A trademark registration in India lasts ten years and must be renewed to stay alive. Miss the deadline and the mark is liable to be removed from the Register.
There is a grace period, and beyond that a restoration window. Both cost more than renewing on time, and restoration is not guaranteed.
Deadlines at a glance
| When you file | Form | Fee per class | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Within 1 year before expiry | TM-R | INR 9,000 | Straightforward renewal |
| Within 6 months after expiry | TM-R | INR 9,000 + INR 4,500 surcharge | Renewal with surcharge |
| After 6 months, within 1 year of expiry | TM-R | INR 9,000 restoration + renewal fee | Restoration, at the Registrar’s discretion |
| More than 1 year after expiry | — | — | Mark removed. Refile as a new application. |
The O-3 notice
The Indian trademark office is required to send an O-3 notice to the owner about an upcoming renewal, and it must be sent not more than six months before expiry.
This matters more than it sounds. A registered trademark can be removed for non-renewal only if the O-3 notice has been duly served on the owner or their agent. Where removal has happened without service, that is a ground to challenge it.
It is not, however, a system to rely on. Notices go to the recorded address for service, and if that address is out of date the notice never arrives. Keep your recorded details current and diarise renewals independently.
Renewal
File Form TM-R with a fee of INR 9,000 per class, any time within one year before the registration expires.
Renewal extends protection for a further ten years from expiry. There is no limit on the number of times a mark can be renewed.
Renewal with surcharge
If you miss the expiry date, you still have six months. File Form TM-R with the renewal fee plus a surcharge of INR 4,500 per class.
If nothing is filed within that six-month grace period, the registration is deemed to have expired and the mark is removed from the Register.
Restoration
Once removed, the owner can apply to restore the mark to the Register and renew it. The application is filed on Form TM-R after six months but within one year of expiry, with a restoration fee of INR 9,000 per class in addition to the renewal fee.
Restoration is not automatic. The Registrar assesses the interests of other affected persons before allowing it. If a third party has applied for or begun using a similar mark in the meantime, that weighs against you.
Where restoration is granted, the Registrar notifies the registered proprietor and every registered user, and the restoration and renewal are advertised in the Trade Marks Journal. The mark is then renewed for a further ten years.
Marks registered close to or after the renewal date
Indian prosecution is slow enough that a mark is sometimes registered shortly before, or even after, its notional renewal date has passed.
Where that happens, the registration may be renewed by paying the prescribed fee within six months of the actual date of registration. The clock runs from when registration actually happened, not from the date it should have.
What happens if the mark is removed
Removal is advertised in the Trade Marks Journal. After that, the mark is off the Register and you have lost the registration date, which is the thing that is genuinely expensive to lose.
A fresh application is possible, but it carries a new filing date. Anyone who filed in the intervening period is ahead of you. Any rectification or opposition risk you had previously fended off comes back.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a trademark registration valid in India? Ten years from the date of registration, renewable in ten-year terms indefinitely.
Can I renew early? Yes, any time within the year before expiry. Filing early is the safest approach, particularly for portfolios where renewals cluster.
Do I need to prove use to renew? No. Renewal does not require evidence of use. However, a mark unused for five years and three months is vulnerable to rectification on grounds of non-use, so renewing an unused mark does not make it safe.
What if I never received the O-3 notice? Removal for non-renewal is valid only where the O-3 notice was duly served. If it was not, that is a basis to challenge the removal, though it turns on the facts of service.
Is the fee per mark or per class? Per class. A three-class registration costs three times the per-class fee to renew.
Can I restore a mark more than a year after expiry? No. Beyond one year the route is a fresh application, with a new filing date.
Useful official resources
- IP India e-filing portal
- IP India public search — to check renewal status and expiry dates
- Trade Marks Journal
- Trade Marks Act, 1999
We manage renewal diaries for portfolios across the subcontinent. Talk to us if you would rather not track these dates yourself.