What is the difference between Registered and Unregistered Trademark?

Difference Between Registered And Unregistered Trademark

The trademarks act, 1999, was introduced as a result of fast development and increasing globalization in trade and commerce. Trademark can be defined as intellectual property, and it ensures the protection of the mark to its owner. The trademark owner gets the exclusive rights to use it or can even authorize it to another person or entity.

Trademark helps to identify the original source of the goods. There is a thin line of difference, but it is significant when talking about Registered and Unregistered Trademark. Here we will clarify the difference between the two and understand the terms more clearly.

The Registered Trademark is a unique logo, symbol, or mark on which the individual or firm has the full rights after registering it with the National Trademark Office.

The trademark registration provides the owner with the exclusive rights to use the trademark. The registration is valid for a period of ten years, and the owner can extend it further if required. The ® Symbol represents the registered trademark.

The Unregistered Trademark can be any logo, mark, symbol, signature, or any word which is created by any individual or company to indicate the products and services offered by them. As it is an unregistered trademark, it does not provide high security to the owner.

According to the law, the registration of a trademark is not mandatory, and the owner of the unregistered trademark can add “TM” as a superscript with their trademark. The trademark owner receives protection under common laws in case of an unregistered trademark.

Difference Between Registered And Unregistered Trademark

• A registered trademark is a logo, symbol, sign, word any special mark which is registered with the national trademark office, while an unregistered trademark is not officially registered with the relevant authorities.
• A registered trademark provides protection to the owner under the Trade Mark Act, 1999, while an unregistered trademark protects the owner under common law.
• A registered trademark is represented by the ® Symbol, while an unregistered trademark is represented by the “TM” as a superscript with the trademark.
• The validity of a registered trademark is ten years, while the validity of the unregistered trademark lies with the owner.

We hope you have understood the basic Difference Between Registered And Unregistered Trademark, so whenever you observe any shop or company board, you can easily distinguish between registered and unregistered trademark.