Mass Abandonment of Trademark Applications by Indian Trade Marks Registry
05-Apr-2016
NEW DELHI - The Indian Trade Marks Registry announced that numerous trademark applications have been abandoned by the Registry in order to clear its backlog of pending applications/ oppositions.
The applications have been abandoned for non-filing of response to the examination report, and the opposed applications have been abandoned for non-filing of counter-statement.
Several applications have been wrongly abandoned as the Registry has not checked whether the examination reports/opposition notices were properly served to the applicant or not.
However, the Controller General has assured that appropriate measures shall be taken to reinstate applications/ oppositions which have been wrongly abandoned upon receipt of representation from the attorneys/ applicants before April 30, 2016. Furthermore, the Trademark Attorneys Association may file a writ petition before the High Court regarding the action of the Trade Marks Registry.
In this regard, we are monitoring the situation closely and are constantly reviewing our clients’ portfolios to ensure that their applications are in good order. We will take the necessary steps to reinstate any trademark application that was wrongly abandoned by the Registrar during this drive.
For more information or any queries, please contact our office in India at: india@agip.com