Trademark Registration in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh – Eligibility, Benefits, Process, Process Time, Renewal

Overview of Trademark Registration in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India that has snow-laden mountains. The state is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks and river systems. Himachal Pradesh borders Punjab, Haryana, Ladakh, and Jammu Kashmir. It also shares an international border with the Tibet autonomous region in China. 90% of the state’s population resides in rural areas. Major sectors contributing to the economy of Himachal Pradesh are agriculture, hydropower, horticulture, and tourism. As per the Indian corruption study 2017, Himachal Pradesh is the least corrupt state in India.
Himachal Pradesh is ranked as the second-best performing state after Kerela in India on Human Development indicators. Agriculture is the main source of income and employment in Himachal Pradesh, and 90% of the total population residing in Himachal Pradesh depends directly or indirectly upon agriculture. Agriculture employs around 62% of the total workers in Himachal Pradesh. The main cereals grown in Himachal Pradesh are barley, maize, and rice, and apple is the principal cash crop grown in Shimla, Kullu, Chamba, Mandi, and Kinnaurdistricts.
After agriculture, hydropower is one of the primary sources contributing to Himachal Pradesh’s economy. The state has vast hydropower resources because of various perennial rivers flowing there. The high-capacity hydropower plants in Himachal Pradesh produce surplus electricity for its neighboring states like Delhi, Punjab, and West Bengal. Tourism is also one of the significant contributors to the economy of Himachal Pradesh. The state has breathtaking views that attract a lot of tourists all around the world, and Himachal Pradesh is preferred for adventure tourism by many tourists.
Capital- Shimla (Summer) and Dharamshala (Winter)

The startup ecosystem in Himachal Pradesh
The state has performed very well in the state startup ranking exercise 2018, and Himachal Pradesh has taken some major reforms to develop a robust startup ecosystem. According to the state startup ranking 2018, Himachal Pradesh has been acknowledged as an aspiring leader. In November 2016, the state government of Himachal Pradesh launched its startup policy called ‘Chief Minister Startup or Innovation Projects or New Industries Scheme.’ The vision of the Chief Minister’s startup policy is to turn the educated youth into entrepreneurs and job creators.
To develop entrepreneurial spirits in the young generation, the government of Himachal Pradesh is trying to build a strong and supportive startup ecosystem. Department responsible for building a strong startup ecosystem in Himachal Pradesh is the department of industries, and the Nodal Officer responsible for this task is the principal secretary (industries). To build a robust startup ecosystem, the state government has appointed a nodal team called startup and incentive cell with five members. The team’s task is to support the development of the startup ecosystem in the state.

Top business ideas in Himachal Pradesh
Floriculture
Himachal Pradesh has a group of climatic conditions which offer opportunities for the development of floriculture. You can set up a floriculture business and develop many floriculture products like flower seeds, live plants, etc. Himachal Pradesh has an agro-climatic condition that provides an ideal environment for the development of flowers and doesn’t need any additional planting material like expensive heating and cooling systems in the greenhouses. The floriculture business requires a considerable amount of investment and energy.

Fruit farming
Agriculture is the primary source of employment in Himachal Pradesh, and the fruit cultivation business is one of the best options for the startup. The vast tracts of land available in Himachal are perfectly suitable for growing fruits. Fruits farming is profitable and good for the environment as it helps prevent soil erosion and provides employment to the people. To set up a fruit farming business, you need a reasonable investment.

Photography
Shimla has beautiful views, and the natural beauty of Shimla attracts a lot of tourists. You can set up a photo studio in Himachal Pradesh. Many people prefer Himachal Pradesh for their pre-wedding photoshoot or destination wedding so by setting up a photo studio in Himachal Pradesh there are more chances of getting hired by them. Besides this, photographers work as freelancers, so if you are someone who likes to be their boss, then the photography business is undoubtedly meant for you.

Restaurant
If you have any idea about traditional Himachali food, you should open a restaurant in Himachal Pradesh. The traditional cuisine of Himachal Pradesh is very famous among tourists, so by opening a restaurant in Himachal, you will be able to express the Himachali culture to other people. For setting up a restaurant, you need a lot of capital for investment, and you should be able to run the business for at least six months without any profits.

Transport
Being a famous tourist site Himachal Pradesh attracts a lot of tourists. You can start a transport business in Himachal Pradesh and rent a two-wheeler or four-wheeler to tourists for exploring the state. Generally, the tourist prefers to explore the state in two-wheelers to enjoy the natural beauty of Himachal Pradesh to its fullest. For setting up transport businesses in Himachal Pradesh, you need reasonable investment, and you can start this business with two or three vehicles.

Hotel
Tourism is among the main sources of income and employment in Himachal Pradesh, so opening a hotel business for tourists is a good idea. People visit Himachal Pradesh for tourism, religious tourism, Heritage tourism, Eco tourism, and adventure tourism. So, opening a hotel in Shimla will help you in making huge profits. For setting up a hotel in Himachal Pradesh, you need a lot of investment, but once the business is established, it will be profitable. The government of Himachal Pradesh is also promoting tourism in the state which means that more tourists will come to Himachal Pradesh in search of hotels. Besides this, the state government exempts you from luxury tax if you open a hotel in the tribal area of Himachal Pradesh.

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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh?

Every proprietor/owner of a trademark in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh 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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

While filling out the Trademark Registration form in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, 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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh 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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

Grants Exclusive Rights to the owner in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.

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 Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

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.