Trademark Registration in Bhubaneswar, Odisha – Eligibility, Benefits, Process, Process Time, Renewal

Overview of Trademark Registration in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

By definition, a trademark is a unique name given to a business/brand that either directly or indirectly is associated with the goods or services manufactured or is offered by the business entity to its relevant customers to make it easier for them to differentiate the goods/service of their rivals in the market. It is a sub-category of intellectual property rights that are formed out of a combination of intellectual labor as well as the creativity of any individual in particular.

A Trademark holds strong importance for any business since it helps to build unique brand identity among consumers in the relevant market and enhances business goodwill over time. For instance, trademarks such as Nike, Puma, Aggarwal sweets, CultFit, Maggie, Bisleri, etc are some well-known marks that have helped their businesses to create a unique identity among the public helping their business to grow manifold in the long run.

Therefore, no business could afford any misuse of the trademark by any third party that could cause huge business losses and loss of goodwill for a business. To prevent such situations, trademarks have been afforded protection through registration under the provisions of the Indian Trademarks Act 1999, which also includes other important provisions such as registration, prosecution concerning trademark rights, transfer or assignment of trademark rights, cancellation, etc. among others.

Trademark Registration in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Odisha is formerly known as Orissa till 2011. It is located in the Eastern part of our country. 1st April is observed as Odisha Day. It is the 8th largest state in terms of area and the 11th largest state in terms of population. Odisha is the 3rd largest in terms of scheduled tribes, and population in India. This state shares its boundaries with West Bengal and Jharkhand in the north, Chhattisgarh in the west, Andhra Pradesh in the south, and the Bay of Bengal (2nd largest subdivision of India after the Arabian Sea) in the east. The region is also popularly known as Utkala (Ancient name), and this name also has its imprint on India’s national anthem,” Jana Gana Mana”. Demographically, various languages are spoken in this state, but amongst them, Odia is majorly spoken by the native people.
Odisha is an attractive tourist destination of various architectural wonders. Odisha is infamous for its historical heritage sites and enchanting views. From beaches to pilgrimage and monuments, Odisha offers a plethora of enthralling endeavors to travelers who visit from all over the world. There are a ton of places to attract tourists like Puri (one of the char-dhams or four holy places for Hindus), Bhubaneshwar (the temple city of India), Chilika lake in puri (India’s largest brackish water lagoon), Jaganath Temple in puri (World famous chariot festival in the month of June-July), Konark Temple (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Rourkela (steel city of Odisha) and many more.
According to the survey conducted by Forest India in 2012, Odisha comprises 31.41% of the state’s total area. Due to the favorable climate conditions, Odisha’s moist and evergreen tropical forests are suitable ecosystems for wild orchids. Odisha consists of various national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, and bio reserves such as Simlipal National Park (the highest tiger population in the state), Chandaka Elephant Sanctuary, and Bhitarkanika National Park, etc. The backbone of Odisha lies in the villages and farmers. The state government initiated various innovative schemes to increase farm productivity like the Jeebika scheme, Digital Mandi Yojana, Mobile Veterinary Unit (1st state to organize animal health camps), Biju Krushak Yojana, and many more. During the crisis times, the state government sponsored the Indian hockey team, which led to remarkable achievements for the country through their spectacular performance in the Tokyo Olympics.
Capital- Bhubaneswar

Top Business Idea in Odisha
Odisha’s main economy relies on agricultural-based products, production, and cultivation. However, by the collaborative efforts of inhabitants and government, State is transiting into business strata. Odisha is becoming the best place for entrepreneurs as the government is providing the ease of doing business and other essential facilities. The main realms in which lucrative business models can be set up are tourism, hotels, restaurants, transport, communication, insurance services, and other financial profiles. Given below is the list of feasible and profitable business ideas with less investment that can be commenced on a small scale.

Candle-making business
This is the most affordable business with mere investment; investors or entrepreneurs can initiate this business model. To fulfill the high requirement of candles in the state candle making business is a good startup idea. Moreover, there are different types of candles available such as traditional white, decorative, scented, and many other types. Even the raw materials used for the candle-making process are easily available in the market.
At the initial stage, you can start making candles at your home and sell them locally. After that, get in touch with the wholesalers, grocery stores, vendors, and many other places where the demand is high. There is already a huge market for decorative candles as a gift item. Once you have started making good connections in the local market, This small investment that you have made will gradually lead you to a massive profit.

Cashew nut processing business
The cashew nut processing business is a profitable and cost-effective business that can be initiated with a small investment. As we know, Orissa is a famous state for cashew nut production, so there is a high demand for cashew nuts in Odisha. First, let’s understand the market before starting the business. Cashew nuts need proper processing and finishing it is necessary as people do not consume raw cashew nuts. Day by day, people are getting more health-conscious, so they demand proper process cashews which contain multiple health benefits. But as per the demand for the cashew nuts, the supply of cashew nuts is not up to the mark. Therefore, before starting the business of cashew nuts, choose a preferred location where you can get raw materials. The small-scale business in providing a handsome salary.

Jute bag-making business
If you want to open a small-scale business, then preferably, a jute bag-making business is the best. Odisha is popular for jute production. Jute has significance in our daily lives, such as in the form of jute bags, chairs, tables, and many more. Hence has always been an integral part of our daily life. It can be a productive and cost-effective business if the raw materials are used effectively. From the business perspective, it requires a small investment, but you can earn a lot of money through its outcome. You can quickly start this business in Odisha as jute has been an integral part of our daily lives and is easily available all over the state.

Startup Ecosystem in Odisha
Over the past few years, several initiatives have been implemented by the Government of Odisha, and these Initiatives have majorly impacted the ease of doing business in Odisha. TheDepartment for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has ensured that the state has a vibrant startup ex. Startup Odisha is the state’s prominent initiative to create a favorable ecosystem for the startup to aspire and flourish.
State provides the firm financial support for the investors or entrepreneurs for establishing both public and private institutions. Even the state has extended its support to the universities by conducting various training programs for the faculties to equip them in the region of entrepreneurship and innovation. The state has also planned to create an annual campaign named the startup Odisha Yatra. The main aim of this platform is to inspire and educate the students, innovators, and entrepreneurs of remote areas to realize the importance of entrepreneur goals which will be encouraging for the future of our state.
Let’s talk about the financial aid provided to the startups. The Odisha youth innovation award gives an amount of ₹ 50000/- for thinking of an innovative business idea, ₹ 1 lakh at the prototype stage, and INR 3 lakh at the scale-up stage to a large number of startups every year.

Although the registration of a trademark for any business in India is not compulsory, it is generally advisable to obtain one to avail of trademark registration due to its numerous benefits. For example, in the case where any trademark is unregistered, there are no specific rights for the infringement of such an unregistered trademark. However, if a registered trademark is infringed by any third party, such party shall be liable for a hefty sum as a penalty under the Trademarks Act 1999.

Unlike other Intellectual properties, a trademark doesn’t have a long validity period. Once allowed registration, a trademark is only valid for ten years from the date of registration and could be renewed through submission of an application to the Controller of Trademarks for a further period of another 10 years.

What Could Be Registered As A Trademark in Bhubaneswar, Odisha?

Every proprietor/owner of a trademark in Bhubaneswar, Odisha should have complete knowledge about the trademark registration requirements including what could be or what cannot be allowed as registration as per the Trademarks Act 1999.

A trademark or tradename could by either one or any combination for any of the following-

• Any Letter or Word
• Number
• Phrase
• Graphics
• Logo
• Sound Mark
• Smell or
• A particular mixture of colors

Eligibility for Trademark Registration in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

While filling out the Trademark Registration form in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, the person whose name is stated as the applicant will be deemed to be the proprietor/ owner of the trademark on the successful completion of the registration process. However, any of the following is eligible to make an application for trademark registration in Bhubaneswar, Odisha with proper authorization-

• Any Individual or A Person
• A Sole Proprietorship Firm
• Partnership Firm
• An Indian Company
• An LLP
• Society or Trust

Benefits of Trademark Registration in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Grants Exclusive Rights to the owner in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Each registered proprietor/owner of the trademark enjoys absolute rights over the registered trademark such as the right to apply such trade name or mark over the goods, transfer rights by way of license for a limited duration, and bring a cause of action against those using the trademark illegally and making profits against such unauthorized use of the registered trademark.

Creates Brand Awareness & Business Goodwill in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Since every registered trademark has unique features, it helps the brand/ business of the trademark owner recognized with a distinct identity, establishes trust, and thus increases business goodwill in the relevant market.

Grants Legal Protection against Unauthorized Use in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

The biggest benefit offered by the registration of a trademark is through obtaining legal protection under the Trademarks Act 1999. Therefore, whenever any person makes use of any such registered trademark without any authorization/permission of the trademark owner, he could object in a court of law and even seek damages from a such third party, which would be much harder to prove in case the infringement of unregistered trademark happens.

Facilitates Transfer of Trademark related rights in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

On successfully obtaining trademark registration, the registered proprietor/owner gets complete &exclusive ownership rights related to the trademark obtained. Thus, the trademark owner can either sell or transfer all or any of the rights through lease, assign, franchising, and entering any commercial contract with any third party with respect to such rights and earn profits on the same.

Acts as Basis for Seeking Global Protection in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

In the age of globalization, most businesses want to go take their business global by taking them beyond national boundaries. However, they would also require global protection for their trademarks for the trademark registered for goods/services manufactured in India. But, prior registration of a trademark in India is a pre-requisite and absolute requirement to seek global protection of the trademark concerned in a foreign nation.

Grounds for Refusal of Trademark Registration in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Any proposed trademark to be registered could only be refused either under the provisions of Section 9 of the Act, better known as Absolute Grounds of Registration, or under the provisions of Section 11 of the Act also known as Relative Grounds of Registration which has been described below.

Absolute Grounds in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Section 9 of the Trademarks Act 1999 provides that any trademark which is devoid of any distinctive character and/or doesn’t adequately distinguishes the goods or services of one person from those of others cannot be allowed registration under the Act. However, there are two exceptions to the absolute grounds for refusal of registration, that any mark-

1. has become so customary in the current language or in the bona fide and established practices of the trade that it has acquired distinctiveness on its own and
2. The mark is a well-known trademark that contains exclusive marks which serve in the trade to define kind, quality, etc.

Further, a trademark shall not be allowed to be registered as per section 9(2) of the Act, if a trademark –

• Is of such a nature that deceives or causes confusion to the public;
• It contains any matter likely to hurt the religious sentiments of any class or section of the citizens of India;
• Contains any scandalous or obscene matter;
• Its use is prohibited under the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950;
• Consist of marks of the shape of goods which result from the nature of goods themselves or are necessary to obtain a technical result.

Relative Grounds in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Section 11 provides that a trademark shall not be registered in cases where-

• The identity of the trademark in question is identical with an existing trademark for either goods/services;
• There exists a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public, and if allowed registration it could take unfair advantage of a similar or identical earlier well-known trademark in India.

Process of Trademark Registration in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Unlike others, the process of registration of a trademark takes time to complete, yet it is an effective process undertaken by the Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks (CGPDTM) through the Trademark registry of India. Provided below is the step-by-step process of trademark registration in India-

Step 1- Choose a suitable Trade Name and Class in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

In the first step of registration, the proposed trademark applicant shall be required to search for a suitable mark along with the class of trademark that adequately represents the business offerings (or is indicative of the unique quality of goods/services) and at the same time is sufficiently distinct from the existing trademarks in the relevant market. As provided under the Trademark registry, class 1-34 prescribes a category of trademark for goods manufacturing, whereas class 35-45 prescribes trademarks for services.

Step 2- Search For the availability of the proposed mark in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

After the applicant finalizes the proposed trademark, he will be required to check whether the proposed mark closely resembles any existing mark or has been taken already by someone else already for registration purposes.

To avoid such situations, it is always suggested to choose at least two-three trademarks for registration purposes that could be further affirmed by checking them on the online trademark registry. The online Trademark registry has functionality in place which allows an applicant to enter the proposed name with the proposed class and click the option to make the public search of any trademarks similar/closely related to the proposed trademark which have been taken or registered already under same class thus helping him to save his time & money in the process.

If the applicant finds no similar trademark under the prescribed class of goods/services in the Trademark Registry, he will be free to choose the same & can move forward to application filling.

Step 3- File & Submit Trademark Application in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Next, the applicant will be required to access the online portal of Controller of Patents, Designs, and Trademarks by logging in to the website https://ipindia.gov.in/.Now, click Trademark Registration, after which the registration form TM-A will be opened and filled by either the applicant by himself or through authorizing any agent for TM registration process.

Similarly, the application could either be made under any “one” Class or more than “One” class of trademarks and the registration fee for the trademark will differ slightly-

But, it is to be noted that the application should be filled with caution to ensure there are no mistakes leading to rejection of the application.

Step 4-Draft & Submit Reply to Any Trademark Objections in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

After the submission of the TM registration application, the Controller of Trademarks will examine the application with respect to the following either-

• The application so proposed qualifies the criteria of uniqueness under section 9 of the Trademarks Act 1999 and
• It is not ‘too similar’ with any existing trademark to suggest any relativeness with such trademark under Section 11 of the Trademark Act 1999.

If the examiner is of opinion regarding the uniqueness & distinctiveness of the TM application or too closely similar to any existing application, he will issue a trademark objection notice seeking a reply from the applicant to prove how his application is worthy of registration, that will be required to be drafted and submitted within a total period of 30 days from the date of receipt of the objection. Till the period of reply of notice is submitted & examined, the status of the trademark shall be displayed as “Objected” in the Trademark registry.

Upon receiving the reply of objection from the applicant the examiner will be required to examine the contents of the application and form an opinion, on whether all the objections have been adequately cleared. If he is satisfied that all the objections have been cleared, may allow the trademark application to be published in the Trademark journal as “Accepted & Advertised” to receive any final objections from any third party in cases they find that the application is too closely resembles their trademark and they apprehend that if allowed registration, the proposed trademark will gain unworthy profits from the same.

But, if the Examiner of Trademarks is not satisfied with the reply of the applicant on the objections made by him, he may seek additional replies along with attached evidence or proofs or even schedule a hearing for the trademark application to allow the applicant to clear the objections. It could take anywhere between two-four months from the date of the receipt of the objection.

Step 5- Receipt of Final Objections in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Later, once the concerned trademark application is published as ‘Accepted & Advertised’ as accepted in the Trademark journal, it is open to be opposed by any existing proprietor/trademark owner who believes that the concerned trademark is too similar to his/her existing trademark and the proposed applicant intends to benefit from the goodwill of the existing trade name/mark in the relevant market.

On receipt of any final objection, the examiner will examine the objections received and seek a counter-reply from the proposed applicant through his registered email address to be submitted within two months. Hence, the applicant will be required to draft and submit a counter-statement explaining all the objections posed by the proprietor/owner of any existing trade name/mark thereby convincing the examiner that the proposed trademark is unique as well as distinctive from the mark/s of the opponent/s.

Step 6- Satisfaction by the Controller of TM in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

If the Controller is satisfied with the counter–reply submitted by the applicant that the proposed TM is unique and doesn’t pose any threat to any existing mark. In such a situation, the Controller may dismiss the objection and allow the trademark to be advertised as “Registered” in the Trademark journal. However, if the Controller of Trademark is not satisfied with the counter-statement received, he may refuse the application or seek further clarification from the parties (i.e. applicant as well as the opponent) for making the final decision by scheduling a hearing on the decision on a particular date providing both the parties an opportunity of being heard. After hearing both the parties, if the Controller is satisfied that the application is sufficiently unique and doesn’t suggest relativity with the opponent’s trademark, he may grant registration of Trademark by issuing a Trademark registration certificate and get the application published as “Registered” in the Trademark journal with the effective date.

Time Involved In the Registration Process in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

The process of trademark registration involves many steps which take time for verification purposes, thus making it a time-taking process altogether which takes around 18-24 months normally. However, the applicant will receive a trademark reference number in the provided registered email id within 2-5 working days from the date of making an application.

Renewal of Trademark in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Every registered trademark comes with a total validity period of ten years from its effective date of registration after which it should be renewed. To renew the Trademark application, the trademark proprietor/owner shall file Form TM-R along with the prescribed fee of Rs 9000 per class any time before one year from the expiry of the trademark registration in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

Any failure of the applicant to timely renew the trademark will make it liable to be removed from the Register of Trademarks and available to be taken by any other TM applicant. But, no trademark shall be removed from the Register of Trademarks until a notice has been served on the proprietor/trademark owner’s registered address by the Registrar.

Conclusion of Trademark Registration in Bhubaneswar, Odisha

Therefore, a trademark is one of the precious business assets owned by a business that helps it to create a distinct identity of the concerned goods or services, build brand trust and loyalty, and strong business goodwill in the long run which becomes yet another asset of the company adding up to its market valuation. However, the process of trademark registration should be undertaken carefully with expert assistance from someone having experience in trademark registration which will lead to lesser costs, efficient drafting work, and timely receipt of trademark registration for the smooth sail way for your business.