What is Trademark Hearing?

During the process of Trademark registration sometimes the situations may arise wherein the objection is raised by the registrar on the trademark registration application and the applicant is required to prove the ability of trademark for getting registered during the trademark hearing.

Trademark is any word, symbol or logo that can be used to distinguish the goods and services of one person from another.In this era of growing competition, it is important for every person to secure the exclusive rights of his brand name or logo in order to protect it from being exploited by the competitors. What will give you exclusive rights over your trademark? You can attain the exclusive usage and distribution rights over your trademark by obtaining Trademark Registration.

What is trademark registration? Trademark registration is a process where the owner of the trademark makes an application through the official website of IPR services www.ipindia.nic.in to the trademark department in order to gain the exclusive rights over his trademark.  Registration can be obtained only by following certain pre-determined steps and proving that your trademark is unique possessing all the characteristics required for getting registered. You may know the complete trademark registration procedure.

With this article, we will understand the meaning of trademark hearing and discuss the various other aspects related to it.

 If the trademark office is not satisfied with the trademark registration application filed and deems that trademark applied is not capable of getting registered it may raise objections on it. In response to the objections raised by the officer, the applicant files a trademark reply, stating and evidencing the capability of his trademark of getting registered.  In case the trademark officer is unsatisfied with the reply filed he may call upon the owner to prove his point through further clarifications. These clarifications will be given by the applicant during the Trademark Hearing.

The notice of trademark hearing will be sent to the applicant on the service address specified by him on the trademark application filed. In case the service address mentioned on the application is of attorney then the hearing notice will be sent to his address and the applicant is required to keep a track of it.

Further, you can also check the status of application field by visiting the official website of trademark and entering his application number.  If a hearing is scheduled on the trademark application filed the status of your application will reflect show cause hearing. Open your application, check the hearing notice issued, download it and mark the hearing date.

Now it’s time to be prepared for replying during the hearing. In the hearing usually the objections stated in the trademark examination report are discussed and the applicant is required to reply to these objections only.

In order to attend a hearing, the applicant requires following documents.

Authorization letter- In order to authorize the attorney or any person for attending the hearing an authorization letter shall be given by the applicant.

Usage Affidavit- The date of usage plays a crucial role in getting your trademark registered. Thus, the applicant emphasizes the usage date of a trademark filed by filing a usage affidavit for it.  In the affidavit prepared the applicant must give the complete details about the usage of the brand name.

Additional submissions- For reference make sure to keep the short notes of the important things like case laws and examples related to your case. Also, you must carry the evidence that makes your claim strong and provesthe capability of your trademark of getting registered.

TM-16 if applicable- If the objection is raised with regard to TM-16 filed which may include the change in applicant name and address the relevant documents and TM-16 shall be filed.

It is important to keep a track of your application and attend the hearing on time in order to prevent your applications from becoming abandoned.

Author: Dushyant Sharma

Hey there, I'm Dushyant Sharma. With the extensive knowledge I've gained in past 8 years, I have been creating content on various subjects such as banking, insurance, telecom, and all the important registration and licensing processes for various companies. I'm here to help everyone with my expertise in these areas through my articles.