Trademark Objection: Its Grounds and Way to File a Reply

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Trademark Objection: Its Grounds and Way to File a Reply

Trademark registration is a process that takes you through several ups and downs. One such down is the trademark objection. Objectively speaking, out of all the trademark registration applications, about 60 per cent of them will be objected to. However, why is your application objected to? And what can you do to deal with such objections? Understanding the grounds of trademark objection and how to reply to trademark objection will be our focus throughout this blog.

Grounds of Trademark Objection

There are two grounds upon which your trademark application can be objected. These grounds are the following:

1. Absolute Ground: The whole foundation of objection is where the ministry's grounds for objecting to your trademarks are complete. By this, we mean that the errors with the trademark are pretty visible. For example, if your trademark is a blatant copy of other marks or does not have anything distinct, the grounds of objection are absolute.
2. Relative Ground: This is a ground of objection where the trademark, while not similar to the other marks, is deceptively identical to them. This ground of objection is also known as the deceptively identical ground. The reason for calling this particular reason a relative one is because the similarity of the trademark is not quite apparent.

These are the two grounds on which your trademark application can be objected to. These grounds are why doing a registered trademark search is necessary before applying. However, there are ways to deal with objections, and it is called trademark objection reply.

How to Reply to Trademark Objection

When the department of trademark registration examines the trademark application, a Trademark examination Report is created. The details of this report tell whether your trademark application is rejected or not. Now, if there is an objection, then it is needed to be replied to, and it is done in the following manner:

1. Getting the documents to reply to the objection:
   • A copy of an examination report that the registrar of trademarks sent.
   • A power of attorney that the applicant duly signs.
   • Documented proof against the objection. This can be anything like affidavit, permission, etc.
2. Filing the reply: The form used to file the objection reply is MIS-R (Miscellaneous R). The answer has to be filed in this form. As the option is online, you would need to upload a scanned copy of the reply and a power of attorney through this form.
3. There is no fee associated with the reply. However, as you will need the assistance of a professional for this process, they will charge you a nominal fee. Before the submission, you, as a client, would check if the reply is correct.
4. Once the reply has been submitted, there is a waiting time of 15 days. After this time, you will get either a positive or negative response. A positive reaction will advertise your trademark in the journal. A negative one will prompt you to appear in a trademark hearing.

These are the steps of trademark reply. As you have seen, a response can either be positive or negative. To that end, you definitely would want to avoid the hearing. Therefore, make sure that the right professionals are filing the reply. Registrationwala is a team of professionals that can provide you with such a service. Confide in them if you want to make sure that your mark is advertised.

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