Glossary

Trademark & branding terms — explained.

Every term you'll encounter when registering a brand in India, with plain-English definitions and worked examples. No legalese.

Absolute grounds (§9)

The set of reasons IP India can refuse a trademark even if no conflicting mark exists — typically because the mark is descriptive, generic, deceptive, or non-distinctive.

Section 9 of the Trade Marks Act 1999 lists absolute grounds for refusal. The most common is descriptiveness — e.g. you can't trademark 'CRUNCHY' for snacks because it describes the product. Generic terms ('SOAP' for soap) are also barred. Geographic terms, surnames, and marks that have become customary are restricted. The fix is usually to add distinctive elements or to acquire secondary meaning over time.

Brandability score

A composite rating of how well a name will function as a brand — usually combining distinctiveness, memorability, descriptive risk, and trademark conflict risk.

BrandAuditor's brandability score is a 0–100 number generated by Claude using a rubric grounded in actual TM-A examination outcomes. High scores (75+) indicate distinctive, defendable names with clear filing prospects; low scores (under 40) flag descriptive or confusable candidates. Not a legal opinion — it's a triage signal to focus the human judgement where it matters.

Brand audit

A structured pre-filing review of a brand-name candidate across trademark, company-registry, domain, social, and web signals to surface conflicts before commitment.

A brand audit replaces the manual workflow of checking IP India, MCA, domain registrars, and social platforms separately. The output is a single report per name that an agency or attorney can review in 5 minutes instead of an analyst spending half a day. BrandAuditor automates the audit; humans still make the call.

Class (Nice classification)

One of 45 internationally-standardised categories under which trademarks are filed — 34 for goods, 11 for services.

The Nice Classification (NCL) is the global standard adopted by IP India. You file in the class(es) covering your actual goods/services. A coffee brand files in 30 (coffee) and possibly 43 (cafés). A SaaS files in 9 (downloadable software) and 42 (SaaS provision). Filing in the wrong class means your mark protects nothing — and refunds aren't given. See our full guide on Nice classes.

Confusion risk

The likelihood that the average consumer would confuse your mark with an existing registered or applied-for mark, considering visual, phonetic, and conceptual similarity.

This is the single most common ground for refusal in India under §11. Examiners weigh how similar the marks look, sound, and mean — and whether the goods/services are related enough to plausibly confuse a consumer. 'Sundara' and 'Sundaara' would likely be confused; 'Sundara' (snacks) vs 'Sundara Engineering' is unlikely to be.

Descriptive mark

A mark that directly describes the product, service, ingredient, or quality — usually refused under §9.

Examples: 'CRUNCHY' for biscuits, 'FAST DELIVERY' for courier service, 'PURE' for water. Descriptive marks can sometimes acquire distinctiveness over time (secondary meaning) but it's a long road. The fix at naming stage is to coin or compound a more distinctive term.

Distinctiveness

The degree to which a mark is unique enough to identify a single source. The legal test is whether consumers would associate the mark with one specific producer.

The classic spectrum (from US case law, also applied in India): generic (no protection) → descriptive (weak) → suggestive (good) → arbitrary (great) → fanciful (best). 'APPLE' for computers is arbitrary (an existing word, unrelated category). 'KODAK' is fanciful (made up). 'COCA-COLA' has acquired distinctiveness through use.

DPIIT recognition

Government recognition of an Indian startup that unlocks trademark filing fee discounts (₹4,500 vs ₹9,000 per class) and other incentives.

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) recognition halves your trademark filing fee. Eligibility: incorporated as Pvt Ltd / LLP / Partnership, less than 10 years old, turnover under ₹100 crore, working on innovation/scalability. Apply at startupindia.gov.in. See our DPIIT guide for the application walkthrough.

Examination report (FER)

The formal letter from IP India listing objections to your trademark application — usually issued 3–6 months after filing.

The First Examination Report (FER) lists §9 (absolute) and §11 (relative) objections. You have 30 days to respond. Most refusals fall under §11 (likelihood of confusion with existing marks) — exactly the conflicts a pre-filing audit should have caught. Strong responses cite case law, swear distinctiveness affidavits, or amend the goods/services.

Filing date

The date IP India received your trademark application — establishes priority over later applications for similar marks.

Trademark rights in India accrue from the filing date (not the registration date). If you file 'SUNDARA' on Day 1 and someone else files the same mark on Day 30, you win. This is why screening + filing fast matters when you've found a winning name — the priority window matters more than waiting for perfect.

IP India

The official body administering patents, trademarks, designs, and geographical indications in India — under the Office of the Controller General.

Officially the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks. Operates the PublicSearch tool at search.ipindia.gov.in/PublicSearch and manages all TM-A filings, examinations, and registrations. Headquartered in Mumbai with branches in Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad.

MCA (Ministry of Corporate Affairs)

The Indian government body that maintains the Pvt Ltd / LLP / OPC company register — separate from the trademark register.

Company name and trademark are different registries. MCA maintains the corporate-entity register; IP India maintains the trademark register. A name can be available at one but blocked at the other. If you're forming a Pvt Ltd, both must clear. MCA's name approval is at MCA21 / SPICe+ portal — friction-heavy compared to BrandAuditor's parallel check.

Phonetic search

A trademark search variant that matches based on how the mark sounds, not how it's spelled — catches near-identical marks under different spellings.

IP India's PublicSearch has a separate phonetic tab using an internal SoundEx variant. Crucial because §11 confusion analysis weighs phonetic similarity heavily — 'Sundara' vs 'Sundaara' vs 'Sundra' would likely be treated as confusable. Skipping phonetic search is the #1 reason DIY name screens miss conflicts.

Pre-filing audit

Checking a brand name for trademark, company-registry, domain, social, and web conflicts before paying the government fee to file.

The economic case: filing fee is ₹4,500–₹9,000 per class, non-refundable. Examination takes 3–6 months. Refusal is irreversible without spending more money on response and possibly appeal. A pre-filing audit costs ₹0–₹100 per name and surfaces 80%+ of preventable refusals upfront.

Publication (Trademark Journal)

After examination clears, your mark is published in the weekly Trademark Journal — opening a 4-month window for third parties to oppose.

If no opposition is filed within 4 months, the mark proceeds to registration. If opposition is filed, the matter goes to a separate proceeding. Publication is when conflicts surface from the public — competitors who didn't file but watch the journal. A clean pre-filing audit minimises both opposition risk and surprise competitor objections.

Relative grounds (§11)

Refusal because your mark is identical or confusingly similar to an earlier registered or applied-for mark — the most common refusal ground.

Section 11 of the Trade Marks Act 1999 deals with relative grounds. The Examiner looks at the IP India register, identifies prior marks similar to yours, and refuses if the average consumer would likely be confused. The conflicts that drive §11 refusals are exactly what a pre-filing audit (BrandAuditor or otherwise) should surface.

Suggestive mark

A mark that hints at a product attribute without describing it directly — protectable but not the strongest category.

Suggestive marks require a leap of imagination. 'NETFLIX' suggests 'flicks delivered over net' but doesn't describe a streaming service. 'AIRBNB' suggests 'air bed and breakfast' without describing accommodation booking. Stronger than descriptive but weaker than arbitrary or fanciful.

TM-A application

The Form TM-A is the trademark application filed with IP India — single form for all 45 classes.

Filed online at ipindia.gov.in. Government fee: ₹4,500 per class for individuals/startups/MSMEs/DPIIT-recognised; ₹9,000 per class for others. Need power of attorney if filed via attorney, applicant proof, mark image, and goods/services description. End-to-end timeline: 18–24 months to registration if no opposition.

USPTO

The United States Patent and Trademark Office — official US trademark register at uspto.gov.

If you're going international or filing under the Madrid Protocol from India, you need to clear the US register too. Conflicts at USPTO can block your international expansion even if the Indian mark is fine. BrandAuditor's USPTO check covers this signal automatically.

Vienna code

A 6-digit international classification for figurative (logo) elements of a trademark — used to search image-based marks.

Adopted by IP India for logo searches. Codes like 27.5.1 (letters in special form) or 24.17.1 (numbers in special form). When searching for an existing logo, you'd combine Vienna code with goods/services class. BrandAuditor's current scope is wordmarks; logo conflict checking via Vienna codes is on the roadmap.

Wordmark

A trademark consisting of just the text — no logo, no styling. The most flexible form of trademark protection.

A wordmark protects the name in all renderings — any font, colour, or styling. A logo mark only protects the specific design. Most strategy: file the wordmark first (cheapest, broadest protection) and add the logo mark later if needed. BrandAuditor's audits assume wordmark filing.