Trademark Hearing Procedure in India| Documents|Fees

A trademark hearing is for removing the objections raised under Trademark Registration. The chances for trademark objection are high nowadays. A trademark hearing is nothing but an appearance before the registrar of trademarks or any senior examiner. It happens only if the department is not satisfied with the reply filed in the objection.

The hearing could be either in person or through a Trademark agent or Trademark attorney. A trademark hearing could be conducted at the stage of pre-publication of the mark in journal or post-publication of the mark in journal at the opposition stage. The hearing notice usually comes in the registered email of the applicant, but still It is important to track your trademark online to prevent it from getting abandoned.

Reply Objection

The applicant needs to file a reply for any such objection within 30 days from the date of issuance of the examination report against the objections raised by the Department under section 9 or/and 11 of the Trademarks Act, which are absolute grounds of refusal and relative grounds of refusal respectively. The examiner goes through the reply and read all the submissions made therein. It is at the discretion of the examiner whether to accept the submissions/defense of the reply filed. If unsatisfied with the reply filed, the examiner changes the status of the mark to “Ready for show cause hearing” and thereafter, issues a hearing notice mentioning the hearing date on it. The hearing usually takes place between 8 to 12 months post issuance of the hearing notice, depending upon the work load of the respective department.

Documents require for trademark hearing

Documents for the trademark hearing vary from case to case. A standard set of documents is below for reference: –

Letter of authorization /Power of Attorney : In favor of a trademark attorney or any person authorized.

Affidavit of Usage– The date of usage plays a crucial role in getting your trademark registered

More Documents – short notes of the important things like case laws and examples related to your case. Along with evidence that makes your claim strong

Procedure for Trademark Hearing:

Appearance: The applicant or their authorized trademark attorney must be present before the hearing officer. It is imperative to be equipped with all necessary documents and a well-prepared defense.

Dress Code: While there is no specific dress code, maintaining a formal attire is generally recommended for the hearing.

Post-Hearing Decision: Following the hearing, the trademark may either be accepted or refused based on the proceedings. The decision is communicated to the applicant, and further actions are taken accordingly.

Jurisdiction of trademark hearing

The territorial jurisdiction for the trademark application and hearings is as follows:-

MUMBAI: The State of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Goa
AHMEDABAD : The State of Gujarat and Rajasthan and Union Territories of Daman, Diu, Dadra, and Nagar  Haveli.
KOLKATA : The State of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, Manipur. Mizoram, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tripura, Jharkhand and Union Territories of Nagaland, Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
NEW DELHI : The state of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana. Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Union Territories of Chandigarh.
CHENNAI. : The state of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala. Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Union Territories of Pondicherry and Lakshadweep Island.

How to adjourn a trademark hearing

If the hearing is not attended on the scheduled date, then the mark could also be abandoned by the concerned hearing officer for want of appearence or may adjourn the same to some other next date. So its better to file a TM M seeking adjournment of the scheduled hearing atleast 2 days prior to the hearing date.