How can you apply for Brand name in India?

How many cups of coffee and scribbles on a paper did it take for you to zero-in to design your logo? A dozen, right? If you don’t register your trademark, then someone else can. It is universally accepted that a unique brand and logo is the most valuable asset for the entity as customers can swiftly recognize your product or services among competitor’s products. It has become very important to protect your brand name and logo from misuse or duplication by others. Registration of a brand confers a number of advantages over the use of an unregistered Brand name and Logo.

What is a Brand Name?

Brand name provides an aid to the consumers in identifying and differentiating product from another brand. Brand name is very essential in depicting the key theme of the product. It attracts the customers very efficiently and effectively and also in an economical manner. It is a name that is given by the manufacturer to his product to distinguish it from other manufacturer. These names are considered to be the effective marketing tools which generates brand loyalty and establish consumer awareness.

Brand can be any name, term, design, logo, symbol, etc. used in a business for marketing and advertising its product or service. Through the brand name, it becomes convenient for the consumers to remember the product of a particular brand. Brands consist of various elements such as name, logo, tagline, graphics, shapes, colors, sounds, scents, tastes, movements, etc. Communication of Brand name is possible through various means such as advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, personal selling, public relations, etc.

There are basically two main purposes of a Brand name such as:

• Identification- Brand name helps in creating difference between a particular product from other similar or like brands.
• Verification- To validate that a product is the genuine one.

What are the features of a good brand name?

• Distinctive– A strong brand name should be distinct from other brands and such distinct brand name avoids confusion among consumers and stand out of competition. This type of symbol is easy to remember.
• Authentic– A brand name should be authentic and it should represent its mission, vision and core values. It is more important to maintain authenticity of the product than ever before.
• Memorable– A Brand name should be such that it can be easily remember by consumers. It should be simple, easy to pronounce, and such be easily spelled and searched.
• Suggestive– A Brand name should be suggestive of its quality, superiority or great personality.
• Simple and easy to pronounce– The brand name selected should be easy and simple so that it can be easily understood by every class of people and pronounced by the consumers speaking any language so that it can become popular among all.
• New and attractive– A brand name selected should be unique, new and attractive and which is not used by any other company.
• Should not be obscene– Using of obscene word, symbol or sign in the promotion of brand name shall spoil the market image and reputation of the brand in front of people.

Types of Brand name that can be registered in India

Brand name sticks to a Brand for a lifetime therefore, proper and justified name needs to be chosen for a Brand. In many terms’ success and failure of the brand depends upon the name of that Brand. There are many types of Brand name that can be registered in India such as:

• Descriptive Brand names– These are the names through which service offered by the company is easily described in a descriptive way. Such Brand names are complete and simple and does not leave any space for creativity. Descriptive brand names cannot be used in diversification of business or product line but such brand names are clear which describes the Brand in an effective way to an audience. The examples of such Brand names can be General Store, General Motors, etc.
• Evocative Brand names– These types of Brand names are quite unique and creative and helps in describing powerful story of a Brand to the audience. These names are generally easier to trademark. For example- Amazon, Nike, Apple, etc. are considered to be the Evocative Brand names.
• Invented Brand name– These Brand names are used for the products which are new and first in the market. These Brand names are not easy to invent but easy to remember if clicks with the Brand. Huge expenses are incurred to create a meaning in the minds of the customer. Examples of such type of brand names are Kodak, Xerox, etc.
• Lexical Brand names– These Brand names are combination of many compound words, spellings, other names, etc. Using such combination is the most popular styles of naming this Brand. This type of Brand names is very clever in creating an impact in the minds of consumers. The examples of such Brand names can be Coca-Cola, Burger King, etc.
• Acronym Brand names– This type of Brand name is quite ancient and historic. These are generally hard to remember and difficult for the consumers to pronounce or understand the meaning of the brand. This kind of brand names are not very effective. These names are harder to trademark. The examples of such Brand names can be IBM, BMW, HP, etc.
• Geographical Brand name– These types of brand names depend upon the basis of their origin. If a company wants to expand its business in different region or country or states, then it will be quite difficult for them with the geographical brand name. Adaptation of brand name is also harder for other areas. For example- American Express, New York life, etc.
• Founder Brand names– These brand names are usually associated with the name of the founders. They can be easily trademarked and are quite distinctive in nature. These brand names are less common these days. Some of the examples of same are Ford, Calvin Klein.

Brand registration in India

Following are the process involved in registering a Brand name in India:

• The first and foremost step is to decide a unique Brand name for the product and service that a company tends to offered. It should be distinctive and unique in nature. Choosing a Brand name is not a plum job. It requires a lot of Brain efforts to select an appropriate name for a product or service.
• There are various types of Brand name that can be registered in India; hence applicants have a variety of option to choose a Brand name. Therefore, to choose a Brand name one must carry out a search on the Brand name which is available with the registry and such Brand name must be unique and does not match with any other Brand names.

If it shows ‘no match found’ then only one can proceed with next step.

• An applicant shall file an application in form TM-1either through Controller General website or physically along with fees of Rs.3500. Such application shall be accompanied with supportive documents such as Identity and Address proof of Directors, Description of goods and services for which Brand name is applied and standard image of logo.
• The governing authority shall examine the application of Brand name registration and ensures that such name shall not conflict with the existing name and all the required formalities are complied with.
• The authorities either accept or reject the application after hearing the examiner and shall forward the application for publication in journal if examiner is satisfied with the authenticity of application. The Brand name is published in the Journal for a period of 90 Days.
• The application of registration of brand name and logo shall be processed further and hence certificate of registration shall be generated.

Conclusion

There are various types of Brand name that can be registered in India and each and every Brand name has some pros and cons attached to it. Depending upon the nature of product and service, the brand name and logo should be selected in an efficient manner that serves the audience. A good brand name creates a positive image of the product in the minds of consumers. A Brand name is the most sustainable asset of an organization. It helps companies in generating higher returns with low risks.