Information, free tools and filing assistance for trademarks, copyright and designs.
Or run a free trademark availability check first
IPMitra is a digital platform and information portal for intellectual property in India. Learn how trademarks, copyright and industrial designs protect different parts of your business, how protection extends abroad, explore free tools, and understand what search, filing and prosecution typically involve under Indian IP law.
Different parts of a business are protected by different laws. Pick what you want to protect to see which right usually applies.
Each right protects something different, is governed by its own Act and is administered by a different office.
Protects brand names, logos, slogans and other signs that identify the source of goods or services.
Protects original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, software, films and sound recordings.
Protects the shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation of a product — how it looks, not how it works.
Trade Marks Act, 1999 · Trade Marks Registry, IP India · 45 Nice Classes
A registered trademark gives the proprietor the exclusive right to use the mark for the goods or services it is registered for, and the right to use the ® symbol. Registration starts with a search for identical and similar marks and the correct class, followed by filing Form TM-A, examination, publication in the Trade Marks Journal and registration.
Checking the Trade Marks Registry for identical, phonetically similar and conceptually similar marks in the relevant class before filing.
Identifying the right Nice Classification class or classes for the goods and services the mark will be used for.
Preparing the application with an accurate description of goods and services, user details and the representation of the mark.
Responding to examination reports raising objections under Section 9 (absolute grounds) or Section 11 (relative grounds).
After publication in the Trade Marks Journal, third parties have four months to oppose. Notices and counter-statements follow set timelines.
Registration is valid for 10 years and can be renewed indefinitely for further 10-year periods.
Copyright Act, 1957 · Copyright Office, DPIIT
Copyright protects original creative expression from the moment a work is created — registration is not mandatory. However, an entry in the Register of Copyrights is treated as prima facie evidence of the particulars recorded, which can be valuable if ownership is ever disputed. Copyright protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself.
Designs Act, 2000 · Designs Rules, 2001 · Design Office, IP India
A registered design protects the features of shape, configuration, pattern, ornament or composition of lines or colours applied to an article — the features that appeal to and are judged solely by the eye. It protects how a product looks, not how it works. Registration gives the proprietor the exclusive right to apply the design to the article in the class it is registered for.
Trademark and design rights are territorial — an Indian registration protects only in India. International treaties make it simpler to extend protection to other countries.
India is a member of the Madrid Protocol. A single international application filed through IP India, based on an Indian application or registration, can designate many member countries at once.
A trademark application filed in another Paris Convention country can claim the Indian filing date as priority if filed within 6 months.
India is a member of the Berne Convention. Under the International Copyright Order, 1999, works from other member countries are protected in India, and Indian works are generally protected in member countries, without separate registration.
A registration in India still helps as evidence of ownership.
Design protection is sought country by country. An application filed in another convention country can claim the Indian filing date as priority if filed within 6 months.
Because novelty is lost on publication, plan foreign filings before the product is shown publicly anywhere.
Most products involve more than one kind of intellectual property. Take a premium water bottle brand launched by a startup:
Official fees are paid directly to the relevant government office and are always separate from any professional fee for assistance.
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Research your brand before you file, using data from official IP India sources.
Check availability on the IP India registry with a preliminary similarity analysis and class suggestion.
Use tool →Find the right Nice Classification class for your goods or services across all 45 classes.
Use tool →Estimate the government fee for your applicant type and number of classes.
Use tool →Name already registered? Add a distinctive prefix or suffix to create a new brand name.
Use tool →Practical, fact-checked writing on filing, cost, search, and objections — grounded in current filing practice, not generic advice.
What actually happens on day one of filing, and why "registered" and "filed" describe two very different things.
CostThe full, stage-by-stage cost breakdown — beyond the ₹999 headline price.
Myths & FactsFrom "filing means registered" to "my domain protects my brand" — ten misconceptions, corrected.