In a nutshell, a trademark registration application is filed with the Trade Marks Registry’s Head Office or a branch office in the territory where the applicant’s principal place of business is located. At the separate offices, the application is digitized and checked for formality.
The application is then scrutinized to see if the relevant mark is capable of distinguishing the applicant’s goods or services if it is prohibited for registration under any current law and if the registration of the relevant mark is likely to cause confusion or deception due to the existence of earlier identical or similar marks on records. All applications are centralized at the TRADE MARKS Registry’s Head Office in Mumbai for examination.
The Registrar decides whether the application should be accepted for registration based on the application and any evidence of use or distinctiveness, and if it is, it is published in the Trade Marks Journal, an official gazette of the Trade Marks Registry that is hosted weekly on the official website. Any individual can file an opposition within four months after the date of publication, and the opposition proceeding is held at the Trade Marks Registry’s respective office.
In an opposition proceeding, the applicant receives a copy of the notice of objection and has two months to file a counter-statement, failing which the application is considered abandoned. The opponent is served with a copy of the counter-statement, and he presents evidence in support of his argument via affidavit, after which the applicant presents evidence. After that, the opponent submits rebuttal evidence. The matter is set down for a hearing after the evidence is completed, and the case is decided by a Hearing officer. The Intellectual Property Appellate Board can review the registrar’s decision.
After being filed, a trademark application must go through numerous rounds of review before being officially registered. As a result, the applicant and/or the applicant’s counsel must closely monitor every stage of the application. Objections and other notices are published online after the advent of online filing, also known as the e-filing of trademarks.
The following are some of the most common stages:
1) New Application or Online New Application – shows that the application has been filed and/or that the data entry has been completed.
2) Sent to Vienna codification– Only non-text trademarks featuring a logo, label, or artwork are subject to codification. This signifies those codes which are being allocated to your non-text trademark in accordance with the Vienna Codification.
3) Formalities check pass – this indicates that the application has met all documentary criteria, such as Power of Attorney and Specimen, and is ready to proceed to the next step.
4) Marked for examination– this indicates that the application has been submitted to the trademark examiner for review.
5) Objected – indicates that an adverse examination report has been issued/Exam Report Has Been Issued – shows that your application has been examined and may require minor revisions or compliance, or that it will be published in the journal.
6) Refused – after evaluating and/or hearing the applicant’s response to the adverse examination report, the application is denied.
7) Advertised before accepted – indicates that the application has been assigned for publication awaiting the applicant’s revision.
8) Opposed – refers to a trademark objection filed by a third party with a stake in the trademark.
9) Abandoned – An applicant who has failed to reply to office activities within the timeframe specified has been marked as abandoned.
10) Withdrawn – an applicant who has filed the required document to withdraw his or her application.
11) Removed – the mark has been removed from the trademark registry technically. This implies you can no longer register this as a trademark.
12) Registered – This indicates that the trademark has been registered.
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Disclaimer: This article does not provide legal advice. We are not liable for any inaccuracies, damages, or losses. Legal advice should be sought in case of any concerns.
If you are facing any such issues while registering the trademark you can contact us at @ 70152-77705 or write to us @[email protected]
I have done my best to provide all the specifics, but please accept my apologies if any of the information supplied is incorrect. Please feel free to comment, interact, and propose topics for future posts.
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