Someone Has Registered Our Brand in India: Options for UK Companies

It’s a discovery that ruins a launch plan. A UK company decides to enter India, runs a search, and finds that its brand has already been filed or registered by someone else, sometimes a former distributor, sometimes a stranger who watches British and international brands and files their names to sell them back.

Trade mark squatting in India is a well-known risk, but it isn’t the end of the road. Indian law gives foreign brand owners several remedies against bad-faith filers. This guide explains how squatting happens, the tools available, how Indian courts treat foreign reputation, and what UK companies should do next. To avoid the problem in the first place, see our guide to protecting a UK trade mark in India.

How trade mark squatting in India happens

Trade mark rights are territorial, and anyone can apply to register a mark in India that isn’t already registered or pending for similar goods or services. Squatters exploit the gap between a brand becoming known internationally and its owner filing in India. They watch product launches, trade fairs, crowdfunding campaigns, retail expansions and app rankings, then file before the brand owner does.

The other common source is people the brand already knows: Indian distributors, agents, franchisees, joint venture partners and suppliers. Some file “to protect the brand locally”, others deliberately to gain bargaining power. Either way, the UK company finds that someone else holds the Indian rights to its own name.

The consequences can be serious. A squatter’s application can block your own filing, give the squatter grounds to threaten your Indian distributors and customers, interfere with marketplace listings, and become a bargaining chip in a commercial dispute. Trade mark squatting in India also tends to increase when a market opens up, which makes the UK-India trade deal period a time for particular vigilance; see our UK-India trade deal checklist.

Remedy one: opposition before registration

If the squatter’s application hasn’t been registered yet, opposition is usually the fastest remedy. Every accepted application is advertised in the Trade Marks Journal, and under Section 21 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 any person can file a notice of opposition within four months of the advertisement. The four-month period can’t be extended, so monitoring the journal for marks similar to yours is essential.

Strong grounds against trade mark squatting in India include likelihood of confusion with your earlier rights, detriment to a well-known mark, and bad faith. The Act expressly requires the Registrar to consider bad faith involved in an application. Evidence of a prior relationship between the filer and the UK company, or a pattern of filing other foreign brands, is particularly persuasive.

UK companies should also check other places a squatter may have registered the brand, such as .in domain names, social media handles and company names, because squatting often comes as a package. Each has its own remedy, from domain disputes under India’s .IN dispute policy to platform complaints and court orders; see our guide to brand names, domains and social handles. Opposition proceedings involve pleadings, evidence by affidavit and a hearing, and they take time. But a successful opposition stops the squatter’s mark from ever being registered, which is far better than trying to remove a registration later.

Remedy two: rectification and cancellation

If the squatter’s mark is already registered, you can apply to rectify the register. Under Section 57, the register can be corrected to remove an entry made without sufficient cause or wrongly remaining on it, which covers registrations obtained in bad faith or in breach of the Act. Under Section 47, a mark can be removed for non-use, where it was registered without a bona fide intention to use it and hasn’t been used, or where there has been no bona fide use for a continuous five-year period.

Non-use is a powerful weapon against squatters, because many never genuinely use the marks they file. Market investigations showing no products, websites or sales under the mark, combined with evidence of the filer’s other speculative filings, can support a rectification application.

Since the abolition of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board in 2021, rectification applications are heard by the Registrar or, where linked to litigation, by the High Courts, including the specialised IP Divisions of the Delhi and Madras High Courts.

Remedy three: prior use, passing off and well-known marks

Indian law protects a prior user against a later registered owner. Under Section 34 of the Trade Marks Act, a registered proprietor can’t stop someone who has continuously used the mark since before the proprietor’s use or registration. If the UK company was already selling in India before the squatter’s filing, that prior use is both a shield and a basis for attacking the registration.

Passing off is the main sword. Indian courts accept that a foreign brand’s reputation can extend into India before it trades there, known as transborder reputation, as recognised by the Supreme Court in N.R. Dongre v. Whirlpool (1996). But in Toyota v. Prius Auto Industries (2017), the Supreme Court made clear that the brand must show goodwill among Indian consumers. Evidence such as Indian website traffic, Indian press coverage, Indian app downloads and enquiries from Indian customers is therefore critical for UK brands. (Add reporter citations for both cases before relying on them.)

Contracts are a frequent source of evidence. A distribution or agency agreement that acknowledges the UK company’s ownership of the brand, or prohibits the distributor from registering it, is powerful evidence of bad faith if the distributor files anyway. Famous UK brands can also seek recognition as a well-known trade mark, which gives protection across all classes of goods and services and makes bad-faith filings far easier to defeat.

What UK companies should do now, and quick answers

If you discover trade mark squatting in India, move quickly. Collect evidence of your use and reputation in India, and of any relationship with the filer. Check whether the opposition window is still open. File your own Indian application immediately so you’re in the queue. Consider a cease-and-desist letter, bearing in mind that Indian law allows a person threatened without justification to sue for groundless threats, so the letter must be well founded. Buying the mark back can be the quickest route in some cases, but it rewards squatting and should be weighed against the legal remedies.

For the future, the best protection is to file in India before launch, prohibit Indian filings by distributors and partners in your contracts, and watch the Trade Marks Journal; see our guide to trade mark renewals and watching. The same remedies apply to US brands; see our guide to trademark squatting in India for US companies. Counterfeits are a related problem, covered in our guide to counterfeit goods and UK brands.

Related reading: recovering a .in domain: an INDRP guide for UK brands; also IP India’s draft rules on AI and trade mark squatting, defending a UK brand against a trade mark opposition in India and getting a well-known trade mark declared in India; also how to check a UK brand in India for free, selling on Amazon India from the UK and spotting Indian trade mark squatters early.

Quick answers

Can a UK company stop trade mark squatting in India?

Yes, through opposition, rectification for bad faith or non-use, prior use and passing off, depending on timing and evidence.

Does a well-known UK brand automatically get protection in India?

Not automatically. Indian courts require evidence of reputation among Indian consumers, though well-known marks receive broad protection.

How long do we have to oppose a squatter’s application?

Four months from its advertisement in the Trade Marks Journal, with no extension.

Final word

Halverton & Co. is an Indian law firm that advises on Indian law, including trade mark oppositions, rectification and anti-squatting strategy for UK brands. We practise in Jharkhand, Maharashtra and before the Supreme Court of India, and we work alongside your UK solicitors, who advise on English law. Halverton & Co.: Where tech needs law! If you have a question about Indian law, write to us at office@halvertonandco.com, or get in touch.

This article reflects developments reported up to early October 2026. It is for general information only, is not legal advice, and does not create a solicitor-client relationship. Halverton & Co. is an Indian law firm, is not authorised or regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and does not advise on English law or UK tax.