Trademark Opposition

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Trademark Opposition

As per the Trademark Act, 1999 of Indian legislation, a Trademark is defined as a visual symbol that makes a brand, company, product, or service distinctive and distinguishable from other products. It can be a word, signature, name, device, label, numerals, or combination of colors. The main aim of a trademark is to give the owners exclusive rights over their intellectual and commercial properties.

Only the person or group of persons claiming to be the sole proprietors of a mark can register it as their trademark. Their trademark must fulfill certain criteria and abide by certain guidelines set by the law. When an application for registering a trademark is received by the registrar, it is advertised in the Trademark Journal for receiving any opposition against it.

Who can oppose the trademark registration application?

An official notice of a trademark opposition can be filed by any person. The main intent behind the provision of a trademark opposition is to safeguard the interests of the general public at large. Also, if a person holds a similar trademark and believes that the registration of the new trademark will affect his trademark's brand value then they too can file a trademark opposition citing appropriate legal grounds.

“Liberty is the right to do what the law permits.”

Montesquieu

An opposition notice against a trademark registration application can be filed on the following grounds:

  • The proposed mark resembles a pre-existing registered trademark or is identical to it.
  • The mark doesn't contain a distinctive character to it that makes it clearly distinguishable.
  • The submitted mark is not descriptive of the service it is connected with.
  • The mark contains certain characters or customary words from the current language or regular trade practices.
  • It causes confusion among the public or tries to deceive them by resembling a certain brand.
  • The mark contains a matter that may be offensive to a certain religion, sect or class of people.
  • The mark includes obscene words or images.
  • The usage of the mark is prohibited by private entities under the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950.

Grounds of filing a trademark opposition application

Steps involved in trademark opposition process:

When a trademark application is advertised in the Trademark Journal, any person can file a Notice of Opposition within four months of the date of publishing. For this, the Form TM-O needs to be filled along with submitting the prescribed fee.

When a notice of opposition is filed, the applicant of the trademark must file a Counter Statement within two months of receiving the notice.
After receiving the counter statement, the party opposing the trademark gets two months to provide evidence supporting their opposition.

The trademark applicant will then get two months time to submit evidence in support of the trademark application. Then the opposing party again gets one month to provide more evidence in reply to further strengthen their case.
The final stage of the trademark opposition process is a hearing before the Registrar arranged by the Registry. The Registrar will hear the case and then give a decision after analyzing all the submitted evidence.

The trademark opposition is a good way to keep unauthorized trademark registrations in check by involving the citizens as watchdogs. However, the process can be taxing for both opposing parties as well as the trademark applicants. We can make this process easy for you by giving the most accurate legal help. Contact us today for all your trademark opposition needs.