How to Do a Trademark Search in India: IP India Public Search Step by Step (2026)

How-to · Trademark Search

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

You can run a free trademark search in India on the IP India Public Search portal by wordmark, Vienna code and class. Pick a search type (Start With, Contains or Match), choose the class, and read each result. A plain text search often misses sound-alike and look-alike marks. Claw adds text, phonetic and visual (logo) conflict matching across the register and the Trade Marks Journal.

01Why a trademark search matters before you file

A trademark search checks whether someone else already owns, or has applied for, a mark that is the same or close to yours. In India, a mark can be refused or opposed if it is deceptively similar to an earlier one, so a weak search can cost you months of fees and delay.

The register is large and crowded

Lakhs of marks sit on the Indian register, many in popular classes. Common words, short names and trendy suffixes are often already taken in some form. A name that looks free at first glance may have ten near neighbours.

Conflict is about similarity, not exact match

Under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, the test is whether marks are identical or deceptively similar for the same or similar goods or services. That means a mark that sounds the same, looks the same, or carries the same idea can block you, even when the spelling is different.

A trademark search is not a check for the same name. It is a check for any mark a buyer could confuse with yours.

This guide shows how to use the free official portal properly. It also explains where a manual search stops being enough.

02Before you start: NICE class basics

Trademarks in India are filed under the NICE classification, which has 45 classes. Classes 1 to 34 cover goods. Classes 35 to 45 cover services. You always search and file within a class.

• Class 25: clothing, footwear and headgear.
• Class 9: software, apps and electronic devices.
• Class 35: advertising, business services and retail.
• Class 41: education and entertainment.
• Class 42: technology and software services.

Two points matter for search. First, a similar mark in a related class can still conflict with you, so do not search only one class. Second, a mark in a very different class is usually less of a risk, but famous marks can get wider protection.

03How to run a trademark search on the IP India portal, step by step

The free search is on the IP India Public Search portal. Here is how to run a wordmark search, then extend it to phonetic and Vienna code searches.

1. Open the portal. Visit the IP India trademark public search page at tmrsearch.ipindia.gov.in. You do not need an account.
2. Choose Wordmark. The portal offers three search types: Wordmark, Phonetic and Vienna Code. Start with Wordmark.
3. Pick the match type. Choose Start With, Contains or Match. Start With shows marks that begin with your word. Contains shows marks that have your word anywhere inside. Match looks for the same word.
4. Type your mark. Enter the word or name you plan to use.
5. Select the class. Choose the NICE class for your goods or services. Run the search, then repeat for related classes.
6. Open each result. Look at the status (for example Registered, Objected, Opposed or Abandoned), the owner, the date and the goods listed. A Registered or Pending mark close to yours is a warning sign.
7. Run a Phonetic search. Switch to Phonetic and search again. This finds marks that sound like yours.
8. Run a Vienna code search for logos. If you have a device mark, enter the Vienna code for the main image and the class to find look-alike logos. See our full guide: how to search trademarks by Vienna code in India.

Save screenshots or notes of every search with the date. They are useful if you later need to show what you checked.

04The three search types explained

The portal lets you search by Wordmark, Phonetic or Vienna Code, and each finds a different kind of conflict.

Wordmark search

Wordmark search looks at the text of the mark. You choose how wide the net is. Start With is good for brand stems. Contains is the widest and catches your word inside longer names. Match is the narrowest and suits a final exact check.

Phonetic search

Phonetic search finds marks that sound alike, even when spelling differs. This matters in India, where one name can be spelled in many ways. Words like Kwik and Quick, or Rite and Right, sound the same but look different.

Vienna code search

Vienna code search is for logos and device marks. The Vienna classification gives a numeric code to the shapes and images in a logo, such as an animal, a star or a circle. You search by code and class to find similar artwork.

05Why a simple text search misses sound-alikes and look-alikes

A simple text search only matches letters, so it can miss marks that a customer would still confuse with yours. There are three common gaps.

Sound-alikes

A search for Zeebra will not show Zebra or Zibra on a Match search. Customers hear the name, they do not read it, so a sound-alike can still be a problem. Phonetic search helps, but you must run it on purpose.

Look-alikes and logos

Two logos can share the same shape, layout and colours with different words. A text search never sees this. Vienna code search helps, but results depend on how each logo was coded, so an uncoded or oddly coded logo may not appear.

Meaning and translation

A mark in Hindi or another Indian language may mean the same as an English mark, or be written in another script. Check the meaning of your word, and search likely translations and transliterations too.

06How to read and act on your results

Once you have results, decide quickly whether your mark is clear, risky or blocked.

• Same or very close mark, same class, Registered: high risk. Change the mark.
• Close mark, related class, Pending: medium risk. The earlier filing date may win, so take advice.
• Close mark that is Abandoned or Removed: lower risk, but check why, and whether the owner still uses it.
• Only distant matches: lower risk. A free search is still not a guarantee.

Remember that the official portal is a search tool, not a legal opinion. It does not tell you whether two marks are deceptively similar. That is a legal judgement, and unregistered rights from actual use can also matter. For logos and designs, you may also want to read how prior publication affects design rights, in our piece on prior publication in design cases.

Before you file, compare the best tools for the job in our guide to trademark search tools in India.

07Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals. It is positioned as India’s first all-in-one legaltech platform of this kind.

The IP India portal is the official, free place to search the register, and you should use it. Where Claw helps is in the steps after that. Claw is an all-in-one IP platform that covers the registry for trademarks, patents, designs and GIs, watches the gazette and the Trade Marks Journal, and also brings in court-side IP matters. For trademarks, Claw adds text, phonetic and visual (logo) conflict matching across the register and the Journal, so you do not need to run each search type by hand.

Claw also searches over 30 crore judgements with results in under 5 seconds, which helps when a conflict ends up in an opposition or a court case. You can create a free Claw account as an individual advocate, and paid plans are for teams and enterprises.

08Sources and further reading

Official and reference sources used for this guide (last verified October 2026):

• IP India Public Search (trademarks): tmrsearch.ipindia.gov.in
• Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks: ipindia.gov.in
• WIPO Nice Classification: wipo.int/classifications/nice
• Claw: clawlaw.in

Portal layouts and labels can change. Check the live portal before you rely on any step.

09Frequently asked questions