Trademark Objection Reply

When the examiner raises some objections regarding the registrability of your trademark it is said to be objected. To overcome the objections, a written response needs to be filed with the Trade Mark Registry. If the Examiner is not convinced with the written response, a hearing is scheduled for allowing arguments to be put forth in person.

When the Examination report is issued by objecting the registration, a written reply needs to be submitted that gives sufficient justification and clarifications regarding a trademark’s distinctiveness and registrability. If the filed response satisfies the examiner, the mark would be published in the journal.

The status of the Trademark Application is required to be tracked from time to time by the applicant in order to stay updated. When the examination report is issued, the status of the application is changed to “Objected” with alert “Awaiting Reply to Examination Report”.

Link for tracking the status: https://ipindia.gov.in/

No, the applicant of the trademark does not need to stop using the ™ sign. By way of issuing the Examination Report, the Registry does not compel to stop the applicant from using the ™ sign beside the Brand Name or Logo.

The response to the examination report issued by the Trademark Registry is required to be filed within 1 month from the date of dispatch. However, the Registry accepts the response even after the stated period is passed. One may submit the reply till the status of the application shows the alert of “Awaiting Reply to Examination Report” and not “abandoned”.

Once the Trademark objection reply is duly filed by the registered attorney, the reply will also be displayed on tracking the application status. Further, the alert “Pending for Reply” or “Awaiting Reply to Examination Report” will be removed from the application status on the TM website. The status would still be “objected” as the processing from the Registry would be pending.

The Trademark Registry normally takes 6 to 8 months to process, verify and review the reply filed with the registrar.

The show cause notice for hearing is issued in very exceptional cases, where the trademark applied is very similar to any other applicant or examiner is not satisfied with the reply filed along with the supporting grounds.

The application, when it is accepted by the Registry, is published in a journal for a period of 4 months and is open for the opposition by the Third Party. After completion of 4 months, where no opposition by the third party is received, the Registration Certificate of the trademark is issued by the Registry.