Raising Trademark Opposition
Raising Opposition for Trademark means you want to file an opposition against the trademark published in the journal. Any person could raise a Trademark Opposition after publishing in the Trademark Journal for various reasons. The reason possibly could be regarding proprietorship of the Trademark, pre-existence of the Trademark, being descriptive in nature, or could be anything specified under the Trade Marks Act of 1999.
The proper knowledge of the grounds and eligibility for raising a Trademark Opposition in India is must when you plan to raise an opposition. We can help you in explaining all about raising a Trademark Opposition. Let’s start with the benefits first.
Benefits of Trademark Opposition
Some of you might think, how getting opposed or opposing something is beneficial for you. How could this process of publication in Trademark Journal for registration benefit us? Let us answer your queries about this.
- Publication in Journal increases the popularity of a trademark in the target audience. We can say that publication in a Journal is an advertisement to the consumers or general public about the brand and the goods & services it provides.
- This gives the registered trademark owners a fair chance to oppose the similar or identical trademarks, which could create problems in the near future.
- This also creates a sense of clarity among the general public who might be confused due to similar trademarks.
Who can Raise Trademark Opposition?
As per Section 21 in The Trade Marks Act, 1999, “Any person may, within four months from the date of the advertisement or re-advertisement of an application for registration or within such further period, not exceeding one month in the aggregate, as the Registrar, on an application made to him in the prescribed manner and on payment of the prescribed fee, allows, give notice in writing in the prescribed manner to the Registrar, of opposition to the registration.”
In simple terms, anyone may file opposition for the trademark if they find that trademark in anyhow manner similar to their trademark or believes that the trademark should not be registered on any other valid legal ground. If more than one person has the same issue against the particular trademark, they can collectively take part against that particular trademark registration. For example, if someone applies for trademarking the word “DELHI”, a collective opposition could be raised against the trademark registration from various individuals, groups, societies, etc.
Grounds of Trademark Opposition
Anyone can file opposition against a trademark, but they should know the grounds on which trademark opposition can be raised. There are several grounds on which trademark Opposition can be filed:
- If the trademark is similar or identical to an earlier or existing registered trademark
- If the mark is devoid of distinctive character
- If the mark is descriptive in nature
- If the application for the trademark is made with bad faith
- If the mark is customary in the current language or the established practices of business
- If the trademark is likely to deceive the public or cause confusion
- If the mark is contrary to the law or is prevented by law
- If the trademark is prohibited under the Emblem and Names Act, 1950
- If the mark contains matters that are likely to hurt religious feelings of any class or section of people
It is advisable to seek help of legal experts for drafting and filing Counter-statement for Trademark Opposition. Our legal experts at Professional Utilities can help you with reply to Trademark Opposition.
Documents Required for Raising Trademark Opposition
Anyone can file opposition against a trademark, but they should know the grounds on which trademark opposition can be raised. There are several grounds on which trademark Opposition can be filed:
- Details of applicant
- Name
- Nationality
- Power of attorney (It allows the attorney to take any action on behalf of an applicant.)
- Affidavit (Affidavit contains the basic information about the trademark and its user.)
- Details of the opposed mark (Details should be provided against which the opposition is to be filed. It must explain the name and basic grounds for filing an opposition.)
Verification of drafting of trademark opposition has to be made by the applicant.
Procedure of Raising Trademark Opposition
Raising an opposition against a trademark requires a notice of trademark opposition filed by any individual/company within 4 months of the date of advertisement or re-advertisement of the trademark in the Trademark Journal. A Form TM-O is required to be filled in a prescribed manner along with the application charges of Rs. 2,700/-. The trademark opposition notice must contain the following details:
Grounds of Trademark Opposition
The grounds on which you are raising opposition to the trademark
Details of the trademark for which you are raising opposition
Details must include trademark registration application number, class of goods or services for which trademark registration application was published along with the name of the applicant of the trademark application
Details of the individual/company's name and address
It is important to know that this will only prevent the applicant of the trademark from registering the Trademark. However, in order to prevent the applicant from using the trademark, a case of infringement is to be filed in an appropriate court of law.