Searching Indian Trademarks by Vienna Code

How-To · Trademark Search

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

A word search finds marks that sound or read like yours. It will not find a logo that merely looks like yours. Vienna codes fix that gap: they label the picture in a device mark (an animal, a star, a crown, a circle) so you can search by what the logo shows, not what it says. This guide explains the 29 Vienna categories, shows worked device-mark examples, and walks through how to read a Vienna code and use it on the IP India public search. Last verified October 2026.

01Why word search is not enough for a logo

A device mark is protected for how it looks, so a clearance search that only checks words leaves a real hole. Many Indian brands use a logo with little or no text, or a logo in a script that is hard to type and compare.

Two logos can look alike and share no words

Take two marks with a tiger in a circle. One says "Raja" and the other says "Veer". A word search for either name will not show the other. A buyer in the market may still see two similar tigers. That is the kind of conflict a Vienna search is built to find.

The registry will not do this check for you

The Trade Marks Registry examines applications against the earlier register, but a prudent applicant, opposing party or brand owner runs their own search before filing, before opposing, and before launching. A missed look-alike logo can mean an opposition, a refusal or an infringement suit later.

02What the Vienna Classification is

The Vienna Classification is an international system, run by WIPO, that sorts the figurative elements of marks into numbered groups. Its full name is the International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks.

It comes from the Vienna Agreement of 1973. It proceeds from the general to the particular, so every picture in a logo ends up in a category, then a division, then a section. WIPO states the current edition is the tenth, in force from 1 January 2026, with 29 categories, 145 divisions, 844 main sections and 937 auxiliary sections. See the WIPO Vienna Classification page.

Nice classes tell you what the goods are. Vienna codes tell you what the logo shows. A good clearance search uses both.

Do not confuse Vienna codes with Nice classes. A Nice class (1 to 45) groups goods and services. A Vienna code groups pictures. A tiger logo on tea and a tiger logo on tyres share a Vienna code but sit in different Nice classes.

03How to read a Vienna code

A Vienna code is three numbers separated by full stops: category, division, section. The category runs from 1 to 29, so it is the broadest level.

WIPO gives the standard example: a little girl eating is Category 2 (Human beings), Division 5 (Children), Main Section 3 (Girls), written 2.5.3. An auxiliary section can be added after it, such as Auxiliary Section 18 (Children drinking or eating) in the same example.

• First number (category): the broad family, for example 2 for human beings or 3 for animals.
• Second number (division): a narrower group inside the category, for example children within human beings.
• Third number (section): the specific kind of image, for example girls.
• Auxiliary section: an optional extra label used for ease of searching. Offices may use them at their discretion, so do not rely on them alone.

One logo often has several codes. A crowned lion holding a flag has codes for the lion, the crown and the flag. When you search, try each element separately.

Practical rule: start broad. Search the category or division first, then narrow to the section if you get too many results. Search too narrow and you can miss a mark that the examiner coded one step away.

04The 29 Vienna categories

The 29 categories cover every kind of figurative element. Titles below follow the WIPO publication (checked against the WIPO fifth-edition text and its category headings). Wording in the tenth edition may differ slightly.

For Indian logos, the busiest categories in practice are usually 3 (animals), 5 (plants), 24 (emblems and symbols), 26 (geometric shapes) and 27 (stylised letters).

05Worked device-mark examples

These examples are invented illustrations, not real registered marks. Use them to learn the thinking, then confirm exact division and section numbers in the WIPO classification.

Example 1: a tiger inside a circle

Two elements. The tiger sits in Category 3 (Animals). The circle sits in Category 26 (Geometrical figures and solids). Search both. A rival logo might show a tiger inside a square, so the animal search matters more than the shape search here.

Example 2: a lotus with a rising sun

The lotus is Category 5 (Plants). The sun is Category 1 (Celestial bodies and natural phenomena). Search the plant first, since lotus marks are very common in India and you will need to narrow by Nice class.

Example 3: a crown above a stylised letter K

The crown is Category 24 (Heraldry, coins, emblems, symbols). The letter is Category 27 (Forms of writing, numerals). Letters in a special font are hard to catch by word search, so the Vienna route adds real value.

Example 4: a girl eating a biscuit

This is the WIPO textbook case. The girl is 2.5.3 (Category 2, Division 5, Section 3). The biscuit is Category 8 (Foodstuffs). A code is only a starting point: read the full image of each hit, because two marks can share a code and still look quite different.

06Step by step: running a Vienna code search on IP India

The Trade Marks Registry runs a public search at tmrsearch.ipindia.gov.in. It offers a Vienna Code Classification search option alongside word, phonetic and class search. Public guides say a basic search needs no payment.

1. List every picture in the logo. Animal, shape, object, symbol, letter.
2. Match each picture to a Vienna category. Use the table above, then drill into division and section on the WIPO classification.
3. Open the IP India public search and choose the Vienna code classification option.
4. Enter the code and the Nice class. Search your own class first, then related classes for similar goods.
5. Open each result. Look at the actual logo image, the status, the proprietor and the goods.
6. Repeat for each element, and for a broader code. Then run word and phonetic searches as well.
7. Record your results. Save the date, codes searched and marks found. A search is a snapshot, and the register changes daily.

India uses the Vienna Classification for figurative elements. The Registry manual on this point is old, so for any edition-sensitive question, check with the Registry.

07Mistakes to avoid

• Searching only one code. Logos have several elements and the examiner may code them differently from you.
• Searching too narrow. Move up one level to division or category if you see few results.
• Trusting a code over your eyes. Two marks with the same code can look different. Two marks with different codes can look alike.
• Skipping similar classes. Related goods in a neighbouring Nice class can still cause confusion.
• Treating one search as final. New applications appear and the Trade Marks Journal publishes new marks regularly, so a clean search today is not a clean search next quarter.
• Ignoring pending applications. Check pending marks, not only registered ones.

For lawyers running these searches inside lender or bank workflows, see litigation search APIs for NBFCs and banks.

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.

Claw does not replace the IP India public search. The Vienna search above is a registry task and you will still run it on the Registry portal. What Claw adds is what happens after you file or find a conflict. Its IPR Solutions tab tracks IP India matters for trademarks, patents, designs and geographical indications. For trademarks, it monitors the Trade Marks Journal for conflicting marks using text, phonetic and visual matching and alerts you. It also tracks pending compliances such as trademark renewals, pending hearings, and related documents and tasks.

On the court side, Claw tracks IP litigation across Indian courts that have a case website, including party-name infringement discovery and the Delhi High Court IP Division by case-type code. It also offers research over 30 crore+ judgments and LegalGPT. That puts the registry and the court in one platform, which is the reason many Indian IP teams look at it. Claw covers 9,102 courts, benches and forums, with Supreme Court records from 1950 and High Court records from 1990.

Be clear about its limits. Claw does not yet track copyright registration at the Copyright Office, so for copyright it is court-side only. For global multi-country docketing and annuities, look at Anaqua, Clarivate or Dennemeyer. For very high volume docketing at specialist IP firms, look at Iolite or JSK. For USPTO-first work, Alt Legal. For AI prior-art and image-structure search, PatSnap, Questel or IPRally. For mass marketplace takedowns, Red Points or Corsearch. For a comparison of search and monitoring options, see Nowlez alternatives.

Claw does not use customer case documents to train AI models. See clawlaw.in.

09Sources and further reading

• WIPO, Vienna Classification: wipo.int/en/web/classification-vienna
• WIPO, Vienna FAQ: wipo.int Vienna FAQ
• IP India, Trade Marks public search: tmrsearch.ipindia.gov.in
• IP India: ipindia.gov.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

Last verified October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm codes and portal steps on the official sites before relying on them.

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