Trademark Renewal in India — Form TM-R, Grace Period and Restoration
A trademark is the only intellectual property right that can last forever, and renewal is the price of that permanence. Section 25(1) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 fixes the registration term at ten years, and Section 25(2) allows the Registrar to renew it for a further ten years from the expiration of the last registration, without limit on the number of renewals.
Renewal is filed on Form TM-R with a per-class government fee. Rule 57 of the Trade Marks Rules, 2017 allows the application at any time not more than one year before the term expires, so the sensible practice is to file early rather than wait for the Registry’s reminder. Unlike some foreign registries, the Indian Registry does not require proof of use at renewal — it is a fee-and-form exercise, not an examination.
Miss the date and the Act gives you two shrinking safety nets: a six-month grace window after expiry on payment of a surcharge under the proviso to Section 25(3), and a restoration window under Section 25(4) that opens after six months and closes one year from expiry. Past that, the mark is gone and only a fresh application remains. This guide covers the windows, the forms, indicative fees, what removal looks like, and how to keep a portfolio from ever reaching the edge.
Bangalore’s product and SaaS ecosystem needs fast OPC/Pvt Ltd setup, ESOP-ready structures, and export-oriented GST. We align filings with Karnataka stamp duty practices and tech-park address proofs.
What is trademark renewal in India?
Renewal is the act of paying to keep a registered mark on the Register of Trade Marks for another ten-year term. It is administrative rather than substantive — the Registrar is not re-examining whether the mark is distinctive or whether it conflicts with anything, only whether a valid application in the prescribed form with the prescribed fee has been made within the prescribed period.
That simplicity is deceptive. Because renewal involves no examination, nobody at the Registry is checking whether you meant to let the mark lapse. The system assumes a proprietor who watches their own dates, and Rule 58 requires only one reminder, sent to the address of service recorded on the file.
Renewal also does not revive rights that were lost in the gap. If the mark is removed for non-payment and later restored, the restoration is discretionary and Rule 60 obliges the Registrar to have regard to the interests of other affected persons — which can include someone who applied for a similar mark while yours was off the register.
When does a trademark expire, and from which date is the ten years counted?
The ten years run from the date of application, not the date the certificate was issued. Section 23(1) provides that a registered mark is registered as of the date of making the application, and that date is deemed to be the date of registration. This trips up a very large number of proprietors, because a mark filed in one year and certified three years later still expires ten years after the filing date.
Look at the "date of application" on the registration certificate, not the issue date, and diarise from there. Where a mark has already been renewed, the next term runs ten years from the expiration of the last registration under Section 25(2).
Rule 58 also deals with two awkward cases. Where a mark becomes due for renewal but is registered within six months before that due date, or is registered after the renewal date has already passed, the registration may be renewed by paying the renewal fee within six months of the actual date of registration — and if it is not paid in that period, the Registrar shall, subject to Rule 60, remove the mark.
What is the trademark renewal timeline and grace period?
| Window | What you can file | Form | Provision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to one year before expiry | Ordinary renewal | TM-R | Rule 57(1) |
| Not more than six months before expiry | Registry sends the reminder notice | RG-3 issued by the Registrar | Rule 58(1) |
| On or before the expiry date | Ordinary renewal | TM-R | Section 25(2) |
| Within six months after expiry | Renewal with surcharge; the mark is not removed | TM-R | Proviso to Section 25(3), Rule 59 |
| After six months, within one year of expiry | Restoration and renewal, at the Registrar’s discretion | TM-R | Section 25(4), Rule 60 |
| More than one year after expiry | No renewal or restoration route remains | Fresh TM-A application | Section 18 |
Two of these periods are stable statutory numbers worth committing to memory: the ten-year term and the six-month post-expiry grace window. The restoration outer limit of one year from expiry is equally clear on the face of Section 25(4) and Rule 60. What is not guaranteed is the outcome of a restoration request, because the section requires the Registrar to be satisfied that it is just to restore.
What is the RG-3 renewal reminder, and can you rely on it?
Rule 58(1) requires the Registrar, where no renewal application has been received, to send a notice in Form RG-3 not more than six months before the expiration of the registration, at the address of service, informing the proprietor of the approaching expiry date and the conditions for renewal.
Treat it as a backstop, not a system. The notice goes to the address for service recorded on the file, which for many older registrations is a former agent, a closed office or an email nobody monitors. A notice validly sent to a stale address is still validly sent, and the consequence of not acting on it falls on the proprietor.
Keeping the address for service and contact details current is therefore part of renewal hygiene rather than a separate administrative chore. A change of proprietor address is recorded on Form TM-P, which is the same form used for a trademark transfer and other post-registration changes.
How do you renew a trademark online in India?
- 1.Locate the registration number, class or classes, and the date of application on the certificate
- 2.Calculate the expiry date as ten years from the date of application or the last renewal
- 3.Confirm the current proprietor on the register matches the entity renewing
- 4.Record any pending change of name, address or proprietorship on Form TM-P first
- 5.Log in to the IP India e-filing portal with a Class 3 digital signature
- 6.Open Form TM-R and select the correct payment head — renewal before expiry, renewal within six months after expiry, or restoration and renewal
- 7.Enter the trade mark number and every class being renewed, since the fee is charged per class
- 8.Pay the per-class fee online and submit the form with the signature
- 9.Save the acknowledgement and the fee receipt against the registration file
- 10.Confirm the register entry and the Journal advertisement of the renewal under Rule 61
- 11.Diarise the next renewal date ten years ahead, with a reminder at least a year before
Where the proprietor has changed — a company reorganisation, a merger, a founder-to-company transfer — sort the title out before renewing rather than after. Renewing in the name of an entity that no longer matches the register creates a mismatch that has to be untangled later, and Section 45(2) makes an unrecorded assignment document difficult to rely on as proof of title.
How much does trademark renewal cost in India?
Renewal fees sit in Entry 3 of the First Schedule to the Trade Marks Rules, 2017 and are charged per class. One important difference from the filing stage: the concessional individual, startup and small-enterprise rate applies to the TM-A application fee, not to renewal, so a sole proprietor and a large company generally pay the same renewal figure. These amounts are indicative and confirmed against the current schedule before filing.
| Situation | Form | Indicative e-filing fee per class | Indicative physical filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renewal on or before expiry | TM-R | Around ₹9,000 | Around ₹10,000 |
| Renewal within six months after expiry | TM-R | Around ₹4,500 surcharge plus the renewal fee | Around ₹5,000 surcharge plus the renewal fee |
| Restoration and renewal after six months, within one year | TM-R | Around ₹9,000 surcharge plus the renewal fee | Around ₹10,000 surcharge plus the renewal fee |
| Change of proprietor name, description or address first | TM-P | Around ₹900 to ₹1,800 depending on the request | Marginally higher |
| Duplicate registration certificate | TM-M | Around ₹900 | Around ₹1,000 |
| Professional fees | — | Scoped after a short discovery call | — |
The arithmetic makes the point better than any warning. Renewing on time costs the base fee; renewing in the grace window costs roughly half again; restoring a removed mark costs roughly double — and unlike the first two, it is not something you are entitled to. A single calendar entry is the highest-return compliance investment a brand owner can make.
What happens if you miss the trademark renewal date?
Nothing dramatic happens on the expiry date itself. The proviso to Section 25(3) and Rule 59 both state that the Registrar shall not remove the mark from the register if an application for payment of surcharge is made on Form TM-R within six months from expiry. In that window the mark is late, not dead, and renewal is a matter of right on payment.
- 1.Day after expiry — the mark is unrenewed but not removed; the six-month clock starts
- 2.Within six months — file TM-R with the surcharge and the mark is renewed for ten years from the last expiry
- 3.After six months without action — the Registrar may remove the mark and advertise the removal in the Journal under Rule 59
- 4.After six months and within one year — apply on TM-R for restoration and renewal under Section 25(4)
- 5.Restoration decided — the Registrar restores only if satisfied it is just to do so, having regard under Rule 60 to the interests of other affected persons
- 6.On restoration — notice is sent and the renewal or restoration is advertised in the Journal under Rule 61
- 7.More than one year after expiry — no statutory route back; a fresh application is required
The cost of falling off the register is not the fee. It is the gap in the chain of title: a removed mark is not on the register when a competitor’s similar application is examined, so a citation that would have blocked them is simply absent. Restoration cannot always undo what happened during the gap.
How does restoration of a removed trademark work?
Section 25(4) applies where a mark has been removed from the register for non-payment of the prescribed fee. On an application in the prescribed form, made after six months and within one year from the expiration of the last registration, the Registrar may — if satisfied that it is just to do so — restore the mark and renew the registration, generally or subject to such conditions or limitations as are thought fit, for ten years from the expiration of the last registration.
Two features of that wording deserve attention. First, restoration is discretionary, unlike renewal within the grace window. Second, the Registrar may impose conditions or limitations, so a restored registration is not always identical to the one that lapsed.
- Form TM-R filed within one year of expiry, selecting the restoration and renewal head
- Restoration surcharge plus the ordinary renewal fee, per class
- An explanation of why the renewal was missed, supported where possible
- Evidence of continuous use of the mark through the lapse period
- Confirmation that the proprietor details on the register are current
- A check on marks filed by others during the gap that the Registrar may have to weigh
Where restoration is refused or the one-year window has closed, the only route is a fresh application on Form TM-A — which means a new filing date, a new examination under Sections 9 and 11, and a new four-month opposition window. The full sequence is set out in the trademark registration guide.
Does renewal require proof that you are still using the mark?
No. Indian renewal practice does not require a declaration or evidence of use, which distinguishes it from several foreign systems — a point worth knowing if you also hold a USA trademark registration, where maintenance filings do involve use declarations.
That does not mean use is irrelevant. Section 47(1)(b) allows a registered mark to be taken off the register on the application of an aggrieved person where, up to a date three months before the application, a continuous period of five years or longer from the date the mark was actually entered on the register has elapsed with no bona fide use. A renewed but unused registration is a renewed but vulnerable registration.
So renewal keeps the mark on the register; only real commercial use keeps it defensible. Maintaining a dated evidence folder — invoices, packaging, advertising, marketplace listings — is what answers a non-use challenge under trademark rectification years later.
What is the difference between renewal, restoration and re-filing?
| Route | When available | Nature | Effect on priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Renewal | Up to one year before expiry, until the expiry date | A right on payment | Unbroken — term continues from the last expiry |
| Renewal with surcharge | Within six months after expiry | A right on payment of fee plus surcharge | Unbroken — the mark is never removed |
| Restoration and renewal | After six months, within one year of expiry | Discretionary, and may carry conditions | Restored, but the gap period can affect third-party rights |
| Fresh application | Any time, and the only route after one year | A new application, examined afresh | Lost — new filing date, new examination, new opposition window |
The practical difference between the third and fourth rows is enormous. A restored registration keeps its original filing date and its place in the queue; a fresh application starts again behind every mark filed in the meantime, and may now face a Section 11 citation that did not exist ten years ago.
What should you check before filing the renewal?
- Registration number and every class actually registered — the fee is per class
- Expiry date calculated from the date of application, not the certificate date
- Current proprietor name on the register against the entity now owning the brand
- Any pending assignment, merger or name change that should be recorded first
- Address for service and email, so the next RG-3 notice reaches someone
- Whether all registered classes are still commercially relevant, or some can be dropped
- Whether the mark in use has drifted from the mark as registered
- Whether sub-brands launched since the last renewal need their own applications
- Any live opposition, rectification or infringement matter touching the mark
- Whether foreign registrations for the same brand fall due around the same time
Renewal is the natural ten-year audit point for a brand portfolio. It is the moment to decide whether to keep paying for classes you never entered, whether the logo on the packaging still matches the device mark on the register, and whether newer product lines are protected at all. A wider trademark protection review at renewal usually pays for itself.
How do you manage renewals across a portfolio?
- 1.Build a single register of every mark, class, registration number and application date
- 2.Compute each expiry date from the application date and record it in one calendar
- 3.Set the primary reminder twelve months ahead, when Rule 57 first allows filing
- 4.Set escalating reminders at six months, three months and one month
- 5.Nominate one owner internally, and one point of contact at your agent
- 6.Keep the address for service identical and current across every mark
- 7.Reconcile the portfolio annually against the register rather than against internal records
- 8.Record changes of name, address and proprietorship as they happen, not at renewal
- 9.Keep the certificates and receipts in one archive — see trademark registration certificate
- 10.Review class coverage and new sub-brands at every renewal cycle
Portfolios are lost to administration, not to litigation. The common pattern is an agent relationship that ended, an email that stopped being monitored, and an RG-3 notice that arrived nowhere. A reconciliation against the public register once a year catches all three.
Can a renewal be challenged or refused?
A timely renewal is not a contestable proceeding. Section 25(2) is framed as a duty — the Registrar shall renew on an application made in the prescribed manner, within the prescribed period, on payment of the prescribed fee. There is no opposition stage for renewal and no re-examination of registrability.
A restoration request under Section 25(4) is different, because it is discretionary and Rule 60 requires the Registrar to have regard to the interests of other affected persons. Someone who filed a similar mark while yours was off the register has a real interest to assert.
Separately, renewal offers no protection against the substantive post-registration attacks. A renewed mark can still be removed for non-use under Section 47, or cancelled or varied under Section 57 where the entry was made without sufficient cause or wrongly remains on the register. Renewal buys time on the register; it does not cure a weak registration.
Why choose Arjun Filings for trademark renewal?
Arjun Filings runs trademark renewal as a checklist-first engagement: a qualified CA or CS scopes the work, tells you exactly which documents are needed, and reviews every form before it is signed and submitted. You get a named specialist, a status update at each stage, and a compliance calendar for whatever comes next.
- Focused support for trademark renewal
- Class and description drafting help
- Status tracking through examination
- Clear next steps on objections