Trademark renewal and restoration.
A trademark lasts ten years and can be renewed forever — which is exactly why renewals get missed. Ten years is long enough for the agent to have moved on, the email to have changed and the certificate to be in a drawer nobody opens. A lapsed mark is not merely inconvenient: it can be removed from the register and, in the worst case, picked up by somebody else.
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The date is not the one on your certificate.
This is the single most common misunderstanding about renewals. The ten-year term runs from the date of application, not from the date the registration certificate was issued.
Because Indian registrations frequently take eighteen months to two years from filing to certificate, an owner who diarises ten years from the certificate date is often diarising a date that falls after the mark has already expired. The renewal is then late before anyone looks at it.
The second common failure is contact details. Renewal reminders and Registry correspondence go to the address for service on record — which, ten years on, is very often an agent no longer instructed, a company that has moved, or an email nobody monitors.
Between those two, a large proportion of lapsed Indian trademarks are lapsed by accident rather than by decision. Almost none of it is about money — renewal is inexpensive relative to what the mark is worth.
Renewal, surcharge, restoration, removal.
Missing the renewal date does not immediately kill the mark. There is a sequence of narrowing windows, and each one costs more than the last.
| Stage | Position | What it costs |
|---|---|---|
| Before expiry | Renewal filed on Form TM-R within the period before expiry prescribed by the Rules. The registration continues without interruption | The standard renewal fee |
| After expiry — surcharge window | The mark can still be renewed late, within the period allowed, on payment of the prescribed surcharge in addition to the renewal fee | Renewal fee plus surcharge |
| Removal advertised | Where renewal is not made, the Registrar advertises the intention to remove the mark from the register | The mark is publicly signalled as lapsing |
| Restoration | A removed mark may be restored and renewed on application within the period prescribed, at the Registrar's discretion and subject to conditions | Restoration fee plus renewal fee, and it is discretionary rather than automatic |
| Removed | Once the restoration period has passed, the mark is off the register. The only route back is a fresh application | Loss of the original priority date, and exposure to anyone who filed in the meantime |
The exact periods and fees for renewal, surcharge and restoration are set by the Trade Marks Rules and are amended from time to time. The position applicable to your specific registration is confirmed from the register and the Rules in force — this table sets out the shape of the sequence, not a substitute for checking your own date.
What you receive.
Renewal is a good moment to check three other things.
A registration can be perfectly current and still be weak. Ten years is long enough for the business behind it to have changed considerably.
Is the owner still correct?
Marks are frequently filed in an individual's name before a company exists, or held by an entity that has since changed name, merged or been restructured.
- Assignments recorded with the Registry
- Change of proprietor name recorded
- Address for service current
- Licensees recorded where relevant
Is it still being used as registered?
A registration is vulnerable to removal for non-use of the registered goods or services for a continuous prescribed period.
- Use across all classes registered, not just one
- Use of the mark as filed, not a heavily redesigned version
- Dated evidence of use retained
- Classes no longer used identified honestly
Does it still cover the business?
Businesses expand into goods and services their original filing never contemplated.
- New product lines outside the registered classes
- Services added since filing — delivery, retail, franchising
- A redesigned logo that the device registration no longer matches
- New marks and sub-brands never filed at all
Has anything appeared on the register?
Ten years is long enough for conflicting marks to have been filed and registered unnoticed.
- Similar marks registered since your filing
- Applications currently advertised and still opposable
- Whether a Journal watch is worth putting in place
- Whether any conflict is already trading
Where this sits in the lifecycle.
Trademark renewal, answered.
When exactly does my trademark need renewing?
Ten years from the date of application — not from the date on your registration certificate. This distinction causes more lapsed marks in India than anything else.
Indian registrations often take eighteen months to two years from filing to certificate. An owner who counts ten years from the certificate is counting to a date that falls after the mark has already expired. If you are not certain, the application date is on the register and can be checked in minutes.
How many times can a trademark be renewed?
Indefinitely. There is no maximum life for a trademark, unlike a patent. A mark that is renewed on time and genuinely used can be owned in perpetuity — some marks have been registered continuously for over a century.
That permanence is precisely what makes a trademark such a valuable asset, and precisely why letting one lapse through inattention is such an avoidable loss.
What happens if I miss the renewal date?
The mark does not disappear immediately. There is a sequence of narrowing windows, each more expensive than the last:
- Late renewal with surcharge — the mark can still be renewed within the period allowed, on payment of the prescribed surcharge in addition to the renewal fee
- Advertisement of removal — where no renewal is made, the Registrar advertises the intention to remove the mark
- Restoration — a removed mark may be restored and renewed on application within the prescribed period, at the Registrar's discretion
- Removed — once that period passes, the only route back is a fresh application
The exact periods and fees are set by the Rules and change from time to time, so your specific position should be checked against the register rather than assumed.
My mark has already been removed. Can I get it back?
Possibly, through restoration — but it is discretionary rather than automatic, it is time-limited, and it costs considerably more than renewing on time.
The first thing to do is establish exactly where the mark sits in the sequence, because the available options narrow at each stage. If restoration is no longer available, the position becomes a fresh application, which means losing the original priority date and being exposed to anyone who filed in the meantime.
Can someone else register my mark if I let it lapse?
Once a mark is removed from the register, it becomes available for others to apply for. Whether they would succeed depends on the facts — if you have continued to use the mark, you retain common law rights and can oppose or bring a passing off action.
But you have moved from a position of statutory certainty to one where you must prove reputation, misrepresentation and damage. That is a materially worse place to be, and it is entirely the result of a renewal fee that was not paid.
Do I need to prove I've been using the mark to renew it?
Renewal itself does not require proof of use — it is a fee and a form.
But use matters separately. A registration is vulnerable to removal for non-use where the mark has not been genuinely used for the registered goods or services for the continuous period prescribed under the Act, and a third party who wants your mark can apply on that ground. Renewing a mark you have not used keeps it on the register but does not make it safe, which is why the renewal is a sensible moment to review actual use and retain dated evidence.
I've bought a business. Do the trademarks come with it?
Only if they were properly assigned and the assignment was recorded with the Registry. A business sale agreement that mentions intellectual property in general terms does not, on its own, move a registered trademark on the register.
This surfaces most often at renewal, when the person now running the business discovers the mark is still registered to a previous owner, or to an individual who has left. It is fixable, but it is far easier to fix while everyone is still contactable and cooperative.
Will the Registry remind me?
The Registrar may issue a notice before expiry, but it goes to the address for service on record — which after ten years is very often an agent no longer instructed, a business address long vacated, or an email nobody monitors.
Relying on that notice is how marks lapse. Updating the address for service, and keeping the renewal date diarised independently of the Registry, are the two things that actually prevent it.
Can you take over renewals for marks filed by someone else?
Yes, and it is common — particularly where the original agent is no longer contactable or the business has changed hands.
Send whatever you have: registration numbers, certificates, or simply the name of the mark. The portfolio audit establishes what you hold, the true renewal dates, current status, whether ownership is correctly recorded, and whether anything has lapsed without anyone noticing. It is often the first time a business sees its complete trademark position in one place.
Check the date before it checks you.
Send the registration number, or just the name of the mark. You'll get the true renewal date, the current status on the register, and whether anything needs fixing before the next term.