Trademark Application Status Check by Application Number: Steps and Status Meanings

1. Find your application number. It is on the acknowledgement you got when the TM-A application was filed. If someone filed it for you, ask them for the receipt.
2. Open the IP India trademark status page at tmrsearch.ipindia.gov.in/estatus. The portal may ask for a one-time password and a captcha before you can search.
3. Choose to search by National/IRDI number, enter your application number and submit.
4. Read the status line at the top. The full record below it shows the class, the applicant, any examination report, hearing dates and the journal number if the mark has been advertised.

The check is free and you can do it as often as you like. Applicants usually check every few weeks, and straight away whenever they get an email or letter from the Trade Marks Registry.

An objection is common and does not mean your mark is rejected. The examiner has issued an examination report, which you can download from the status page. You must file a written reply within one month of receiving it. If you don't reply, the application can be treated as abandoned.

A good reply answers each ground in the report. For example, it explains why the mark is distinctive, shows how it differs from the cited marks, and attaches evidence of use such as invoices and advertisements. If the examiner isn't satisfied, a hearing is scheduled.

TaxQue drafts and files trademark objection replies and represents you at the hearing.

Once your mark appears in the Trade Marks Journal, anyone has four months from the date of publication to oppose it. If nobody does, the mark proceeds to registration.

If an opposition is filed, you receive a copy and must file a counter-statement within two months. Missing that deadline means the application is treated as abandoned. Opposition proceedings involve evidence and hearings, so it's worth getting professional help with the opposition early.

• Download the registration certificate from the IP India portal.
• Registration is valid for 10 years from the application date, not from the date of registration. After that it can be renewed for 10 years at a time. See trademark renewal.
• Use ® only with the goods and services in the class it is registered for. Until then, use ™.

The status page works with any application number, not only your own. If you don't have the number, use the public search on the IP India trademark search site. Search by word mark and class, open the matching result, and you'll see its application number and current status.

Run this search before you pick a brand name. It is the cheapest way to avoid an objection or an opposition later. When you're ready to file, TaxQue's trademark registration service includes the search.