Cancellation of Registered Trademark in India

Any individual who feels that he has been wronged may file the petition to the Trademark Registry Office or Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) in the way specified in order to have its mark corrected or cancelled India’s trademark laws are governed by the Trademarks Act, 1999 (the “Act”). Every trademark must be registered with the Registrar of Trademarks (the “Registrar”) in order to be used legally and validly. Trademark cancellation involves removing the trademark from the Registrar’s records. Therefore, the Registrar is to be informed when it has to be modified, withdrawn, or cancelled. The Act specifies the steps, reasons, and methods for cancellation. In this article, we will discuss the Cancellation of Registered Trademarks in India.

Short Glimpse

Indian trademark law allows for the cancellation of a registered trademark after 5 years and 3 months from the date the mark was put into the Trade Marks Register. Section 47 of the Trademark Act, 1999 governs the circumstances in which your trademark may be cancelled.

Let us take a short brief about Trademark Registration, its process and other necessary information relating to it before we shall move on to discuss the Cancellation Of the Registered Trademarks In India.

Trademark Registration in India

A trademark is a distinct identity that distinguishes your product or service from the competition. A logo, phrase, portrait, word, fragrance, sound, colour combination, or graphical design may all serve as a unique identity. In India, most businesses just register their name or logo. As a result, if you have created a one-of-a-kind design or logo, it can only be protected and claimed as your own once it has been patented.

Trademarks are considered intellectual property and must be safeguarded from infringement.

Trademarks are registered under the Trademark Act, 1999 by the Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trademarks, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Government of India.

If your trademark is registered, you have the right to sue anyone who attempts to replicate it. As a result, no one may use a trademark that is identical to one that has already been registered by another person.

The Benefits of Trademark Registration

There are several benefits to registering a trademark. Here are a few examples:

• A registered trademark provides you with legal protection against anybody who attempts to imitate your brand. You have the legal right to raise the problem and sue them.
• Aids a product or service in gaining client trust, quality, dependability, and goodwill.
• Gives your company’s products and services a distinct identity, resulting in brand value.
• Recognizes your items in the worldwide market
• Aids in distinguishing items from competitors
• Assists in improving sales volume
• Once registered in India, a trademark may be filed in other countries as well.

Documents requisite for Trademark Registration

Legal Window assists you in registering your trademark and filing an application for it. You may just sit back and let us fill your trademark on your behalf. To proceed with the registration procedure, we will need an authorisation letter signed by you. The following information and documentation are required for Trademark Registration:

• Applicant’s Full Name (Individual or Company)
• Business Type
• Business Objective
• Address of Registration
• Certificate of Incorporation in the event of a corporation or LLP
• Individual applicant identity evidence such as Aadhar Card, Passport, etc.
• Driver’s License or Voter ID
• If available, an MSME certificate
• Name of the company/logo
• Detailed product or service description
• Classification of trademarks (Your proposed trademark may fall into more than one class.)
• Form TM-48- Power of Attorney, fully signed by the applicant

Process of Trademark Registration in India

The Trademark Registry in India is in charge of trademark registration. As soon as you decide to register a trademark, take the following steps:

• Trademark Selection: First and foremost, select a unique and distinctive trademark to reflect your goods and services, business, or corporation.
• Selecting the Trademark Class: You must pick the class to which your trademark belongs. There are now 45 kinds of goods and services for which you can register your proposed trademark. Classes 1–34 are for products, and classes 35–45 are for services.

Here is the Tip; you can also Visit Legal Window to find your right Trademark Class.

• Perform a Trademark Search: Once you have decided on a proposed trademark, you must conduct a trademark search to ensure that it is not identical to an existing registered trademark.
• Online application submission: You can submit your trademark in one of two ways:
  • The first choice is to file your trademark under “one” class, which implies that the trademark will only be registered for the class that you have selected. Form TM-1 must be filed here.
  • The second option is to register your trademark in more than one class. You must fill online form TM-A in order to register your trademark in more than one class.

• Acceptance of Application: This is the final procedure before your trademark is registered. Your application may be approved or rejected. If your application is accepted, your trademark will be published in the Trademark Journal. However, if any objections are raised, a hearing will be held.
• Trademark Registration: If there are no objections to your trademark during its advertising time in the Trademark Journal, you will get a Certificate of Registration bearing the Trademark Registry’s seal, and your trademark will be registered.

Cancellation of Registered Trademark in India

Every trademark must be registered with the Registrar of Trademarks (“Registrar”) in order to be valid and legitimate. Cancelling a trademark removes it from the Registrar’s records. When it needs to be changed, withdrawn, or cancelled, the Registrar is notified.

Who Can File a Trademark Cancellation Request?

Any individual who is dissatisfied with the registration of trademarks may petition to have it annulled. A person who is harmed by a trademark is said to be offended.

A person who is interested in a trademark may file a cancellation request. Although anybody can apply for it, he can only do so for the reasons specified in the Act.

The Registrar of Trademarks may also revoke it on his own initiative if the trademark pertaining to any products or services is no longer registered, i.e. when it is not renewed after ten years of registration.

Section 58 of the Act allows the registered proprietor to request that the trademark be removed from the register.

Grounds for Cancellation of Registered Trademark in India

The grounds for cancellation are outlined in sections 47, 50, and 57 of the Act. They are as follows:

• Trademarks are registered with products and services without any bona fide or genuine intention to utilise them.
• The trademark was not in genuine use for five years following its registration, and that term has since expired.
• A registered trademark is utilised in a way that deceives or confuses the public.
• The proprietor misled or failed to disclose any substantial information pertaining to it in the registration application that, if properly revealed, would not justify such registration.
• Changes in circumstances after registration render the registration invalid.
• When a condition is listed in the Register of Trademarks and there is a violation or failure to follow it, anybody can petition for registration cancellation.

To whom should the applicant File a Cancellation Form?

The Registrar of Trademarks or the Appellate Board receives the cancellation application. The Registrar of Trademarks is responsible for submitting the cancellation application and has jurisdiction over trademark registrations. The Appellate Board (“Intellectual Property Appellate Board”) for Indian trademarks is the Intellectual Property Appellate Board.

The Boards are located in five different cities across India: Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad. Either the Registrar or the Appellate Board receives requests for cancellation.

Cancellation Forms

The 2017 Trademarks Rules provide documents that must be submitted to the Registrar for cancellation. These cancellation submission forms are sent with the application to the Registrar. There are two types:

• Form TM-O: This form is used to request the cancellation of a trademark for the reasons outlined in Sections 47 and 57.
• Form TM-U: This is the application form for requests to withdraw a trademark’s registration for the reasons outlined in Section 50.

Procedure for Cancellation of Registered Trademark in India

The following are the procedure for the cancellation of a Registered Trademark in India:

• The involved parties, i.e., the trademark owner(s) and the registered user, shall get a notification when either the Registrar or the Appellate Board requests the cancellation (s). Before the Registrar, the concerned parties submit counter statements in opposition to the application. Both sides are given a chance to present their arguments. Both sides present their evidence, and their claims are heard.
• The Registrar listens to all sides before making a decision based on the facts presented by the parties. When the Registrar issues an order of cancellation based on a submission, he implements it by deleting the trademark from his register. The Appellate Board will hear appeals to the Registrar’s decision. The Appellate Board follows the same process as Civil courts if the application is brought directly before it.
• The method used in civil court is comparable to that used by the Registrar of Trademarks. The Registrar is informed to cancel the trademark if the Appellate Board rules in favour of cancellation. The Appellate Board’s decision may be challenged in a writ petition to the High Court.

Way Forward

When you discover all of the aforementioned details, submit a trademark application. Before requesting trademark registration in India, it is preferable to do a trademark search. Consult with our Experts at Legal Window before submitting an application for trademark registration, and then submit it.