Perry4Law
and Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB)
have already discussed the required documents
and formalities for trademark registration in India.
The
trademark
law of India is incorporated in the Trade Marks
Act 1999
and the procedure
for registration of trademarks in India is
governed by the
same.
Once a proper trademark application is
filed, the
examination
of trademark application under the trademark law of India
begins.
In some cases, the application may
contain a
declaration claiming priority as per the Paris Convention. In such cases, it should
contain the
information pertaining to date of the earlier application, number of
earlier application, state or country in which the earlier
application was filed or where the earlier application is regional or
an international application, the office with which it was filed and
the country or countries for which it was filed.
If the number of the earlier
application is not
known to the applicant at the time of filing of the application the
applicant may furnish the same within two months from the date of
filing of application in India. The Registrar may extend the period
if he is satisfied that due to the circumstances beyond control, the
applicant could not furnish the particulars within the initial two
months period, on a request made on Form TM-56 for the purpose.
Under section 154(2) of the Trade marks
Act 1999 of
India, where a person has made an application for the registration of
the trade mark in the convention country and he makes an application
for registration of the trade mark in India within six months after
the date on which the application was made in the convention country,
the trade mark shall, if registered, under the Trade Marks Act, 1999
be registered as of the date on which the application was made in the
convention country. That date shall be deemed to be the date of
registration for the purpose of the Act. Under subsection (3) where
applications are made in two or more convention countries, the period
of six months will be reckoned from the date on which the earlier or
earliest of those applications was made.
The above period of six months which is
the
statutory requirement is to be strictly complied with for giving the
benefit of priority date. Where the application is not filed within
six months only the actual date of filing in India will be given and
no priority date will be admissible.
Where a right to priority is claimed by
reason of an
application for registration of a trade mark duly filed in a
convention country under section 154, a certificate by the Registry
or competent authority of that trade marks office shall be included
in an application for registration under sub-rule (3), (4), (6),
(7)(b), 8(b), (11), (17(b) or (18)(b) of rule 25, as the case may be,
and it shall include the particulars of the mark, the country or
countries and the date or dates of filing of application and such
other relevant particulars as may be required by the Registrar.
Unless such certificate has been filed
at the time
of the filing of the application for registration, there shall be
filed, within two months of the filing of such application certifying
or verifying to the satisfaction of the Registrar, the date of the
filing of the application, the country or countries, the
representation of the mark, and the goods or services covered by the
application.
Where a single application under
sub-section (2) of
section 18 is filed from a convention country for one or more classes
of goods or services, the applicants shall establish a sufficient
ground to the satisfaction of the Registrar for the date of filing of
application in all such classes.
