Well-Known Trademarks in India: Rule 124 Process and List

Explainer · Trademark Law · Last verified October 2026

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

A brand owner who finds a copycat selling under a similar name, in a different line of goods, needs a fast way to say: this mark is famous, stop. In India the strongest answer is a well-known mark status, and there are two routes to it: a court declaration or a Rule 124 request to the Trade Marks Registry. This page explains the Rule 124 process, the fee, the factors the law uses, and the official list of well-known marks, all last verified October 2026.

01Why well-known status matters

A well-known mark gets protection that an ordinary registered mark does not. The mark can be protected even against goods and services that are very different from the owner’s own.

Ordinary protection stops at similar goods

A normal trademark registration protects the mark for the goods or services it was registered for, and for similar ones. A copycat in an unrelated field can slip through. Section 11(2) and the related provisions of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 give well-known marks wider reach, so the owner can act even where the goods are different.

Proof is the hard part

Being famous in daily life is not the same as proving it. The owner has to show use, sales, advertising, recognition and past enforcement, with documents. Many brands that everyone knows are still not on the official list, because they never asked for it or never needed a court to say so.

In India a mark becomes well-known in law not by being famous, but by proving it: to a court, or to the Registrar under Rule 124.

02What the law says: sections 11(6) to 11(9)

Section 2(1)(zg) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 defines a well-known mark as one that has become so known to the substantial segment of the public that uses the goods or services that use of the mark on other goods or services would likely be seen as connected with the first owner.

Sections 11(6) to 11(9) tell the Registrar how to decide. In plain words:

• Section 11(6), the factors: the Registrar must consider the knowledge or recognition of the mark in the relevant section of the public, including knowledge gained through promotion. Other listed factors are how long and how widely the mark has been used and promoted, the duration and area of any registration or application, and the record of successful enforcement, in particular whether a court or the Registrar has already treated the mark as well-known.
• Section 11(7), relevant section of the public: this explains who counts, such as actual or potential customers, people in the distribution channel, and businesses dealing in those goods or services.
• Section 11(8), earlier recognition: if a court or the Registrar has already found the mark well-known in at least one relevant section of the public in India, the Registrar is to treat it as well-known for the purpose of registration.
• Section 11(9), what is not required: the owner does not have to show that the mark was used in India, that it is registered, or that an application was filed in India, and does not have to show it is well-known to the public at large.

Read the section text yourself before relying on this summary. The Act is on Indian Kanoon (section 11).

03The Rule 124 process, step by step

Rule 124 of the Trade Marks Rules, 2017 lets any person ask the Registrar to determine that a mark is well-known. The steps are short.

1. File the request in Form TM-M with the Registrar, online through the IP India portal.
2. Attach a statement of case with all the evidence and documents you rely on.
3. Registrar examines the request against the factors in sections 11(6) to 11(9).
4. Public notice: the Registrar may invite objections from the public before deciding. The Rules do not spell out every step if an objection comes in, and a hearing would normally follow.
5. Decision: if the mark is determined to be well-known, it is published in the Trade Marks Journal and added to the list of well-known trademarks.

The Registry has also issued guidelines for filing these requests. Read them on the official site before you file.

04Fee and form

The fee for a Rule 124 request is Rs 1,00,000, and the request is made in Form TM-M.

Confirm the current fee on the official fee schedule at ipindia.gov.in before you file, since fees can be revised.

05The official list: how big is it

The official List of Well-Known Trade Marks published by IP India had 345 entries in the latest version we could read, dated 10 February 2025.

Each row shows the mark, the proprietor, the determining authority and the case or decision where it was determined. The list is not only Registry decisions. It includes marks recognised by High Courts and by the Registry offices, so one list holds both routes.

• Example from the list: AIWA (Sony Corpn., Japan), determined by the Trade Marks Registry, Chennai, by a decision dated 26 September 2007.
• Example from the list: BATA (Bata India Ltd.), recognised by the Allahabad High Court (AIR 1985 Allahabad 242).
• Example from the list: ATOMBERG (Atomberg Technologies Private Limited), declared well-known by the Bombay High Court in a 2023 commercial IP suit.

Count as of 10 February 2025: 345 entries (N = 345 serial numbers, counted from the official PDF). The list is updated from time to time, so a newer version may hold more marks. Many famous marks are not on it, so absence from the list does not mean a mark is not well-known.

06Court route vs Registry route

There are two ways to get a well-known declaration, and many owners use both over time.

Neither route is always better. A court order carries weight against a specific infringer, while a Registry listing gives you a standing record. Courts have also protected well-known marks in cases such as Tata Sons Ltd. v. Manoj Dodia (Delhi High Court).

07Evidence checklist for a Rule 124 request

A strong request is built on documents that map to the section 11(6) factors.

• Use and sales: turnover figures by year and region, with invoices or audited statements.
• Promotion: advertising spend, campaigns, media coverage, social reach.
• Recognition: surveys, awards, independent articles, customer reach across states.
• Registrations: certificates and applications in India and abroad, with dates and classes.
• Enforcement: court orders, injunctions, Registry decisions and opposition wins that recognise the mark.

Past court orders matter twice. They are evidence under the enforcement factor, and they can show the mark has been recognised before. To find them, see our guide to what 30 crore judgments means for research in India.

08Where 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.

Many well-known marks earn that status through a court, and past court orders are themselves evidence under the enforcement factor in a Rule 124 request. Claw lets you research 30 crore+ judgments, with the Supreme Court covered from 1950 and High Courts from 1990, to find decisions that recognise a mark, and track any live infringement or passing off suit by party name, with results in under 5 seconds across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, including the cases, orders and hearings as they move. Claw does not use customer documents to train AI models.

Create a FREE Claw account to find court orders recognising a mark and to track a live dispute by party name. To search the wider body of law, see case search across Indian courts.

09Sources and further reading

Check every point against the primary source. Last verified October 2026.

• IP India (Rules, fee schedule, List of Well-Known Trade Marks as of 10.02.2025): ipindia.gov.in
• Trade Marks Act, 1999, section 11: Indian Kanoon
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This page is general information, not legal advice.

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