If you filed an application for the registration of your trade mark and the application got accepted by the Registrar, he would have to advertise the application in the Trade Mark Journal. Sometimes though, the application can be advertised even before it gets accepted by the Registrar. When the trade mark is accepted it is showed as Accepted and Advertised and when it is ordered to be advertised before the acceptance, it is showed as Advertised before Acceptance. Let us see the whole advertisement process of the Trade Mark application in the Journal.
Concept
Section 20 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 states that:
- When an application for registration of a trade mark has been accepted whether absolutely or subject to conditions or limitations, the Registrar shall, as soon as may be after acceptance, cause the application as accepted together with the conditions or limitations, if any, subject to which it has been accepted, to be advertised in the prescribed manner:
Provided that the Registrar may cause the application to be advertised before acceptance if it relates to a trade mark to which sub-section (1) of section 9 and sub- sections (1) and (2) of section 11 apply, or in any other case where it appears to him that it is expedient by reason of any exceptional circumstances to do so.
- Where-
- an application has been advertised before acceptance under sub- section (1), or,
- after advertisement of an application,
- an error in the application has been corrected, or,
- the application has been permitted to be amended under section 22,
The Registrar may, in his discretion, cause the application to be advertised again or in any case falling under clause (b) may, instead of causing the application to be advertised again, notify in the prescribed manner the correction or amendment made in the application.
Publication of application in the trademarks journal
When an application for registration of a trade mark has been accepted whether absolutely or subject to conditions or limitations, or it is ordered to be advertised before acceptance, the application is accordingly advertised in the trade mark journal along with conditions or limitations, if any. The Supervisory Examiner approving the Examination report proposing to accept the application or advertise the application before acceptance, or the designated officer or hearing officer, who accepts the application/ orders to advertise the application before acceptance shall himself move such application for advertisement in journal through relevant module of the Trade Mark System.
The advertisement of application in the trade mark journal should contain:
- Details of the trade mark,
- Date of application,
- Priority claim (if any),
- Details of the applicant with his address,
- Applicant’s address for service including his agent’s detail,
- Class and specification of goods or service,
- The statement as to use of the trade mark, and
- The appropriate office.
The system generates a preview of the advertisement, the officer concerned finds the contents proper, then approves the case for advertisement and the application is accordingly compiled through the system for publication in trade mark journal.
All such applications which are complied for publication in the trade mark journal are published in the journal by a designated officer from Head Office of the Trade Mark Registry at every Monday and the same is available on the home page of the official website www.ipindia.nic.in free of cost to the public. For the purpose of opposition, the Trade Mark Registry separately notifies the date on its official website. A person can have the issues of the trade mark journal in CDs after paying the required fee as mentioned in the journal itself.
The reasons for publishing the trade mark in the trade mark journal is to provide other proprietors a mechanism and opportunity to oppose the trade mark, who have a conflict of interest from the advertised trade mark and to help other applicants have a platform to search for marks so that there are no similar looking or identical marks.
The trade mark journal contains:
- Public notices and notifications, if any, issued by the office,
- Trade mark applications which are accepted or ordered to be advertised before acceptance,
- Re-advertisements of applications, if ordered by any competent officer,
- Corrigenda or further notification in respect of earlier published applications,
- List of trademarks, which are registered, renewed, removed, application withdrawn, etc.,
- Post registration changes including assignments/ transmissions recorded,
- International non-proprietary names as published by World Health Organization from time to time,
Other matters to be published in the journal are collected from different sections of the TMR.
A trade mark is advertised in the trade mark journal so as to provide all relevant information about it to the public in general. The reason behind this is that if a person or entity feels the need to oppose the trade mark for the reasons mentioned in the Trade Marks Act, they can do so easily with all the necessary information on one tap of the finger. The move of making the issues of the journal online and available on the internet, the office of trade mark has helped the people immensely. If an advertisement is published with incorrect information, it gets cancelled and it would be necessary for the trade mark to be re- advertised so as to get the registration certificate.
It should be kept in mind that Advertised as Accepted, does not mean, in any case, that the trade mark is guaranteed to be registered. It just shows that the mark is accepted by the officer and that it would not be registered if someone opposes the mark and succeeds which might result in cancellation. If though, there is no opposition of the trade mark so advertised, it clears the final step of registration process and gets registered within few months after the four months of opposition period is over. In case of Advertised before acceptance, if there is no objection as to the mark, the application is sent to the Accepting Officer and after he accepts it, the mark can get registered.
