The short version: before filing, search the Indian trade marks register for identical and deceptively similar marks in your class, by spelling, sound and appearance, and scan the market for unregistered users. We run this as a fixed-fee comprehensive search with a written opinion, usually within 1–2 working days.
Why the search is the highest-leverage step
Every later problem is cheaper to catch here. A conflict found before filing costs you a renaming conversation. Found at examination, it costs an objection reply. Found after launch, it can cost your packaging, your Google ranking and, in the worst case, an infringement suit. Ten minutes of searching is the best-paid work in the whole process.
Using the free IP India public search
The Registry’s public search offers three modes, and you should run all of them:
- Wordmark search, “Start with” and “Contains” queries for your name and its obvious misspellings, in your class.
- Phonetic search, catches sound-alikes the wordmark search misses (“Xeon” / “Zion”). Examiners lean on this heavily.
- Vienna code search, for logos, using the international classification of device elements.
Then step outside the register: search MCA for company names, check domain availability, and look through Amazon, Flipkart, Instagram and the app stores. India protects prior users even without registration, a well-established unregistered brand can oppose your application or maintain a passing-off action.
How to read what you find
Finding something similar is normal; the question is whether it blocks you. The factors that matter: how close the marks are in sound and idea; whether the goods or services are the same, similar, or merely neighbours; whether the earlier mark is alive (registered, pending, opposed, or abandoned); and how distinctive the shared element is, everyone shares “Royal” and “India”, so those overlaps count for little. This weighing is precisely what our written opinion does: for each relevant hit, we tell you whether it’s fatal, arguable, or noise, and if it’s arguable, what the argument is.
What you receive from us
- Register search across relevant classes: wordmark, phonetic and (for logos) device search
- Market scan: MCA names, domains, major marketplaces and app stores
- A written opinion: clear / arguable / blocked, with reasons and, where useful, naming tweaks that would clear the path
- A recommended class strategy, ready to carry straight into filing