India: the rule that checks trade marks for you, partly
India is unusual. Its company-name rules refuse a name that includes a registered trade mark, or one under application, unless the trade mark owner consents. Most registries leave trade marks entirely to the applicant. That makes India's check stricter than most. It still does not clear a name, because the rule is about including the mark, not about being confusingly similar to it.
Section 4 of the Companies Act, 2013 says a name must not be identical with, or too nearly resemble, an existing company's name, and must not be undesirable. The Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014 fill in the detail. Rule 8 covers names that resemble too nearly, and Rule 8A covers undesirable names. Applications are processed centrally by the Central Registration Centre.
“Resembles too nearly”: what is disregarded
Under Rule 8, a proposed name resembles an existing company's name too nearly if the two are the same once certain things are disregarded. These include:
- Entity words: Private, Pvt, (P), Limited, Ltd, Unlimited, LLP, OPC Pvt. Ltd., IFSC Limited, Producer Limited, and also company, and company, & co, corporation, corp, corpn and group.
- Plural and singular forms. The rule's own illustration treats “Green Technology Ltd.”, “Greens Technology Ltd.” and “Greens Technologies Ltd.” as the same.
- Case, spacing, punctuation and special characters. “ABC Ltd.”, “A.B.C. Ltd.” and “A B C Ltd.” are the same, and so are “TeamWork” and “Team@Work”.
- Tenses. “Ascend”, “Ascended” and “Ascending” are the same.
- Phonetic and mis-spellings. The rule treats “Chemtech”, “Chemtek”, “Kemtech” and “Kemtek” as one name.
- Domain extensions and “www”, word order, and articles.
- Translations. A complete translation or transliteration of an existing name into Hindi or English counts as the same, but a partial one does not. The rule's examples treat “National Electricity Corporation” and “Rashtriya Vidyut Nigam” as the same, but not “Hike Construction” and “Hike Nirman”.
- Adding a place name or a numeral to an existing name, unless the numeral is itself a brand.
Some of these, such as adding a place name or a numeral, are not disregarded if the existing company gives its no-objection by board resolution, which is how related group companies get similar names. Read the rule itself, with its illustrations, before choosing. It is stricter than most countries' equivalents. The phonetic and translation tests in particular go well beyond the near-duplicate checks used in the US, Australia or Singapore.
Undesirable names under Rule 8A
Rule 8A lists grounds on which a name is undesirable. The ones that most affect new businesses:
| Ground | In practice |
|---|---|
| Registered or applied-for trade mark | The name includes a registered trade mark, or one under application, unless the owner or applicant consents and the consent is produced |
| Emblems and Names Act | The name attracts section 3 of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 |
| Offensive | Words offensive to any section of the people |
| Resembles an LLP or reserved name | Identical with or too nearly resembling an LLP's name, or a name currently reserved |
| Financial activity mismatch | A company mainly in financing, leasing, chit fund, investments or securities must have a name that shows it. A company whose name suggests those activities must actually carry them on |
| Popular abbreviations | Resembles closely the popular or abbreviated description of an existing company or LLP |
| Other constitutions | Includes words suggesting a different legal form, such as co-operative, trust, LLP, partnership or society |
Rule 8A also deals with foreign groups. A foreign company forming an Indian subsidiary may use its own name with “India” or the name of an Indian state or city added, if the name is otherwise available.
How the name is applied for
There are two routes on the MCA portal:
- RUN (Reserve Unique Name), a standalone web form for reserving one proposed name before incorporation, with a filing fee.
- SPICe+ Part A, the name-reservation part of the integrated incorporation form. You can reserve the name first or file it together with the incorporation details in Part B.
Rule 9 sets the reservation periods. An approved name is reserved for 20 days from approval for a new company, and 60 days for an existing company changing its name. A new-company reservation can be extended on payment of additional fees, within limits set by the rule. If the application is defective, the rules allow a rectified application to be resubmitted within a limited time. Check the current MCA guidance for how many resubmissions are permitted, as practice has changed.
Section 4(5) of the Act also allows a reservation to be cancelled, with a fine, if it was obtained with false or incorrect information. If that is discovered after incorporation, the company can be directed to change its name.
The trade mark ground has limits
Rule 8A's trade mark ground is useful, but it does not do the job of clearance. It catches names that include a registered or applied-for mark. It does not deal with names that are merely similar to a mark, unregistered marks, or marks used in a different form. A name the Central Registration Centre approves can still infringe under the Trade Marks Act, 1999. Search the Trade Marks Registry's public search, and read why identical is the wrong test.
Questions
Can I propose several names in one RUN application?
The RUN form takes one proposed name per application. SPICe+ Part A has historically allowed fewer alternatives than older forms. If you have a back-up name, be ready to file again rather than counting on alternatives being considered.
The name I want is a dictionary word that someone has registered as a trade mark in another class. Is that a problem?
Rule 8A refers to a name that includes a registered or applied-for trade mark, and the registry may object regardless of class. If the word is a registered mark, expect to need the owner's consent or a different name. Separately, whether you would infringe depends on similarity of goods, which the registry does not assess.
Does approval mean I own the name?
It means the company can be incorporated with that name. Rights to stop others using it as a brand come from trade mark registration and from use. A company name on the MCA register is not a trade mark.
Related
- All company-name jurisdictionsHow other registries compare
- Searching the registersRunning the trade mark search properly
Published 2026-10-18 and checked against section 4 of the Companies Act, 2013 and Rules 8, 8A and 9 of the Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014 as published. The rules are amended frequently. Confirm the current text and fees on the MCA portal before filing. Not legal advice.