indian examination differs from the UKIPO
The UKIPO does not refuse a mark on its own because of earlier marks; it notifies and leaves the rest to opposition. The Indian Registry does object on relative grounds under section 11 when it finds similar earlier marks, and it objects under section 9 to marks it considers descriptive or non-distinctive. Replies are due within one month of the examination report, and a show-cause hearing may follow. A clearance search before filing avoids most surprises.
Designs and patents
UK companies that sell physical products should look at design registration in India under the Designs Act, 2000, filed with the Patent Office. A design must be new and not published before filing, so the six-month priority period from the UK application is valuable. Patents enter India within 12 months of the UK priority date or through PCT national phase at 31 months, with Form 3 on foreign filings, Form 18 to request examination and Form 27 working statements once every three financial years.
Section 39, India’s foreign filing licence rule, applies to persons resident in India. It affects a UK company only where an inventor lives in India.
What are the key Indian deadlines for a UK applicant?
Priority periods run from your first UK filing; examination timings depend on the Indian office.
| Right | Priority period from UK filing | What follows in India |
|---|---|---|
| Trademark | 6 months | Examination report, reply within 1 month, advertisement, 4-month opposition window |
| Madrid designation of India | n/a (filed through UKIPO) | Any provisional refusal within 18 months of WIPO notification |
| Registered design | 6 months | Examination, registration and publication; 10 years, extendable by 5 |
| Patent (Paris Convention) | 12 months | Publication at 18 months; Form 18 within 31 months of priority |
| Patent (PCT national phase) | 31 months from priority | Form 18 within 31 months of priority |
A registered Indian trademark lasts 10 years from the filing date and is renewable. Patent terms run 20 years from the Indian filing date (the international filing date for PCT entries).
What should a UK company send us to file in India?
Trademark
- Company name, registered number and address
- The mark and any colour claim, exactly as used
- Goods and services by Nice class (UK wording is a good start)
- Form TM-48 authorising GB Legal Associates
- Certified copy of the UK application if claiming priority
Design or patent
- Design: representations of each view and a statement of novelty
- Patent: specification, claims and drawings in English
- Form 26 power of attorney (patents and designs)
- Priority documents, or WIPO DAS access codes
- Assignment from designers or inventors to the company
Questions from UK companies filing in India
Will the Indian Registry object to our mark because of earlier marks?
It may. Unlike the UKIPO, the Indian Registry raises relative-grounds objections under section 11 itself. We reply with arguments on the differences between the marks, the goods and the market, and attend any hearing.
Can we designate India using a pending UK application?
Yes. A pending UK application can be the Madrid base. If it is refused or withdrawn within five years of the international registration, the Indian designation falls with it, though it can be transformed into a national Indian application within three months.
Do we need to be trading in India before we file?
No. India allows applications for marks proposed to be used. Use is needed later to defend the registration against cancellation for non-use, which can be sought after five years without use.
Is a UK registered design protected in India?
No. A design must be registered in India to be protected there, and it must be new when filed. File within six months of the UK design application to claim its date.
Who signs the authorisation forms?
Any authorised signatory of the company. Form TM-48 and Form 26 are signed by hand or electronically as the office accepts; we send them ready to sign.
Can the Indian trademark be held by our Indian subsidiary instead?
Yes, if the subsidiary is to own the brand in India. Many groups keep ownership with the parent and license the subsidiary; the licence can be recorded with the Registry.