Licenses & registrations
We file your FORM TM-A trademark application: class selection guidance, mark and goods/services description, and document preparation, tracked through to the examination report, so you get your application filed correctly the first time instead of losing the fee to a wrong-class refile.
Filing FORM TM-A means picking the right NICE class, describing your goods and services correctly, and getting the fee slab right. Miss any of these and a non-refundable fee turns into two. We handle the filing and the follow-through to your examination report.
A trademark application is filed as FORM TM-A under the Trade Marks Act 1999, against the fee schedule in the First Schedule to the Trade Marks Rules 2017. India lets you cover every class you need in one application, sharing a single filing date and application number.
The government fee is charged per class, and it doesn't come back if the application is refused, withdrawn, or abandoned. That single fact is why class selection deserves real attention before you file, before an examiner ever gets involved.
Scope
Filed against your chosen class or classes, with a goods/services description that matches what your business actually does rather than a generic template.
Class 9 covers downloadable software and physical goods. Class 42 covers software as a service. A marketplace or e-commerce storefront usually needs Class 35 instead. We check which one applies to you before you pay a fee that doesn't come back.
Wordmark and phonetic search catch most conflicting marks before you pay a fee that doesn't come back if the application fails on that ground.
Individual applicants, DPIIT-recognized startups, and Udyam-registered small enterprises pay Rs 4,500 per class filing online. Every other applicant pays Rs 9,000 per class. We confirm which slab applies and attach the right certificate.
Specifics
Trademarks are registered against the NICE Classification, 45 classes covering every kind of good or service. For a software or internet business, the split that trips people up most is Class 9 versus Class 42. A downloadable app or packaged software product sits in Class 9. Software delivered as a service, SaaS, PaaS, cloud tools, custom development, sits in Class 42. A marketplace or retail storefront usually needs Class 35 instead of either.
| Class | Covers | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Downloadable/physical software | A mobile app people download, or packaged software |
| 42 | Software as a service | A browser-only subscription product with no download |
| 35 | Retail, advertising, business services | A marketplace or e-commerce storefront |
The fee doesn't come back if an application is refused for the wrong class. A company filing two classes at Rs 9,000 each, then having to refile after a wrong-class refusal, pays that Rs 18,000 a second time.
FORM TM-A lets you cover every class you actually need in a single application, sharing one filing date and application number. You still pay the fee per class, there's no bundling discount for filing more than one. One caution worth knowing before you file: under Rule 46(3) of the 2017 Rules, if a third party opposes even one class in a multi-class application, that holds up every class in the application, including the ones nobody opposed.
| Applicant type | Fee per class (e-filing) |
|---|---|
| Individual / DPIIT-recognized startup / Udyam-registered small enterprise | Rs 4,500 |
| Company, LLP, or any other applicant | Rs 9,000 |
The discount isn't automatic. It applies only if you produce a DPIIT Recognition Certificate or a Udyam Registration Certificate at filing. Without one on record, you're filed at the company-tier fee regardless of how small the business actually is.
If the examiner does raise an objection, we handle the reply through our dedicated Trademark Objection Reply service, which picks up exactly where this one leaves off.
Process
Step 1 of 5
Class and mark review
We check your actual product or service against the class list and match it to what you actually sell.
Common mistakes founders make
Clarifications
Rs 4,500 per class if you're an individual, a DPIIT-recognized startup, or a Udyam-registered small enterprise filing online. Everyone else pays Rs 9,000 per class online, under the Trade Marks Rules 2017 First Schedule. The fee applies per class, whether you file one or several.
Yes. FORM TM-A supports one application across multiple classes, sharing a single filing date and application number. You still pay the fee for each class, but you're not filing separate applications.
The fee doesn't come back if the application is refused on that ground, and you'd need to file again from scratch at full fee. That's the most expensive mistake we see at this stage, which is why we review your actual product or service against the class list before filing.
Uncontested applications generally run somewhere between 12 and 24 months, depending on the Trade Marks Registry's current examination backlog. An objection or a third-party opposition adds materially more time on top of that. We don't quote a single figure because the range genuinely depends on factors outside anyone's control.
You get a 30-day window under Rule 29 to reply, with an extension possible through Form TM-M if requested before that window closes. We handle the reply through our separate Trademark Objection Reply service.
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