Trademark Registration in Pakistan

Trademark Registration in Pakistan: A Trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, and/or design that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others. A service mark is a word, phrase, symbol, and / or design that identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than goods.

How To Register A Trademark In Pakistan?

We offer trademark registration services to customers at large who are seeking to register trademark in Pakistan. People and business in Pakistan know the importance of trademark registration and have little or no knowledge on how to register trademark in Pakistan.

Safeguarding intellectual rights of a business entity, organization, company is necessary.

The significance of registering trademark is linked to protection of the business rights. It helps identifying a new business to register its products so that they can get recognition in the market.

We have highly skilled team of professional who is happy to help you with your trademark registration needs in Pakistan. As a matter of fact trademark registration is important for startups in Pakistan giving them ground to have their footprints in the industry with their trademarks registered.

We have expertise in “Trademark, Brand logo” registration and guidance to our clients.

Trademark Registration in Pakistan

Who Can Apply For Trademark Registration in Pakistan?

Any owner of a company whether small or large, partner, sole-proprietor, a trust, registered society or any company registered in Pakistan is legally eligible for trademark registration.

To apply for trademark registration from TM 48 is prepared by authorized representative (through power of attorney) which in this case is a lawyer. This appointment is made under the Trade Mark Rules 2004. The power of attorney is furnished on a stamp paper worth Pak Rupees 100 for one and Pak Rupees 200 for two or more trademarks to be registered.

To download Trademark Ordinance click Trademark Ordinance 2001 online.

What to do before Trademark Registration in Pakistan

As a sound informed business owner/ business man you should always make background search before you file the trademark application in Pakistan. Though it is not mandatory to search but strongly advised to search mark before registration. This search is associated with following benefits: –

A. It will cross check the proposed trademark for an identical or similar mark of any other company.

B. It will open up the ideas for a unique trademark that has least similarity with any other company’s mark.

If two companies select a same or similar trademark, the IPO grants registration to the first party that uses this trademark. In this case, the other company may infringe the trademark right of the first company and is liable for a remedy under the law.

The company with registered trademark firstly can sue any other company with the similar or identical trademark. Thus this trademark search is an examination to check if a trademark is clear for adaption or it has any kind of risk involved with infringing the right of any other company.

Application To Be Filed Via Classification

The request for a trademark is filed concerning a specific class or classes or goods or services. There are 45 classes in which a brand’s goods or services may fall. From class 1 to class 34 mentions goods and classes 35-45 relates to services. This classification is under the Trademark Ordinance 2001 that is an adoption of the Nice Classification (NCL) of Goods and Services, set by Nice Agreement (1957).

Colors To Claim

The Trademark Ordinance 2001 acknowledges a color(s) to be also a part of registration for a trademark. As per the act, the registration may involve a limitation of color, without it, or a combination of colors. Generally, when a trademark is registered along with a color, it is binding on all other colors too. Any application with a limitation of colors follows the same protocol as the applications without a restriction of color(s).

A Complete Guide For Trademark Registration in Pakistan

The applicant (representing a company/brand) applies for a Trademark Search by filling the “TM Form 55” with the required trademark. The TMR office searches for it to check if a similar trademark already exists or not. It is to check the originality of a trademark.

It has these two scenarios.

If there is no similar trademark, the application moves to the next stage.
If there is a similar trademark registered, the applicant is asked to give another trademark for search by filling a new form. This trademark search is not mandatory but optional. However, it is highly recommended by the TMR office to avoid the disputes among companies for similar trademarks in future.

Ideally, when the search finds no similar result on the proposed trademark, the applicant fills an Application Form called TM form 1 or TM formed 2 (whichever applies to him) for registration. The goods and services of a company fall under different classes given in the Trademark Ordinance 2001. At this stage, the application must contain the following documents.

The prescribed Application Form (TM Form 1 or TM Form 2).
Total eight copies of the proposed trademark that may be a word, symbol, logo, features, image etc.
A complete list of goods or services, which are represented by the trademark.
A proof of payment in the name of the respective administrator that is Director General, IPO, Pakistan.

After submitting all these documents, an acknowledgement report is sent to the applicant. It takes no more than 15 days from the submission date. He is further notified about the Examination Report within three months of application.If the application faces any objection regarding the content or the proposed trademark, the Registration Office issues a Show Cause notice to him. It has a response time limit of two months, and by this period, it must clarify the objections or the application for registration is cancelled.
When there are no objections made on the application, the trademark is then allowed to publish in the monthly digital Journal published by IPO (It is accessible at IPO’s website for online viewing).

Trademark Registration in Pakistan

This digital journal has free access for the public; anyone can view the proposed trademarks, for which registration is applied.
In case of an objection from a party or company, IPO takes action by filling the Form TM-5 or TM-8 whichever applies to it. These forms are to request the investigation of the trademark application.
The applicant is asked to submit his defense against the object by filling the form Forms TM-6 or TM-9 (whichever applies).

When there is no objection pointed within two months of publishing the trademark in the online Journal, the request of trademark registration is accepted. The applicant is asked to pay the trademark registration fee and fill the TM Form 11 to obtain the trademark registration certificate.
Once the applicant completes the payment, Trademark Registration Certificate is issued. The trademark required renewal every ten years. The applicant has to fill TM Form 12 along with the renewal fee for it.

Price For Trademark Forms | Trademark Registration in Pakistan

As mentioned in the registration procedure, there are several forms required to be filled by the applicant. Each one of them has a different price. The revised charges list is available on the official website of IPO. Following is the list of some major forms along with their price.

Form Type	Purpose	Fee
TM-01	Application of registration for trade mark for goods/services and register a domain name	2000
TM-02	Application of registering specific goods/services	2000
TM-05	Notice for dispute	6000
TM-06	Answer to the notice of dispute	1000
TM-09	Counter-statement in reply to the notice of dispute	1000
TM-11	Application of registration for certificate	6000
TM-12	Renewal of a trademark	10000
TM-13	Application for restoring a removed trademark	2000
TM-55	Application for request of the search of trademark	1000

Issuance Of Trademark Registration Certificate

Once the trademark is registered, the Registrar shall issue a certificate called Registration Certificate of a trademark. After obtaining this certificate, the applicant/company may use the insignia (®) for their brand. It is necessary to know that if a trademark is not used for five years and three months consecutively from the date of registration, it may become cancel on account of non-usage.

The Validity Of Trademark Registration Certificate

A Trademark Certification is valid for ten (10) years from the date of application. However, it is renewable under section 35 of the Trademark Ordinance 2001 after this time.

Process For Trademark Renewal | Trademark Registration in Pakistan

Section 35 of the Trademark Ordinance 2001 explains that a trademark can be renewed after the expiry if the applicant files an application within six (06) months from the expiry date. The applicant is required to fill two forms; one for trademark certification renewal (Form TM-12) and second for the payment of surcharge (Rs. 10,000/-) for one trademark. If the application of renewal does not follow the time limit of six (06) months, the Registrar is authorized to remove the trademark from the Register. In this situation, the applicant needs to file an application for restoration of the trademark by filling (Form TM-13) from the Trade Mark Rules, 2004.

The restoration fee for restoration of a trademark is Rs.2000/-, and such an application is accepted only between six (06) months to 1 year (12 months) from the date of expiry of trademark registration.

How Much Time Does It Take To Register A Trademark?

Based on general experience, the trademark registry from the time of filing an application to the issuance of trademark registration certificate takes more or less 18 months.

Where To Seek Help For Trademark Registration?

The complete guideline on trademark filing is available at IPO’s official website. In case of a problem, contact persons at Trademark Registration Office assist the official helpline or online support system. The contact list is available at IPO’s website.

Why To Select Tax Care For Trademark Registration Service?

The highly skilled attorneys at Tax Care specialize in filing registration of trademarks for its clients. The expert advice along with timely submission of complete documentation ensures the Registration Certificate for a company/services within minimum time.

Offices for Filling the Application for Registration of a Trademark

Karachi (Head office)
Lahore (Regional office)
Islamabad (Regional Office)

Helpful Links

A complete list of trademark applications are available on IPO’s website, view them by clicking Here
FAQs on trademark are accessible by clicking Here
Monthly trademark Journal published by IPO can be viewed by clicking Here
The notification of revises price policy is available by clicking Here

Registration process for Trademark in Pakistan

Application for name search in IPO office
Preparation and submission of forms and required data
Detailed examination of application
Publishing the journal
Opposition and hearing
Trademark registration

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