The arithmetic of an unprotected brand
The three failures that cost Indian brands their names, and what protection actually buys you.
The four rights you actually hold
Trademark, copyright, design and passing off — what each protects, its term, and which to file first.
Choosing a name you can own
The distinctiveness spectrum, the Section 9(2) traps, Section 14 on living persons, and the six-pass search.
Classes: what to file, what to skip
The class map for 14 business types, specification drafting, and who qualifies for the ₹4,500 rate.
Filing Form TM-A, step by step
Documents to gather, the nine portal steps, use claimed versus proposed, and the full fee table.
Word mark or logo
Why the word mark is usually the right single filing, and the exact-match rule that decides your Amazon listing.
The examination report
Reading Section 9 and Section 11 objections, the one-month deadline, the extension, and the reply that works.
Journal, opposition, and the four-month window
The full opposition timetable, the defaults that abandon an application, and why consent letters end most disputes.
Living with a registered mark
TM versus the registered symbol, the Section 107 penalty, renewal costs, non-use removal, and recording changes.
Copyright for creators and product businesses
Form XIV, the exact fees, the TM-C certificate logos need, the 30-day window, and the criminal penalties.
Design registration for shapes and packaging
Form 1 at ₹1,000, Locarno classes, the ten-plus-five year term, and the fifty-reproduction boundary.
Ownership: contracts, freelancers, employees
The three documents every brand needs, the clauses that matter, and how to fix work already delivered.
Marketplace protection: Amazon and Flipkart
Side-by-side requirements, the permanence test, Transparency, and what the programmes do not do.
Copycat defence
The eight-item evidence pack, the six-step ladder, what a cease-and-desist must contain, and the counter-attack to expect.
Protecting the brand abroad
The Madrid Protocol route, the WIPO fee structure, the five-year dependency, and when national filings win.
The 90-day plan and three budgets
A day-by-day sequence, plus lean, standard and full budgets with every government fee itemised.
Sector notes
Skincare, food, clothing, SaaS, coaching and local services — the first move for each, and its specific trap.
Templates
Nine working documents: clearance worksheet, specification sheet, reply skeleton, cease-and-desist, takedown notice, IP assignment, employment clause, evidence log, deadline tracker.
Questions people actually ask
Twenty-two straight answers, from "is a company name a trademark" to "what if my designer refuses to sign".
The fee sheet and glossary
Every government fee in one table, twenty-four defined terms, and the primary sources used.
