Trademark is an intellectual property tool that safeguards the product or service and gives brand that push the product in the market. The preliminary step involved in getting a product trademark is the trademark search. The article says about trademark search, need, etc.
Trademark search is the process in which search is made on the registry of trademark to confirm that the name, mark or logo does not already exists. Trademark search is considered to an inevitable step in trademark registration process. If a trade make is obtained without making proper search the following may happen.
- Infringement of rights if there already exists the identical trademark.
- If it is forbidden.
- If it is granted earlier and to be used in future.
There are different kinds of trademark search. They are briefly explained as follows.
Online search which is very common in nature but the validity is only for 7 days. The user id is of one time use.
Manual search involves the search in registry manually. It is not in practice now- a- days.
How to conduct an online search
There are different types of Trademark search in India. Conducting an online trademark search is the most easy one, and it also time-consuming and cost effective. The facility of online trademark search has been started by the Indian Trademark Registry for providing effective and speedy disposal of trademark application pertaining to trademark search. When doing online trademark search, an applicant or his trademark agent will get 15 minutes to search any mark in any class. The validity of online search is only for 7 days. Once logged in, it cannot be used by anyone again. The registry issues a User ID and a password for the purpose of search. But it is to be noted that to use the password and the ID one has to create his own account for search with the Trade Marks Registry. The online trademark search can be conducted either with the help of the credit card or by directly making an application to the Trademark Registry along with the requisite fees. This is the most effective and can be well accessed by anyone who wants to conduct a trademark search. Availing the service of a trademark trademark law firm or hiring an attorney will be advisable for avoiding future legal problems.
Need of Search
- To ensure identity
- To avoid infringement of rights
- To make the product or service more secured.
- To reduce the allegation on avoidable infringements
Therefore trademark search is a balancing step which ensures that the name or logo is not in existence and thereby infringe the intellectual property rights.