In India, the Trademark Hearing, also known as the Ready for Show Cause Hearing, is the final stage for the acceptance or refusal of a trademark application. Generally, the applicant or applicant attorney is notified of the trademark hearing date via mail to the applicant's or attorney’s address. However, it is always advisable to check the trademark hearing status because hearing date is very crucial. Once the alert appears in Trademark status, i.e., Ready for show cause hearing, it indicates that the trademark hearing date will be updated soon; however, this status does not indicate that the trademark hearing date has been issued. Trademark hearing notice in the new trademark status format is updated in the Notice and Correspondence Section as Trademark hearing Notice. Anyone with the Trademark application number can look up the Stages of Trademark Status including the hearing date.
What documents will you need for the Trademark Hearing?
-
Power of Attorney- Duly signed and Notarized
-
User Affidavit- If applicable
-
Copy of Trademark Application (TM-A)
-
Copy of Examination Report Issued
-
Copy of Reply to Examination Report
-
Authorization Letter (Other than POA)
-
Affidavit of Trademark Usage (if any).
-
Summary Note for Appearance (advised)
-
Case references for Submissions (if any)
-
Proof of Business & Supporting documents
Trademark Hearing Process
Once the Trademark hearing date is set, it is critical for the applicant not to miss the Trademark hearing, as this may result in the abandoned of the Trademark Application filed without considering the merits of the Trademark application. If you are not able to attend the hearing, it is always recommended to request for Postponement of Hearing in advance by filing TM-M.
Fees for hearings on trademarks
In general, there is no set Government fee for a Trademark hearing; only professional fees may be charged by the Advocate/ CS who attends the Trademark hearing at the designated Trademark registry. However, if a Trademark adjournment is requested, a form TM-M is filed with a fee of Rs 900/-. The same form is also used if a request for a change, correction, or amendment to a trademark application is made.
What will be the outcome if show cause hearing is not attended?
If you or your representative fails to appear at a trademark hearing on the scheduled date, the TM Application will be marked as Abandoned. What it essentially means is that now you can not use the letter TM against your brand name or logo. However, you have not been prohibited to file a fresh application, should you desire so. Abandoned Status means that you have shown inability to pursue your case with the Trademark Registry for now.
Adjournment of trademark hearing
You can request an adjournment in a show cause hearing, just like any other judicial process, by submitting a TM-M form in advance. However, the window for requesting an adjournment is open until two days before the hearing date. In some exceptional cases, it has been seen that the Trademark Hearing Officer may also grant Adjournment to on the Hearing Date itself. Ideally, these are considered to have been given next date in general parlance.
Jurisdiction of trademark hearing
Virtual modes of hearing have been made available since 2020, and all Trademark Hearings in India are now conducted online. However, for the purpose of filing Trademark Applications, all States and Union Territories have been divided into five Regional Jurisdictions. They are as follows:
Mumbai: The States of Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.
Ahmedabad: The States of Rajasthan and Gujarat along with Union Territory of Dadra, Diu, Daman, and Nagar Haveli.
Kolkata: The States of Assam, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Orissa, West Bengal, Mizoram, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Tripura, Jharkhand, and Union Territories of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Nagaland.
New Delhi: The States of Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Union Territories of Chandigarh, and Uttarakhand.
Chennai: The state of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Union Territories of Pondicherry and Lakshadweep Island.
What happens after the hearing?
The Hearing Officer issues an order following the conclusion or contention of the trademark applicant/ attorney. The following are possible orders:
-
Hearing Officer may accept your application and the status will get changed to Accepted.
-
If the arguments and submission do not satisfy the Hearing Officer, the status of the application will get changed to Refused.
-
The Hearing Officer may order applicant to file a TM-M form and correct some errors in the application (if any).
What is the purpose of a Show Cause Hearing Notice?
When a trademark application is filed, the Examiner reviews all of the application's details. They issue an examination report if they discover any relevant grounds for refusal. Following that, the applicant must file a response to this examination report within one month of the notice's issuance.
When the trademark registry does not find the response to the examination report satisfactory, they usually issue a show cause hearing notice. As a result, the Hearing is the last chance to persuade the Registry to waive off their objections.
After you respond to the objection raised in the Examination Report Issued, the Registrar reviews your response and, if they believe it is necessary to hear the applicant/attorney before passing an order, they issue a Notice of Hearing.
What causes an 'Objection' in a Trademark Application?
The registry raises an objection whenever a trademark application falls into one of the following categories:
-
The mark is so similar to an already existing trademark that it may cause confusion.
-
The mark applied for contains terms that are descriptive of your business/services.
-
The mark is generic and non-distinctive, i.e., a common term. (For instance, a book, music, or wood)
-
It is a "prohibited term."
-
The mark is obscene.
-
The mark may offend a community's religious sentiments/beliefs, or there was an error in applying, such as incorrect class details or a lack of any required documentation.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON TRADEMARK HEARING FOR OBJECTION?
- After filing a response to the examination report, if the Trademark Registry is satisfied, they will accept your application and the mark is advertised in the Trademarks Journal. However, if the examiner is not satisfied, he must have a valid reason for doing so.
- The applicant is further provided with the last opportunity with the status as Ready for Show Cause Hearing. The examiner further schedules a hearing for the applicant to submit his contention in person physically or by virtual mode directly by himself or through a TM Attorney/ Agent.
- If the Hearing officer is not convinced with your submission, the Trademark Registry may decide to refuse the mark. A qualified TM Attorney/ Agent can handle this situation cautiously.
HOW COMPLIANCE CALENDAR LLP CAN ASSIT YOU IN TM HEARING
To support the application acceptance arguments, appropriate documents and case laws must be presented during the hearing. At Compliance Calendar LLP, we can guide you end-to-end in the entire Trademark Registration Procedure and our attorneys can attend the hearing for you to maximise the chances of trademark registration. For further discussion on this please contact us and someone from our CCL Team shall get in touch with you to discuss your case.
