Why Trademark Registration Is Taking Longer Than Expected in 2026
If you filed a trademark application in the last couple of years and it feels like it's taking longer than you expected to move past examination, you're not imagining it. Trademark Registry workload and staffing pressure through 2024 and into 2026 has genuinely stretched out timelines industry-wide — this isn't specific to any one applicant or agent.
What's actually driving the slowdown
The Trademark Registry has been dealing with a significant volume of pending applications relative to its examination capacity, with a large share of filings still sitting at the examination stage before progressing to Journal advertisement and acceptance. This is a structural, Registry-wide capacity issue rather than anything applicant-specific — the same delay applies whether you filed yourself or through an agent.
What's being done about it
There have been reports of the government considering decentralising IP office infrastructure — including a proposal for an independent IP office to serve central Indian states — partly aimed at easing the load on existing offices and improving turnaround for regional applicants, including startups and MSMEs. As with any infrastructure proposal, the practical timeline for this materialising is uncertain, and we'd treat it as a direction of travel rather than a fixed date.
What this means for your own filing
- Don't panic if examination is taking longer than 8 months — that's unfortunately closer to normal right now than the faster end of the typical range.
- File early relative to any brand launch, not close to it — if a trademark matters for a specific launch date, build in months of buffer rather than assuming a fast turnaround.
- Using the ™ symbol doesn't require waiting — you can use ™ the moment you've filed, regardless of how long examination takes; you just can't use ® until the certificate is actually granted.
- A delay at examination isn't the same as a rejection — most applications sitting in the queue simply haven't been reached yet, not been refused.
We track every client's filing against the Registry's public status tool and flag the moment anything actually needs a response from you — so a slow queue on the Registry's side doesn't turn into a missed deadline on yours.