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Trademark Objection
After a trademark application is filed in some cases, trademark objection is raised by trademark registry when the application proceeds to examination stage. Such an objection is raised often by a trademark examiner, when an application for a trademark registration does not meet certain legal criteria. The objection is raised by an examination report and according to the report, applicant is required to file satisfactory reply within 30 days. Non-compliance of the objection would lead to abandoned of the application. Knowledge about the objections is crucial for all applicants so that they can protect their intellectual property rights.
Common Grounds for Trademark Objections
- Descriptiveness: Trademarks that directly describe the goods or services associated with them may face objections under Section 9 of Trademark Act, 1999. For example, a trademark application for “Jal” for a water related business might be considered too descriptive.
- Lack of Distinctiveness: Trademarks that are too generic or commonly used in the marketplace may lack distinctiveness, making it difficult for the mark to be associated with a specific product or service under Section 9 of the Act.
- Similarity to Existing Trademarks: If a proposed trademark is similar or deceptively similar to an already registered trademark, it may cause confusion in the marketplace. Such an objection is very common and is raised under Section 11 of the Act.
- Offensive or Scandalous Content: If a trademark contains language or image that is offensive and scandalous to the public.
- Geographical Indications: Trademarks that use geographical terms or names often face objection under Section 9 of the Act.
- Others: improper classification of goods, non-submission of proper user documents etc.
Reply to a Trademark Objection
Once an objection has been raised, the applicant has to respond within 30 days with satisfactory reply with documents if required. During the time of filing reply it is often advisable to seek the assistance of a trademark attorney who are expertise in the field.
Outcomes of a Trademark Objection Response
- Objection Withdrawn: If the reply is found satisfactory to the examiner or the registrar the objection is withdrawn and the application is accepted.
- Hearing: If the trademark application is not accepted after filing of a reply, objection continues and the matter proceeds to hearing stage to be decided by the hearing officer. At the time of hearing applicant or its attorney is given opportunity to present arguments with evidence.
- Hearing outcome: there are only two outcomes of the hearing. If the hearing is successful, application is accepted otherwise application is refused. On refusal, applicant gets opportunity to review the decision.
How to Avoid Trademark Objections
The best way to avoid trademark objections is to make a thorough search of the trademark before filing the application. If the search results indicate that the mark to be applied is likely to conflict with any existing trademark, it is better to alter or abandon the mark to remain safe. On the other hand, if the trademark search results indicate that the mark to be applied is unique and not infringing any other existing mark then it is safe to file an application for registration of trademark. Basically trademark search is the very first step in trademark registration filing and skipping this step can create difficulties for any new application.
Conclusion
Trademark objections are part of the trademark registration process. Whenever an objection is raised after filing of an application, it does not mean that the trademark will not be registered. The only thing needed is to meet the objections as per the time frame laid by the Trademark registry. Acceptance of a trademark is not on any ones hand, but filing timely appropriate response is the need of the hour. Whenever an objection is raised legal assistance of trademark expert required with proper execution planning. If objections are carefully met there is every possibility of an application attaining registration.
