Trademark Objection In Chennai

Trademark Status Objected Chennai

Chennai : Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu . It is located on the Coromandel Cost of the Bay of Bengal. It is known to be one of the biggest  economical , cultural and educational center of the country . Chennai is having the third largest expatriates population in India. It is also one of the largest municipal economies of the country . It is also selected as one of the city for the smart city out of the 100 cities under the smart city mission. The premier engineering Institute of India INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHONOLOGY , MADRAS is also located here.

Trademark Objection Reply Online Chennai

Ever since India decided to open its gates to the world through LPG i.e. Liberalization, Privatization, and Globalization, our economy has bloomed and seen a lot of competition in the market, which has even given the customers a wide range of choice. This is due to this reason that the trademarks and the names etc. got a special meaning and an importance to them. The trademarks are important in order to distinguish between the different entities and institutions; it serves an identifying mark as well. When India entered the TRIPS agreement i.e. The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, in the same agreement India had to conform to other obligations as well which provided for protection of trademarks, recognition of service marks, indefinite periodical renewal of registration, the abolition of compulsory licensing of trademarks etc. This saw a huge wave of change in the Indian scenario of trademarks wherein, the Indian Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 was replaced by the Trade Marks Act, 1999. This had been so down that it aligns with the foreign agreements and rules with the international practices. This act has revolutionized the way Trademarks had been looked and handled with earlier, the new act provided provisions like the conditions for registration, assignment, and transmission, certification along with offenses, penalties & procedures. A due importance in the act has been attached to the registration process with most of the chapters dedicated to registration. However, in many cases when the trademark so filed for is not in conformity to the laid down standards, it can come as rejected and then the trademark has to be rectified and re-applied for. There are many grounds on which a trademark can be ‘objected’ and then there is a certain procedure through which the objected trademark can be rectified and re-applied for.

Reasons to receive various types of Trademark Objection Reply Chennai

There are many reasons due to which the given trademark form may come across as ‘ Trademark Status Objected Chennai’, the same can be enumerated as the following:

1. Use of Improper Trademark Form

When an incorrect form is filled by the applicant the examiner of the trademarks raises an objection and the applicant is directed to filing a new application. The examiner directs the applicant from the TM-1 which had been filed for certain goods and services; the form has to be corrected in the TM-4 by a request in TM-16. Hence the applicant is directed to filing the form TM-16 for rectification.

2. Improper Trademark Applicant Name

The credentials in the trademark application have to be proper, the applicant who is filing the trademark has to be filled in properly, and this may include all the partners who are filing and has to be hence filled in a partnership form. TM-16 provides for the same.

3. Failure to File Trademark Form TM-48

Whenever a trademark has been requested through an agent or attorney, the form TM-48 has to be filled and an authorizing letter has to be duly attached with it which authorizes the act of the said attorney or agent. The objection can be rectified by correcting the application by filing the form TM-16.

4. Improper Address on Trademark Application

When the application doesn’t mention the address or if there is a discrepancy in doing so, the Trademark Examiner forwards a rectification of the same which is done through the provisos of TM-16 form

5. Vague Specification of Goods or Services

A trademark examiner requires a precise yet descriptive list of goods and services in question. A Trademark Form can be rejected on two bases: if the listed goods and services are too large to go through or if they are too ambiguously described. This can be hence corrected through the TM-16 Form.

6. Similar Trademark in Market

A trademark in question has to be different from any other trademark in the market because it serves as an identity of the enterprise. The contention for the same can be raised in Section 11 of the Trademark Act. The applicant has to hence provide for definitive proof claiming how the trademark in question different from the similar trademark in the market

7. Trademark Lacks Distinctiveness

A trademark which fails to distinguish between the goods and services falling under it with the other goods and services, it is said to be bereft of its distinctive personality. To prove the distinctiveness of the trademark the applicant has to prove the distinctive character of his goods & services.

8. Trademark is Deceptive

A trademark is considered to be deceptive if the goods and services of the enterprise are of such nature that it can deceive the public masses in terms of nature, quality et al. To rectify the same the enterprise can apply for exemption of certain goods and services in the TM-16 Form.

Why have I got a Trademark Objection Reply Chennai ?

The Trademark Act, 1999 has strict provisions which refer to the refusal of registration of the Trademarks. The Trademark Act, 1999 has a due strict emphasis on the registration of various trademarks and the grounds of rejection. The Section 9 and 11 of the Trademark Act provide for the various grounds pertaining to which a Registration may face objection, Section 9 provides for absolute grounds while the section 11 of the act provides for relative grounds

The section 9 of the said act is divided into three subsections, the Section 9 (1) of the act states that the registration might be rejected on the grounds if:

• If it lacks its distinctive character: when the trademark question doesn't have a special distinctive character of its own and it fails to distinguish between the goods & services of itself with the others
• If its descriptive of the characteristics: when the trademark in question is descriptive of the various factors which indicate the quantity, quality, time of production or any other facet which is directly linked to the nature of the goods and services.
• If it consists marks which have become customary & established practices of the trade: This provision has been inserted so as to avoid the monopolization of marks that are already in use of the trade.

Further, the Section 9 (2) provides for further provisions which serve as the absolute grounds for rejection of registration, which can be explained as:

• If the Trademark is deceptive in nature: Any trademark which may turn into a deceptive means for misleading the public is not to be registered, since the trademark should be clear indication of the work so as done by the registering applicant.
• If the Trademark is sensitive to religious sentiments: Any trademark that is seen to be targeting a religious group or is seen to be insensitive to the religious sentiments of the people is objected because of the potential chaos and turmoil it can cause
• If the Trademark is Scandalous in nature: Any trademark which the examiner feels is scandalous or even obscene is sent for rectification as a result of objection by the examiner.
• If the Trademark is prohibited under the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950: Any Trademark which has been in direct consonance to the trademarks of institutions of national integrity or directly linked to that to the sovereignty is not to be used (National Emblem, National Flag etc.)

Lastly, the Section 9 (3) provides for further provisions and the last of the Absolute provisions states that any mark shall not be registered if it consists of the shape of goods, the shape of goods necessary to obtain a technical result and any shape which gives a significant value to the goods. This is done in order to avoid any monopolization the shapes.

Moving on to the relative grounds of rejection of a Trademark these are those grounds which may result into an objection when differentiated from the other trademark in existence. The section 11 of the act has three rules for calculating the relative ground of the trademark act which is as following

1. Mark, if the trademark in question is already in existence in the market or if the trademark in question has goods and services which coincides with the trademark in existence.
2. If the Trademark in question is similar to the trademark in existence, even if the goods and services differ, the trademark wouldn’t be ratified by the examiner if it poses a direct eminent unfair advantage or damage to the other.
3. A trademark shall not be registered if its use or applicability in India is prevented by any copyright law or any particular law of passing off.

Process for Removal of Trademark Objection Reply Chennai 

Firms with the likes of Company Vakil is a definitive go-to place which gives assistance with Trademark Objection Removal and even provides consultancy on a pre-checked trademark registration process which helps in a smoother registration of the trademark that is so in question.

When a trademark objection is received by the applicant it can be due to many reasons which may range from erroneous data entry to incomplete data entry. In these cases, for correction, the TM-16 Form is to be filed by the applicant to rectify these errors, after which the trademark examiner will ratify it after stringent scrutiny. Errors that can be corrected in the TM-16 form are Change of address, correcting applicant's name, adding a description of goods & services etc.

Further, when an Objection Report is received by the applicant, the applicant is supposed to reply to the report with the due correction in the stipulated period of time which is 30 days and is advised to check the status of the same till all the required formalities are completely done with.

Minimum Requirements for Trademark Objection Reply  online Chennai

A Trademark Objection reply is drafted and submitted upon the receipt of the trademark examination report by the examiner, it is important to draft and send a reply for the same within 30 days, failure to which will result into the complete abandonment of the prior trademark registration application. Any person can file a trademark objection within 4 months of the trademark being advertised. However it is not necessary that if a trademark objection reply has been drafted, the trademark will definitely come into existence, it has to still go through the scrutiny procedure by the trademark examiner. After filing of the registration reply it is important to continually check the status of the application until the trademark has been ratified by the authorities.

The Trademark Objection Reply Chennai can be filed through a four-way process which can be done through registered post to the concerned department, visiting the department and submitting the documents over the counter or through an online process of scanning the document and addressing it to the trademark department or submitting the document through an online portal. The trademark office is highly effective in this process has made drafting reply for the same an easy process so that the applicants don't have to worry about a tardy administrative system.