Trademark | Copyright | Patent | Design

As a business owner, if you have a unique idea i.e. likely going to be translated into a product or service or an algorithm, it is very important to think about the intellectual property right for this particular thing right from the beginning. Because intellectual property right (IPR) is something that gets less attention and is neglected which leads to big problems in the business in the future so it is going to be very important for us to understand the critical aspects of the intellectual property rights from some of our subject matter experts.
In the process of starting your business, if you’re going to be creating anything, whether it’s creating anything which is in literary or something in writing or it’s an artistic work or it’s music or even your brand or even designs, all of these things are intellectual property and capable of protection and more importantly monetization for you going forward.

There are a few aspects of IPRs which you must look at for registering your creation:

Trademark –

This is something you can do for protecting your brand/logo. This helps you in differentiating your products/services from other players in the market.

REGISTRATION PROCESS of Trademark:

Registration of a trademark can be done by two ways offline or online. Offline registration of the trademark can be done at one of the offices of the trademark register based on the jurisdiction. While online registration is called E-filing of a trademark.

E-filing of a trademark application is a new service provided by the trademark office. E-filing is beneficial and more useful than offline registration as it provides trademark application number immediately. It also provides online verification to assure error-free filing and obtain your filing date. It also speeds up the process. All the details can be saved in your PC and can see online history or track status of the applications filed by clicking “Status of filed application”.

The trademark registration application will be allotted to a Trademark Officer in the Trademark Registrar Office. The Trademark Officer would then review the trademark application for correctness and issue a trademark examination report. The Trademark Officer has the ability to accept the trademark registration application and allow for trademark journal publication or object the trademark registration application.

Duration of Trademark:

Trademark can be registered for a duration of 10 years. It can be renewed for a further period of 10 years on payment of the renewal fees. The trademark can be renewed by filling the form TM-R with transaction costs.

Documents required and Fee for Trademark:

A soft copy of the logo in JPEG format is required for the registration.

• Name and address of the proprietor of the mark or Name of all the partners if its a partnership firm. or also attached partnership firm deed.

• For Private Limited Company – COI and Name and address of Authorized signatures

• In case company if you submit MSME certificate the fees will be reduced. You have to pay only Rs.4500/ instead of Rs.9,000/-

• In case of sole-proprietary firm fees will be Rs.4500/- or in case of Company Rs.9,000/-

Types Of Trademark available:

• Names According to Section 9 or 11 of Trade Marks Act it should not be similar to with an earlier trademark.
• Symbols
• The Combination of Colours or even a single color in combination with a word or device according to Section 10.
• Letters, numerals or combination of both.
• Monograms
• Sounds Mark

Copyright –

It is a legal right which is given to the creator of the product for a fixed time period.
Through this the author enjoys the exclusive privilege to publish, broadcast, adapt, make derivative works, showcase and monetize the same. It could either be a literary work, a dramatic work, music or artistic work.

How to get Copyright for a website?

A website may contain a number of elements that are literary or artistic in nature. For example, words, graphics, videos, software and photos etc. As per the Copyright Office, you will have to file copyright registration request for each of these elements separately.

Duration/Term of Copyright

In the case of original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, the duration of copyright is the lifetime of the author or artist, and 60 years counted from the year following the death of the author.

In the case of cinematograph films, sound recordings, photographs, posthumous publications, anonymous and pseudonymous publications, works of government and works of international organizations are protected for a period of 60 years which is counted from the year following the date of publication.

Application Procedure of Copyright

Any individual who is an author or rights owner or assignee or legal heir can file an application for copyright of a work either by the e-filing facility or by speed post. However, with effect from August 01, 2014, the Copyright Counter for filing copyright applications has been closed in order to popularise the electronic filing. Online Filing Process:

Step 1- Applicant need to create a User ID at http://copyright.gov.in/UserRegistration/frmNewUser.aspx by filling basic details.

Step 2- After successful registration, browse http://copyright.gov.in/UserRegistration/frmLoginPage.aspx and Log In with credentials.

Step 3- Once you are Logged In, click on “e-Filing of Application” in the left menu.

Step 4- Click on the link “Click here for online Copyright Registration”

Stage 5- The online “Copyright Registration Form” is to be filled-up in four

Offline Filing Process:

a) Application for registration is to be made on Form XIV. Form can be downloaded from here-http://copyright.gov.in/frmformsDownload.aspx

b) Separate applications should be made for registration of each work.

c) Each application should be accompanied by the requisite fee.

d) The applications should be signed by the applicant or the advocate in whose favour a Power of Attorney has been executed. The Power of Attorney should also be enclosed.

e) Answer each and every column of the Statement of Particulars and Statement of Further Particulars specifically.

Send the documents by post to Copyright Division, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, 4th Floor, Jeevan Deep Building, Parliament Street, New Delhi : 110001 Email

Address- copyright@nic.in

Telephone No, – 011-23362436

Approval:

A mandatory period of 30 days should be passed post obtaining the diary number so that no objection is filed in the Copyright office against your claim that particular work is created by you. If such objection is filed it may take another one month time to decide as to whether the work could be registered by the Registrar of Copyrights after giving an opportunity of hearing to both the parties.

If no objection is filed the application goes for scrutiny from the examiners. If any discrepancy is found the applicant is given 30 days time to remove the same. Therefore, it may take 2 to 3 month’s time for registration of any work in the ordinary course. The applicant himself or his/her leader may appear in the hearing according to S. 27 of the Act. As per section 72 of the Copyright Act, 1957 any person aggrieved by the final decision or order of the Registrar of Copyrights may, within three months from the date of the order or decision, appeal to the Copyright Board. The registration of a copyright thus, may take a period of 1 to 1.5 years.

Documents Required:

List of Documents required to be submitted by Post along with application form. Refer to the document list based on Type of Work. Click here for list- Documents Required for Copyright Registration in India.

Fee for copyright:

The Fee can by paid either through Online mode or Postal Order or Demand Draft. List of Documents required to be submitted by Hand/ By Post along with application form.

3. Patent – The focus here is on proving the novelty of your creation. It needs to be a new invention for you to get a patent. Availing patent protection is a bit more complex than getting a trademark or a copyright. Generally, these are given for machines and pharmaceutical products.

4. Design – Registered designs are used to protect the external appearance of any object. These are primarily meant for protecting designs meant for commercial/industrial use. For instance, a Coca-Cola bottle.

IP – Investor’s Perspective

Whenever the company seeks funding from the investor community, IP – how it is managed and protected
– becomes an important criteria for them to decide. It helps investors figure out the long-term growth of the company. They check on a few key aspects like:

• IP ownership rests with the company and not with the founder
• Ensure that there are no arrangements of IP sharing.
• How frequently are the IP rights being reviewed?
• What are the legal implications for changes made to the brand or logo?

IP Registration Process

When it comes to registering your IP, say, for instance, trademark, the first thing which you need to figure out is to decide on its geographic spread – national registration or international registration. Under the Indian national regime of registration of a trademark, you can apply to any of the five registrars located at Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, or Chennai for complete protection across India. The Registrar shall examine the application, post which it shall be published in the Indian Trademarks Journal. If no opposition is raised by any third party within 90 days, the Registrar accepts the trademark application.

Under the international regime, India is a signatory to various treaties, which allow for registration of a trademark in multiple countries with a single application process. Depending on the targeted countries you wish to register your trademark in, you can select any of the various international treaties such as the Madrid Protocol, European Community Trademark, etc.

Conclusion: When you think of any startup business you must have to Understand your intellectual property obligations. these intellectual property obligations build your band and secure your content & design.