Summary: Withdrawing a trademark application in India can occur for various reasons, such as a change in company policy or upon receiving an infringement notice. The process varies depending on the application’s status. In cases where the trademark is not opposed, the applicant must draft a withdrawal letter including details such as the application number, class, and reason for withdrawal. This letter, along with a power of attorney (if filed by an agent), must be submitted under the “Miscellaneous Reply” tab. If the mark is opposed, withdrawal requires filing Form TM-M, accompanied by a fee, under the “Correction of clerical error or amendment” section. If no response is made to the opposition, the mark will automatically be abandoned within 2-3 years. For registered trademarks, there is no formal withdrawal process; the applicant can opt not to renew it, leading to automatic abandonment. Typically, withdrawal applications filed under the Miscellaneous Reply tab are approved within 1-2 weeks, whereas those under Form TM-M may take up to 6 months. Notably, there is no government-prescribed format for the withdrawal letter, allowing flexibility in its drafting. Filing fees vary, with no charge for submissions under Miscellaneous Reply and a fee of ₹900 for submissions under Form TM-M.
Many a times, there might be possibilities where a trademark is intended to be withdrawn by the applicant due to many reason such as change in company policy, etc. however, it mainly happens in case any infringement notice is received by the applicant and the sender strictly asks the applicant to withdraw it. For such scenarios, we shall discuss the process, costs and time of withdrawal of trademark in India:
Case I: Where the mark is not opposed:
In such cases, the applicant/agent is required to draft a withdrawal letter with basic details of the application i.e. application no., class, goods/services description and particularly write the reason for withdrawal application being filed. The signed copy of the letter needs to be uploaded under “New Form Filing < Miscellaneous Reply < Letter of Withdrawal (MIS-W) < Type Application No.” along with the power of attorney, if application is made via agent. Then, after digitally signing, the application will get submitted.
Case II: Where the mark is opposed:
In case the mark is opposed, withdrawal letter can be submitted via Form TM-M only after payment of fees under “Correction of clerical error or for amendment u/s 37”. Alternatively, if we don’t reply to the oppositions made, the mark will get automatically abandoned within 2-3 years and shall be equally treated as withdrawn.
Case III: Where the mark is registered:
In case the mark is registered, there is no provision for withdrawing it however, the applicant can chose to not renew and it will be abandoned within some time and hence, shall be equally treated as withdrawn.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
- Is there any format prescribed in the Act for withdrawal letter?
Reply: No, there is no format prescribed as such and one can draft keeping in mind the important information to be included in it.
- What is the government fees for filing the withdrawal application?
Reply: For filing the trademark withdrawal application, there is no fees in case we are filing it under miscellaneous reply tab and Rs. 900/- (online) in case we are filing in under TM-M tab.
- What time it takes generally to get the application approved?
Reply: It takes generally 1-2 week for the withdrawal application to get approved in case the same is filed under “Miscellaneous Reply” tab and the cases where the application is filed under “Form TM-M” tab, it can take up to 6 months for it to get approved.
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{The author i.e., Mrs. Kajal Goyal is a Company Secretary in Practice and can be reached at (M) +91-9999952595 and (E) [email protected]}
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