Trademark Registration in Pakistan

Every business, big or small, needs to protect its brand and trademarks. A trademark is a symbol, name, or design that is used to identify the goods or services of a particular company. There are many benefits to having trademark registration in Pakistan, including greater legal protection in the event of infringement.

How Can You Register a Trademark In Pakistan?

It is essential for business owners and service providers in Lahore to protect their intellectual property by registering their identity or brand as a trademark. The best trademark registration services are provided by CMA Law Associates in Lahore and throughout Pakistan. However, to enhance the availability of trademark services in Pakistan and to expand the scope of its regional operational services in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, IPO-Pakistan has taken major initiatives.

Understanding the importance of registration of business trademark and how to protect this right is essential. CMA Law Associates is the ideal option to meet your demands for filing a trademark application in Lahore and throughout Pakistan. However, if you are new to the market and want to register products for a mark so that people can recognize them as an individual brand.

The highly qualified legal professionals at CMA Law Associates are trained to assist newly established entrepreneurs and businesses with the trademark registration process in Lahore and throughout Pakistan. A non-neglected procedure, trademark registration can be helpful throughout your business activities. CMA Law Associates legal attorneys welcome any inquiries from clients and are experts in trademark and brand logo registration.

Who May Submit A Trademark Application in Pakistan?

A trademark application submitted by any of the following complies with trademark laws in Lahore and throughout Pakistan:

  1. Individuals
  2. Company Partnerships
  3. Private and public limited companies, limited liability partnerships, and non-profit organizations (NGO, Trust, Welfare Society, Foundation, etc.)
  4. NGO’s

Top Thirteen Benefits Of Registering A Trademark Or Logo

Following are some benefits of trademark registration in Pakistan: 

  1. Provides exclusive ownership of the trademark
  2. Creates goodwill and trust Differentiates Product
  3. Easier for customers to recognize your quality product
  4. Gives 10 Years of Protection
  5. Enables the usage of the ® symbol
  6. Increases Market Trustworthiness
  7. Adds uniqueness Identity 
  8. Offers security from infringement
  9. Shows control over brands and consistency.
  10. Helps in Increasing Financial Value
  11. Permits Legal Defense
  12. Development of an intangible asset
  13. Keeps the company’s goodwill intact.

However, it is crucial to do extensive research before the trademark registration of your company.

Why should you always do research before filing the trademark application?

Even though it is not a requirement or milestone, reputable businesses always conduct a background trademark check before submitting a trademark application. Moreover, experts recommend to do an extensive background check of your desired trademark.

Advantages of trademark search:

Trademark search allows the following advantages:

  1. Cross-checking the proposed trademark for an identical or related mark of any other company is beneficial. It gives rise to concepts for a distinct brand with the least similarities to any other company’s trademark.
  2. In case two businesses choose identical or confusingly similar trademarks, the IPO provides registration to the first party to utilize the mark. In this situation, if the other company still decides to go with that particular trademark, it may violate the first company’s trademark rights. Any company with a similar or identical mark is subject to legal action by the registered trademark owner. Consequently, this trademark search is a check to see if a brand is available for adaptation or if there is any chance it could violate another business’s rights.

Therefore, it is wise to do scrutiny before registering your trademark. However, these trademarks are dependent on various classifications.

Trademark Application Filed Through the Classification of Goods and Services

IPO Pakistan has established 45 kinds of products and services for trademark applications in Pakistan. Classes 1 through 34 are for commodities, whereas classes 35 through 45 are for services. This categorization falls under the Nice Classification (NCL) of Goods and Services, established by the NICE Agreement(1957). Officials use Trademark Ordinance 2001 to the related circumstances. 

Claim for colors in trademark registration

The Trademark Ordinance of 2001 recognizes that consumers can also include color or colors in trademark registration. According to the act, registration may include a color restriction, without one, or a combination of colors.

Related officials register a trademark with a color that is typically applicable to all other colors as well. However, applications with color restrictions adhere to the same protocol as applications without such restriction(s). Although, trademark registration is easy when you have good knowledge or you have hired a good law firm.

How to register a Trademark in Lahore, Pakistan

Step 01: trademark search

The very first step in trademark registration is logo search. After you have researched thoroughly, submit TM Form 55. To find out if a trademark with a comparable meaning already exists or not, the IPO Pakistan searched for it. Tax officers do it to verify a trademark’s authenticity. By submitting the “TM Form 55” together with the necessary trademark, the Applicant (representing a company/brand) requests a trademark search. The application advances to the following phase if experts don’t find any no comparable trademarks

Step 02: trademark colors registration:

When a trademark is registered along with a specific color, it usually covers all other colors. Applications with color restrictions follow the same procedure as those without them (s).

The following are the necessary paperwork and details for submitting a trademark application in Lahore and other Pakistani cities:

  • Application Form 
  • Information about the Applicant (Name, address, and Nationality)
  • Company – Country or State of Company incorporation, Name, Address, and Specific Information of All Directors
  • Name, address, and detailed information about each partner in the partnership
  • Identity, location, and country of origin (documents Proof)
  • Describe the goods or services you plan to register.
  • paperwork for the proposed trademark entity and a digital copy of the proposed trademark
  • Documents attesting to the use of the trademark and the time it was first used in Pakistan
  • Legal Representative’s Power of Attorney
  • Demand drafts or pay orders in the name of the Director-General, IPO Pakistan, as evidence of payment

Step 03: legal process after a person applies for trademark registration

After that, the applicant receives a report acknowledging these documents’ receipt. Counting from the submission date, it doesn’t take longer than 15 days. Within three months of the application, IPO Pakistan informes the Applicant of the Examination Report.

The Registration Office gives show-cause notice to the Applicant if there are any objections to the application’s substance or proposed trademark. There is a two-month response deadline, and by then, the Applicant needs to justify their objections. If the Applicant is unsuccessful in advancing a defense for his application, IPO Pakistan can revoke the registration application.

The trademark is then permitted to publish in the monthly digital journal published by IPO Pakistan (available for online viewing at IPO’s website) once there are no objections to the application. Everyone can view the proposed trademarks for which registration was requested, thanks to the public’s free access to this digital journal.

When a party or firm objects, IPO Pakistan responds by submitting the appropriate form TM-5 or TM-8, depending on the situation, these forms request that a trademark application be looked into.

The Applicant requested to file Forms TM-6 or TM-9 to provide his defense against the object (whichever applies). The application for trademark registration is approved if there are no objections raised within two months of the trademark being published in the online journal. To acquire the trademark registration certificate, the Applicant requested that the trademark registration fee be paid and the TM Form 11 be filled out.

The Applicant receives a Trademark Registration Certificate once the payment is made in full. Every ten years, the trademark had to be renewed. The Applicant must complete TM Form 12 and submit it with the renewal money.

The average processing period of trademark registration application:

Based on significant experience, the trademark registry’s average processing period from the time of application to the issuing of the trademark registration certificate is roughly 18 months.

After the issuance date, a trademark certification is valid for ten (10) years. After that, the applicant can again submit an application for the renewal of trademark registration under the section 35 of the Trademark Ordinance 2001. A person can also register an application for trademark removal if he pleases so.

The Procedure Of Pakistan Trademark Renewal

According to Section 35 of the Trademark Ordinance of 2001, a trademark renewal must be requested within six (06) months of the Applicant’s trademark expiration date. The Applicant must fill out two forms: one for the payment of the surcharge (Rs. 15,000/-) for one trademark and one for the renewal of the trademark certification (Form TM-12). The Registrar can withdraw the registered trademark from the Register if a person doesn’t submit the application for Trademark Renewal within the allotted six (06) month period. In this case, the Applicant must fill out Form TM-13 from the 2004 Trade Mark Rules to request the reinstatement of the trademark.