A French owner can protect a mark in India by filing a national application with the Indian Trade Marks Registry, or by designating India in a Madrid Protocol application based on a French or EU mark. Paris Convention priority from the first French or EU filing is available if India is filed within six months. Indian protection is separate from the EU, and Indian law gives weight to prior use in India.
- Document route
- Notaire or mairie certification, then apostille from the cour d'appel
- Time difference
- India is 3.5 hours (summer) to 4.5 hours (winter) ahead
- Law
- Trade Marks Act 1999 and Rules 2017
- Priority window
- 6 months from first filing abroad
Trademark Protection in India from France: how it works
We start with clearance in India, including searches for phonetic equivalents, because French names are often pronounced and spelt differently by Indian consumers and traders. A French brand like a two-word name may appear in Indian filings in an anglicised spelling. For a national application, the owner signs an authorisation of agent, which does not need an apostille. If priority is claimed, a certified copy of the French or EU application is filed. Wine and spirits owners should also consider geographical indication questions, since India protects registered GIs separately.
Indian examiners frequently raise objections on descriptiveness or on earlier similar marks. We file responses, attend hearings and handle oppositions after advertisement in the Trade Marks Journal. Once registered, the mark lasts ten years and can be renewed. French luxury and fashion houses also use Indian court actions for passing off and infringement, where interim injunctions against counterfeiters are available, and can record registered marks with Indian customs to stop imports at the border.
What clients in France should know
- Indian courts recognise the reputation of well-known foreign brands even before use in India, but relying on reputation alone makes enforcement slower and costlier than enforcing a registration.
- Licensing a French mark to an Indian distributor should be in writing, with quality control, and royalties to France attract withholding tax under India's tax treaty with France.
- Register the mark in the classes your Indian partners will actually use, including retail services and online sales, which French portfolios sometimes omit.
Step by step from France
Video consultation
A call at a time that suits France, after we have read your documents.
Documents signed in France
Notaire or mairie certification, then apostille from the cour d'appel
Work in India
Our team files, appears and follows up in India, and shares scans of everything filed.
Result and handover
Certified copies and originals are couriered to you in France where needed.
The full guide
This page covers what changes when you are in France. For the law, the documents and the step-by-step procedure, read our main page on Trademark Protection in India, or see all services for clients in France and the Doing Business in India practice area.
Questions from clients in France
Does a French INPI registration protect us in India?
No. Trademark rights are territorial. You need an Indian national filing or an international registration designating India.
Can we file our French logo as it is?
Yes. Logos can be registered in India, but any French words in the mark need a translation and transliteration in the application.
What if someone in India has already filed our name?
We check whether we can oppose, seek rectification on grounds of bad faith or prior reputation, or negotiate an assignment, depending on the facts.