Business and companies can protect their brand image with a trademark. As a result, anyone who has run a business or company knows how important it is to have a valid trademark. It essentially acts as a safeguard against people stealing your logo, brand name, or brand image. A trademark’s validity is a critical factor to consider. However, it is equally important to make sure the mark you have is legally valid. Since trademarks have a limited lifespan, renewing them is crucial.
Learn why trademark renewal is necessary and how to do it quickly if you still don’t understand how to renew a trademark.
How Do Trademarks Work?
Trademarks serve as formal business names, logos or umbrella terms that include both your company name and logo. Trademarks help customers distinguish between competing products and services. In addition to protecting your company’s products and services from counterfeiters, trademarks serve as intellectual property protectors that ensure that your brand identity remains yours.
Symbols, names, logos, colour combinations, and phrases may be included in trademarks. A trademark is validated by adding an ® at the end. Registration and branding take place under the Trade Marks Act, 1999. It is also illegal in India to register a trademark that is offensive, non-unique, or contains government symbols.
This action has helped to set admirable benchmarks when it comes to trademark applications, because it encourages the e-filing of trademarks.
How Does Trademark Renewal Work?
If you want to have a legally binding trademark, you must renew your trademark registration beyond ten years. Renewal ensures that all of the rights associated with the trademark are extended for a few more years. The trademark registration will no longer be valid if the owner does not renew it once the validity expires. As a result, the owner will no longer have the protection that trademark registration offers.
Trademark Renewal Procedure
- To renew a trademark, the owner must complete Form TM-12
- In order to renew your trademark registration, you must submit this form six months before it expires
- The Registrar will serve a notice if no application is filed within 3 months of expiration
- It is important to remember that you cannot remove your registration if this notice is not sent to you
- Additionally, the owner must pay any applicable renewal fees in conjunction with the Form TM-12
- Registering but not paying the fees may result in your registration being revoked.
What After Trademark Expiration?
If you fail to renew your trademark, your trademark registration might be removed. Furthermore, if you submit the renewal form without paying the fee, your trademark listing might be removed as well. In order to give you another opportunity to renew your trademark, the Registrar will advertise this intention in the Trademark Journal before removing the registration.
If you fail to renew the mark even after this, not only the owner, but everyone who has been assigned or licensed with the trademark will also be affected. Also, it will negate all the legal rights of the proprietors. Aside from weakening the legal position of the owner, it also eliminates exclusivity and erodes protection from infringement. As a result, you will lose your absolute power to prevent others from using your trademark.
Registrars understand the importance of trademarks, which is why they allow you to renew them for up to six months after their expiration date.
Trademark Restoration
When the trademark renewal online period lapses and you fail to file TM-12, the owner has the option of restoring the trademark. A trademark can be restored within six months to one year after the expiration of its registration. This is the process that is used when the renewal period ends.
Once a trademark owner submits Form TM-13, the Registrar advertises the mark, ensuring that no other company has started using it. Once the advertising is completed, and they are sure there are no objections to the trademark being restored, the mark will be re-registered into the Register of Trademarks. This restoration will keep the trademark valid and active for another 10 years.
Read More:-
- Global Trademark Registration Considerations
- All About Trademark Registration in Maharashtra
- Trademark Registration in Punjab