INDIA – Delhi High Court Stays Mass Abandonment of Trademark Applications by the Indian Trademarks Registry

April 13, 2016

Delhi High Court Stays Mass Abandonment of Trademark Applications by the Indian Trademarks Registry

As reported earlier in our IP News Alert dated April 07, 2016, which can be accessed , the Delhi High Court had stayed the abandonment of a huge number of trademark applications. This was a result of a writ petition filed by, inter alia, the Intellectual Property Attorneys Association of India, where Hon’ble Mr. Justice Manmohan stayed the orders of abandonment passed by the Trade Marks Office on or after March 20, 2016. It was further added that the Trade Marks Office shall not treat any trademark application as being abandoned without any proper notice to the affected party.

In response to the above mentioned developments, the Trade Marks Office has released a Public Notice dated April 11, 2016, stating that subsequent to the Office abandoning numerous trademark applications, complaints had been received claiming that applications were abandoned despite replies being submitted on behalf of the applicants which were not considered by the Office. Further, some complaints were also received regarding the fact that the examination reports containing the Office objections were not received by the applicants or their authorized agents in due time due to which the responses could not be filed and, thus, the applications were wrongfully abandoned. Acknowledging these complaints, the Registrar of Trade Marks had issued a Public Notice dated April 04, 2016, requesting all applicants or their authorised agents to submit representations with relevant details and documentary evidence substantiating their case by April 30, 2016. The latest Public Notice dated April 11, 2016, also notes that Writ Petitions were filed before the Delhi High Court and the orders of abandonment passed by the Registrar on or after March 20, 2016, have been stayed by the Court vide its order dated April 05, 2016.

The latest Public Notice goes on to notify the public that the abandonment orders passed by the Registrar of Trade Marks after March 20, 2016, are being kept in abeyance and the applicants or their authorised agents can now file the reply to examination reports containing the Office objections by means of comprehensive e-filing services of trademarks at the official website or by e-mail to parm.tmr@nic.in and abhishek.p@nic.in. If the replies have been filed already and the Office has treated the trademark applications as abandoned erroneously, information regarding the same may also be sent through e-mail to abhishek.p@nic.in along with a copy of the reply already filed. All action in this regard will be taken according to the law and the directions/orders of the Hon’ble High Court in the ongoing writ petitions.

The Public Notice dated April 11, 2016, can be accessed here.

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