A trademark ‘Opposed' is an opposition filed by a third party against the registration of trademark within four months of the trademark being advertised in the trademark journal. Any natural or legal person may file a trademark opposition with the Registry against your trademark. This includes any individual, company, partnership firm, or trust (s). Notably, the person filing the opposition does not need to have a commercial interest in the matter or a previously registered trademark with the Registry.
Before filing the notice of opposition, the interested party (Opponent) must have had the trademark application Accepted by the Registrar and published in the Trademark Journal.
Within four months of the publication of the advertisement in the Trademark Journal, a notice of opposition (Form TM-O) must be submitted to the Registrar of Trademarks.
Whoever wishes to oppose the registration of a trademark shall file a notice of opposition in Form TM-O along with the prescribed fee within four months from the date of publication of the advertisement in the Trademark Journal. The notice should include the opposing party's information, the grounds for opposing trademark registration, and information about the application being opposed. When the Registrar receives the notice, he or she must notify the trademark applicant.
The trademark applicant must submit a counter statement in TM-O required by sub-section (2) of section 21 within two months of receiving the Opposition. If the applicant fails to file the counter statement within the time frame specified, the application for trademark registration will be deemed abandoned.
Within two months of receiving the counter statement, the opponent must file evidence in the form of an affidavit for supporting the opposition. If the opponent does not want to present evidence in support of their opposition but instead wishes to rely on the facts stated in the notice of opposition, they must notify the Registrar and the applicant in the writing, or the notice of opponent will be deemed ‘abandoned’.
The trademark applicant shall also provide evidence in support of the application to the Registrar within two months of the receipt of the evidence/information of the opponent. If the applicant does not wish to adduce any evidence in support of it but wishes to rely on the facts stated in the counter-statement, they must inform the Registrar and the opponent in writing, or the application will be deemed ‘abandoned’.
The opponent will also be given one month after receiving evidence from the applicant to provide any additional evidence. If the document is not in Hindi or English, it must be translated into those languages and submitted to the Registrar, with a copy given to the opposing party.
Following the submission of evidence from both parties, the Registrar shall notify the parties of the first date of hearing. The hearing date of Opposition must be at least one month after the date of first notice. Both parties will be given an equal opportunity to be heard by the Registrar. At least three days before the hearing date, either party may request an adjournment with a reasonable cause in form TM-M and the prescribed fees. The parties may request a maximum of two adjournments, each for no more than 30 days.
Any party may request an adjournment of the hearing by submitting an application in Form TM-M with fees Rs 900. If satisfied, the registrar must postpone the hearing to the next available date.
If a party submits written arguments to the proceeding, the Registrar will consider them. The Registrar's decision shall be communicated to the parties in writing, following the hearing of both parties. If the applicant or opponent fails to appear at the adjourned hearing date and time as specified in the notice, the application or opposition will be abandoned, and the Registrar will proceed with the hearing matter accordingly.
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