A trademark owner must apply for trademark registration to the Registrar of Trademarks. The Registrar will scrutinise the trademark application and then publish it in the trademark journal India. The Registrar will publish the trademark application containing the details of the proposed trademark or service mark in the trademark journal.
The journal trademark plays a significant role since the public can apply for opposition to trademark registration when it is published in the journal. Further, a trademark owner can also know about the renewal of a trademark registration certificate from the trademark journal.
All registered trademark owners should also check the trademark journal for any potential overlapping trademarks with their registered trademark. When they check the trademark journal, it will prevent infringement and brand dilution of the registered trademark.
The trademark journal is published every Monday by the Head Office of the Trademark Registry. It can also be accessed for free online from the IP India website. The trademark journals contain the following information:
Trademark journal publication is a significant step in the registration of a trademark. It comes after the stage of acceptance of the trademark application by the Registrar. When the trademark examiner does not object to a trademark application in the examination report, the trademark is published in the trademark journal. When there is no objection or the trademark owner has overcome the objection, the Registrar will advertise the trademark in the trademark journal.
However, an advertisement or publication of a trademark in the trademark journal will not result in trademark registration. The aim of publication of a trademark application in the trademark journal is to give the public a chance to raise a trademark opposition. The publication of a trademark is meant to invite public comments and opposition from the public and trademark owners in India.
A trademark application published in the trademark journal will contain the following details relating to the trademark:
A trademark published in the trademark journal should be opposed within three months (or four months in some cases) from the date of publication or re-advertisement. Any person can raise opposition to the trademark application by giving a notice of opposition to the Registrar. When no objection is raised for a trademark published in the trademark journal and the time for raising an opposition has expired, the Registrar will proceed to register the trademark and grant the registration certificate.
When a person raises opposition, the Registrar will hear such opposition and counter-statement filed by the trademark owner and decide whether to accept or reject the registration of the published trademark. After the opposition proceedings, if the Registrar decides to accept the trademark registration, he/she will grant the registration to the trademark owner.
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