File your trademark in one Paris Convention country, and you have six months to claim that same filing date in India. That backdated date — “convention priority” — can be the difference between owning a mark and losing it to someone who filed after you but before you reached India.
Where the right comes from
The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property gives applicants a right of priority. Once you file in any contracting state, you may apply for protection in the other contracting states within six months, and those later applications are treated as if filed on the date of your first application. India joined the Convention in 1998.
Why priority is worth claiming
- No need to file everywhere at once. Secure your home filing date, then take up to six months to decide which countries matter.
- A protected filing date. Later Indian filing is deemed made on the original date, defeating anyone who filed in between.
- Independence of registrations. Each country’s registration stands on its own; prosecution follows local law, not the Convention.
- No refusal for want of home registration. A state cannot refuse simply because you had not yet secured protection in the country of origin.
- National treatment. Applicants from member countries are treated the same as domestic applicants, without discrimination by nationality.
How India gives effect to it — Section 154
Under Section 154 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, if you file in a convention country and then file in India within six months, the Indian mark — if registered — is deemed to have been filed on the date of that first convention application.
What to file
- Form TM-A, as a single-class or multi-class application (including series, collective or certification marks).
- A statement claiming priority, giving the first filing date, the convention country, and the application number.
- A certified copy of the priority application showing the mark’s particulars, the country/countries and the filing dates.
- Power of attorney, where an agent files on your behalf.
The certificate is meant to go in with the application. If it does not, rule 24(2) of the Trade Marks Rules, 2017 gives you two months from the Indian filing date to supply it, and the same window covers the power of attorney. Order the certified copy early — foreign offices are not always quick about issuing them, and the two months are not generous.
One date, and only what the first filing covered
Claiming priority is straightforward. The limits on what you can claim are where applications come unstuck, and they catch out anyone filing across several countries over a few months.
India takes one priority date for the whole application, and will not extend it to goods or services that were not in the convention application. Where more than one date is claimed, the Registrar takes the earliest. You cannot bundle several differently-dated foreign filings into one Indian multi-class application, and you cannot add goods under cover of the earlier date.
So the Indian specification has to be drafted against the convention application, not against the wider portfolio. We set the rule and the ways out of it in multiple and partial priority claims.
Practical tips
- Diarise the six-month deadline from your first filing date — it is strict.
- Order the certified priority copy early; it can take time to obtain.
- Check the Indian specification against the convention application before filing, not after the objection.
- Decide your target countries within the window, coordinating filings — see filing a trademark in India and the Madrid Protocol route for multi-country protection.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the trademark priority window? Six months from the date of your first application in a Paris Convention country.
What is the benefit of claiming priority? Your Indian application is treated as filed on the earlier date, defeating anyone who filed in the intervening period.
Which form is used? Form TM-A, with a priority claim and a certified copy of the first application.
Can I claim more than one priority date? No. India takes a single date for the whole application, and where several are claimed the Registrar takes the earliest.
When is the certified priority copy due? With the application, or within two months of the Indian filing date under rule 24(2).
What if I miss the six-month window? You can still file in India, but without priority — your filing date will be the actual Indian filing date.
Useful official resources
- The Trade Marks Act, 1999 — section 154
- The Trade Marks Rules, 2017 — rule 24
- WIPO — Paris Convention
- IP India trademark e-filing portal