Trademark Class 43 –
Hotels, Restaurants
& Food Services
in India

Trademark Class 43 covers all services for providing food and drink and temporary accommodation. This includes restaurant services (QSR, fine dining, casual dining, dhabas), hotel and resort accommodation, café and coffee shop services, cloud and dark kitchen brands, catering and banqueting, bar and pub services, canteen and cafeteria services, guest houses, homestays, bed & breakfast services, holiday camps, and animal boarding services.

In essence: if your business serves food to guests or provides them a place to stay temporarily, your trademark belongs in Class 43.

While not legally mandated, trademark registration under Class 43 is essential for any restaurant serious about growth. India's F&B sector sees rampant brand copying — lookalike restaurant names, similar logos, and copied menu concepts. Without a registered trademark, you have no legal exclusivity over your restaurant name.

Critically, if you plan to franchise your restaurant concept, a registered trademark is a prerequisite. No credible master franchisee or investor will commit to a brand that doesn't own its own name legally.

Yes. Cloud kitchens and dark kitchen brands — delivery-only food service brands that operate without a dine-in format — are fully covered under Class 43. The absence of a physical dining space does not affect your eligibility. If your brand provides food preparation and delivery services, Class 43 is the correct filing class.

Many successful cloud kitchen brands operate multiple virtual restaurant identities from a single kitchen. Each distinct brand identity should be registered separately for complete protection.

No. A single trademark registration covers your brand across all locations in India, regardless of how many branches, outlets, or franchises you open under that name. One registration gives you nationwide exclusive rights to the brand name and logo under Class 43.

However, if your restaurant group operates under multiple distinct brand names (e.g., a parent QSR brand and a separate fine dining brand), each brand name should be registered separately.

Yes, and it is often advisable. For example, a restaurant that also sells branded packaged food products (e.g., bottled sauces, meal kits) should register under both Class 43 (restaurant services) and Class 29 or 30 (food products). A hotel group with a technology booking platform may benefit from Class 42. A hospitality chain with a loyalty app may consider Class 35.

Our attorneys analyse your full business model and recommend the optimal multi-class filing strategy to ensure no coverage gaps exist.

The complete Class 43 trademark registration process in India typically takes 12 to 18 months from the date of filing to receipt of the registration certificate. The process includes examination by the IPO (3–6 months), publication in the Trade Marks Journal, a 4-month public opposition window, and final registration.

Importantly, you can use the ™ symbol next to your brand name legally from the day your application is filed — you do not need to wait for the certificate. This immediately signals to the public that you are asserting trademark rights.

With a registered Class 43 trademark, you have strong legal remedies: issue a Cease & Desist notice, file a civil suit for trademark infringement in the appropriate District Court or High Court, seek an interim injunction to immediately stop the infringer, claim financial damages and an account of profits, and file a criminal complaint under the Trademarks Act, 1999.

For food brands, an injunction from a court can permanently prevent a copycat from using your name or serving under a confusingly similar brand — protecting not just revenue but the customer trust you've built.

No. FSSAI registration is a food safety and business operations licence — it confirms your eligibility to handle and serve food, but it grants you no intellectual property rights over your brand name or logo. Two separate restaurants can both have valid FSSAI licences under the same name. Only a registered trademark from the IPO gives you exclusive legal rights to your brand identity.

FSSAI registration can, however, be used as evidence of prior use when filing your trademark, which is useful when claiming an earlier date of commercial operation.

Yes. Hotel brands — including star hotels, boutique properties, heritage hotels, budget hotel chains, resorts, and serviced apartment brands — all fall squarely under Trademark Class 43. Both the hotel group brand name and individual property brands can be registered for comprehensive protection.

Hotel groups planning to franchise their property brand or enter management contracts should register under Class 43 as an early priority — the brand name is often the most valuable asset in a hotel management agreement.

Yes. Once registered in India, you can extend protection internationally through the Madrid Protocol — a WIPO system covering 130+ countries — using your Indian registration as the base application. Filing within six months of your Indian application lets you claim priority in all designated countries.

This is highly relevant for Indian restaurant and hospitality brands expanding internationally, particularly to the Middle East, Southeast Asia, UK, Canada, and the US — markets with large Indian diaspora communities where Indian food brand imitation is common.