The order of nuns founded by Mother Teresa seeks to copyright her name in a bid to stop other organisations - from banks to business schools - trying to cash in on the Nobel peace laureate's image worldwide.
"We are seeking legal protection for the use of our logo, and also want such protection for the name of Mother Teresa and that of the Missionaries of Charity," Sister Nirmala, the head of the order, said in a statement.
"In her lifetime, Mother Teresa expressed on a number occasions her wish that her name not be used by any other individuals or organisations without her permission, and after her death, the permission of her successor."
The Missionaries of Charity, established in 1950, says it has received reports that several organisations are using Mother Teresa's name as well as the order's logo - a cross set within an oval and surrounded by rosary beads.
In one case, the order managed to convince the "Mother Teresa Institute of Management" to drop the name. Media reports said a bank was among other organisations trying to capitalise on the name.
The Missionaries of Charity has applied to the Indian patents office for copyright, one of the order's lawyers.
The Vatican plans to beatify Mother Teresa, or declare her blessed in a key step towards naming her a saint on October 19th.
Mother Teresa, who died in 1997 in Calcutta at the age of 87, was of Albanian descent, and won the Nobel Prize in 1979.
She is revered in the eastern Indian city where she spent decades serving the sick, the destitute and the dying.