Of international explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
After an international registration designating India is protected, it still changes: it is renewed, the holder moves, goods are dropped, ownership passes, errors are corrected. Section 10 of the Registry's Guidelines for functioning under the Madrid Protocol explains that these steps are done at the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization, not at the Indian Registry, and says what the Registry does when the International Bureau tells it. This article sets out the common rule and the cases in which India keeps a say. If you hold a registration in India, the renewal and change rules also tie in to your wider trademark renewal plan.
Renewals, changes and corrections are made by the International Bureau, and the Registry updates its record when notified. India keeps a say in three places: it can refuse the effect of a correction or change that is against the Act, it decides whether a change in ownership has effect in India, and a licence of an international registration has no effect in India unless the Registry deals with it. The International Bureau's fees are paid to it, not to the Registry.
The Guidelines are the Registry's internal guidance and do not have the force of law; the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and the Trade Marks Rules, 2017 as now in force prevail. Check current practice on ipindia.gov.in before relying on any step below.
The Act and the Rules
The Guidelines cite the Trade Marks Rules, 2002; the numbering changed in 2017. The Act's rule on duration and renewal is in sections 36F and 36G: an international registration lasts ten years from its date, may be renewed for ten years from the expiry of the preceding period, and a six-month grace period with a surcharge prescribed by the rules is allowed. The Indian side of what happens to an international registration after a legal proceeding is in rules 70 to 74, and rule 74 applies the Protocol, Common Regulations and Administrative Instructions, subject to the Act, to registrations that designate India.
Because the Indian Rules in this area say little about changes, the Guidelines' description of the Registry's working steps is useful. Where it gives a period, we describe it without the number: periods for the Registry's own communications to the International Bureau come from the Common Regulations, which should be read in their current form.
Renewal
The Guidelines explain that an international registration is for ten years and can be renewed for a further ten on payment of the renewal fee to the International Bureau. In substance:
- the renewal is recorded with the date on which it was due, even where the fee is paid in the grace period;
- the effective date of the renewal is the same for every designation, whatever date each designation was recorded;
- the International Bureau notifies the offices of the designated countries, sends a certificate to the holder and publishes the data, which in effect republishes the registration as it stands after renewal;
- if the registration is not renewed, or the fee is short, it lapses from the end of the earlier period, and the offices are told;
- if it is not renewed for one designated country only, the International Bureau tells that office.
On notice of renewal or non-renewal, the Registry updates its record. The practical message is that a holder does not file a renewal at the Indian Registry for the international registration; the Indian renewal rule, rule 57, concerns a national registration. A holder with both an Indian registration and an international one must keep two renewal calendars; see our renewal calendar.
Change of name or address
The request goes to the International Bureau, which records the change, notifies the designated offices and informs the holder. The change takes effect from the date the International Bureau received a compliant request, and is then published. After the notification, the Registry updates its record. There is nothing to file in India.
Limitation, renunciation and cancellation
The Guidelines distinguish three acts: a limitation of the goods and services for some or all designated countries; a renunciation of protection for some countries, for all the goods and services; and cancellation of the international registration for all the countries, for some or all goods and services. They are requested on the International Bureau's official forms and take effect as of the date of a compliant request, after which the data are published. If the request is not against the Act, the designated officer updates the record of the relevant IRDI.
Change in ownership
This is where India keeps the most say. The request is made to the International Bureau on its official form. The International Bureau records it, tells the designated offices concerned, and informs the holder and the former holder, or the holder of the assigned part in a partial change. Then the Guidelines add the Indian points:
- the validity of a change in ownership where India is designated is governed by Indian law;
- for a partial change, the Registrar may refuse to recognise the change if the goods and services transferred are similar to those that remain with the holder;
- a change in ownership of a certification mark does not automatically have effect in India;
- if the change is found to have no effect in India, a declaration is sent electronically to the International Bureau within the period the Common Regulations allow, giving the reasons, the goods and services affected or unaffected, and the essential provisions of law;
- if no objection is sent, the computer record is updated.
For the assignment side in Indian law, see section 45. The Guidelines add that a licence of an international registration requested and recorded by the International Bureau has no effect in India. A licence for India must be requested from the Registrar and is decided by the Registry. Read that as the Guidelines' statement of the position and confirm it with the Registry before relying on a foreign licence.
Correction of errors and other changes
If the International Bureau finds an error in the International Register, it corrects it, on its own or on request, and notifies the holder and the offices where the correction has effect. The Registry's designated officer examines the correction. If protection as corrected could not be granted, the Registry sends a notification of refusal of the effects of the correction, with reasons, within the period the Common Regulations allow. If there is no objection, the record is updated. The same approach applies to any other notified change in the details of an international registration designating India: examined by the designated officer, refused with reasons if against the Act and Rules, otherwise updated. After the registration has been published, changes recorded in the register are advertised in the Journal as a notification.
| Event | Where it is done | What the Registry does |
|---|---|---|
| Renewal | International Bureau | Updates its record |
| Change of name or address | International Bureau | Updates its record |
| Limitation, renunciation, cancellation | International Bureau | Updates the record if not against the Act |
| Change in ownership | International Bureau | May refuse to recognise it in India and says so by declaration |
| Correction of errors | International Bureau | Examines; may refuse the effect with reasons |
| Licence | Registrar, for India | Decides the request |
A worked example
Lumora Teas SA's registration designating India is renewed at the International Bureau; the Registry updates its record without any filing by Lumora. Lumora then transfers part of the goods, including a tea blend and a packaged tea that are similar, to a sister company, and requests recording at the International Bureau. The International Bureau records the change and notifies India. The Registry's officer examines it and finds the transferred goods similar to those that remain with Lumora. A declaration goes to the International Bureau that the change has no effect in India, with the reasons. Lumora's earlier foreign licence of the mark to a distributor is not recognised in India until the Registrar is asked.
Need help with an international registration in India?
Renewal at the International Bureau does not renew an Indian filing, and an ownership change may not carry over. A trademark renewal adviser can set both calendars and check whether a change or licence will be recognised here.
Key takeaways
- Renewals, name or address changes, limitations and corrections are made at the International Bureau.
- The Registry updates its record when notified, and does not take a separate renewal.
- A change in ownership is governed by Indian law and may be declared to have no effect in India.
- A partial transfer of similar goods may be refused recognition.
- A licence recorded internationally has no effect in India; it must be requested from the Registrar.
- Changes recorded in the register are advertised in the Journal as a notification.
Read next
- Madrid Protocol Guidelines: International Registrations Designating India - Examination and Provisional Refusal
- Madrid Protocol Guidelines: Advertisement, Opposition and Final Decision
- Madrid Protocol: International Trademark Registration from India
- Trademark Renewal: Process, Fees and Late Restoration
Disclaimer: Based on the documents of the Trade Marks Registry named in the article (the draft Manual of Trade Marks Practice and Procedure published for comments on 10 March 2015, the Registry's standard operating procedures and its Guidelines for functioning under the Madrid Protocol), as consulted on 4 October 2026. A draft is not final; none of these documents has the force of law; the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and the Trade Marks Rules, 2017 as now in force prevail and current practice should be checked on ipindia.gov.in. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.