Most trademark trouble starts at filing: a mark that was never searched, the wrong class, the wrong applicant, or a use date that cannot be proved. These mistakes surface months later as objections or oppositions. Each problem below explains what goes wrong, why, and what to do about it.
13 problems solvedFor brand owners, trademark attorneys and agentsLast reviewed: 8 October 2026
The trademark search shows a similar mark already filed
What you see
The public search shows an identical or similar mark in the same or a related class.
Why it happens
An earlier identical or similar mark for the same or similar goods or services is the main ground for a Section 11 objection, and the owner can also oppose your application.
How to fix it
Check the current status and actual use of the earlier mark. An abandoned or refused filing, or a removed registration, does not automatically eliminate earlier-use or passing-off rights. Under Section 26, a mark removed for unpaid renewal fees can still affect competing registration applications during one year after removal, subject to the statutory exceptions.
Compare the marks as a whole (look, sound and idea) and the goods or services. Different goods in a different trade may not conflict.
If the conflict is real, change the mark now, add a distinctive element, or narrow the specification. Changing before filing is far cheaper than fighting an objection.
Avoid it next time
Search the wordmark, phonetic variants and the logo across related classes before you adopt the name, not after you print packaging.
You realise the class or the description of goods or services does not cover what you actually sell.
Why it happens
The class was chosen from the product name alone, or one class was chosen when the business needed two or more.
After filing, the specification can be narrowed, but it cannot be broadened to cover new goods or services. A class can be added only where the Registrar finds that the goods or services already listed belong in another class too.
How to fix it
If the specification is merely too wide, file a request to amend (Form TM-M) to restrict it.
Check whether the filed specification already includes the relevant goods or services and whether a permissible correction can address the classification error. Rule 37 does not allow entirely new goods or services or a substantially altered mark. If a fresh application is needed, it has its own filing date.
Decide whether to keep or withdraw the wrong application.
Avoid it next time
Use the class finder and list every product and service you sell or plan to sell soon before filing.
The mark was filed in a founder's personal name, but the company or LLP actually uses it, or the reverse.
Why it happens
The owner was chosen for speed or for the lower government fee, without thinking about who runs the business, takes investment or licenses the brand.
How to fix it
If the right owner is a related entity, assign the application or registration to it with a written assignment, and record it with the Registry (Form TM-P).
If the name was simply misspelt, request correction of the clerical error.
Keep a licence agreement if one entity owns the mark and another uses it.
Avoid it next time
Decide ownership first: the entity that runs the business and will raise money should usually own the brand.
The Registry asks for a user affidavit and evidence, or the examination report questions the claimed use date.
Why it happens
A use date before the filing date must be supported by an affidavit and documents such as invoices, advertisements or packaging showing the mark on those dates.
An unsupported or inflated date weakens the application and can be attacked in opposition.
How to fix it
Collect dated evidence of use from the earliest date you can actually prove: invoices, bills, website archives, advertisements, packaging.
File the user affidavit with that evidence. If you cannot prove the earlier date, claim the later date you can prove.
Avoid it next time
File as "proposed to be used" if you have no proof of earlier use. Claim prior use only when you can document it.
You have a brand name and a logo and are unsure what to protect first.
Why it happens
A word mark protects the name in any style. A logo (device mark) protects the design as shown.
A logo with a weak or descriptive name may get registered, but give little protection to the name itself.
How to fix it
If budget allows only one, protect the word mark first where the name is distinctive.
File the logo separately if the design matters commercially.
Protect the logo artwork under copyright as well, where it is original.
Avoid it next time
Choose a distinctive name and assess the whole filed mark. Adding a design does not automatically make descriptive wording separately distinctive or exclusively protectable.
Paid the higher government fee, or claimed the lower fee without eligibility
What you see
The Registry raises a fee deficiency, or you realise you paid more than needed.
Why it happens
The e-filing fee is ₹4,500 per mark per class for an individual, startup or small enterprise, and ₹9,000 for other applicants. Check the qualifying category and any prescribed supporting evidence; an individual does not need a startup or enterprise certificate merely to qualify as an individual.
A company or LLP claiming a startup or small-enterprise fee category must establish the applicable eligibility. Missing or inadequate evidence can lead to a deficiency; the reduced fee is not a blanket entitlement for every MSME.
How to fix it
Check the deficiency notice and the category actually claimed. Submit the qualifying evidence or pay any required fee balance through the prescribed procedure, within the applicable period.
Before filing, check whether the applicant meets the startup or small-enterprise definition used by the Trade Marks Rules and keep the relevant evidence ready. Do not assume that any MSME registration alone proves eligibility.
Avoid it next time
Confirm the actual applicant and fee category, and keep the supporting evidence ready before filing.
Agent authorisation (Form TM-M) missing or defective
What you see
The status shows a formalities defect, or the Registry asks for a proper authorisation of the agent.
Why it happens
When an agent acts for the applicant before the Registry, Rule 19(1) prescribes authorisation executed in Form TM-M. Historical TM-48 references should not be presented as the current prescribed form.
An authorisation can be defective if it is unsigned, signed by the wrong person, lacks the required scope or does not meet the applicable execution and stamp requirements.
How to fix it
Execute the current prescribed Form TM-M authorisation, signed by the applicant or authorised signatory, and check the applicable execution and stamp requirements.
Upload it in reply to the formalities defect.
Avoid it next time
Prepare the prescribed authorisation and verify its signature, scope and applicable execution requirements before the agent acts.
We registered the company name, so is the brand protected?
What you see
You assumed the MCA name approval protects the brand, then found someone else using or filing it.
Why it happens
Company or LLP name approval only means the registrar accepted the name for the company register. It gives no trademark rights against traders using the brand. If someone else owns a registered trademark for that name, they can even apply to have your company's name changed.
How to fix it
File a trademark application for the brand in the relevant classes.
If someone filed it first, check their status and consider opposition or rectification, depending on who used it first.
Avoid it next time
File the trademark at the same time as incorporating the company.
Law: Sections 4 and 16, Companies Act 2013; Section 15, LLP Act 2008; Section 28, Trade Marks Act 1999Company name vs trademark →#
Brand owners & professionals
Status shows "Formalities Chk Fail"
What you see
The application status is "Formalities Chk Fail" soon after filing.
Why it happens
Usually a formal defect, such as missing or defective agent authorisation under Rule 19, an unclear mark image, a missing translation or transliteration, or a fee or fee-category issue.
How to fix it
Read the defect notice in the correspondence on the application's status page.
For a Rule 31 deficiency notice, remedy each notified deficiency within one month from the date of the notice, subject to Rule 10(2). Rule 31 provides that failure to remedy a notified deficiency within that period results in the application being treated as abandoned. Check the notice and required filing carefully.
Avoid it next time
Check documents, the logo file and the fee category before filing.
Should the logo be filed in colour or in black and white?
What you see
You are unsure whether to file the coloured logo or a black and white version.
Why it happens
A mark registered without limitation to colour is generally treated as registered for all colours. A colour claim limits protection to the colours shown, though colour can help distinctiveness.
How to fix it
File in black and white where you want flexibility across colours.
File in colour, with a colour claim, where the colour combination itself is the distinctive part of the brand.
Avoid it next time
Decide which element makes the brand recognisable before filing.
The Registry asks for a transliteration or translation, or the status shows a formalities defect.
Why it happens
Where a mark contains words in a language or script other than English or Hindi, the applicant must give a transliteration and translation, stating the language.
How to fix it
File the transliteration and the meaning in English (or Hindi), stating the language.
If the word has no meaning, say so.
Avoid it next time
Include the transliteration and translation in the application itself.
You need the registration faster, for example for a marketplace, a dispute or investment.
Why it happens
An applicant can request expedited processing of the application in Form TM-M with a higher government fee.
How to fix it
File the expedited examination request with the government fee, ideally with or soon after the application.
The examination report is ordinarily issued within three months of the request. Reply promptly, because the expedited route does not give you more time to respond.
Avoid it next time
Request it only when timing really matters, and be ready to respond within days.
Stuck on one of these right now? Send us the application number, the notice or a screenshot of the status. We will tell you the fix and the deadline, and file it for you if you want.
If your brand could only get one thing right, make it the trademark.
That is what we help you decide. Then we search it, file it, defend it, and keep it renewed for the next ten years — from Ahmedabad, for all of Gujarat.