Examination of application is done by the examiners of TM and if found appropriate the application is advertised in trademark journal. However, the application may be processed as objected either under absolute grounds for refusal and/or relative grounds for refusal as prescribed in The Trademarks Act, 1999. And an examination report is issued accordingly. These objections must be replied by the applicant within 1 month from the date of receipt of the examination report. This reply is generally known as trademark examination reply .

The trademark examination reply must include:

1) An answer to the objections raised.

2) Relevant case laws or precedents of the trade mark office and

3) Supporting documents to prove inherent or acquired distinctiveness.

4) An declaration of facts of Usage along with supporting documents could also be filed along with the reply to the examination report which shows that the trademark has acquired distinctiveness and is being associated with the goods/services of the applicant due to its prolonged usage.

Filing of a correct and specific reply is pertinent step to secure trademark registration in India.

What to do in case i have missed my trademark examination reply deadline?

Your deadline is calculated from actual receipt of the examination report. Hence in case the report, for example was issued on 12 March 2017 but is dispatched and received on 17 May 2017. The deadline to file the objection reply will be 17 June 2017 that is the 1 month from the date of receipt of the report.

Hearing

If the examiner is dissatisfied with the response, a hearing will be fixed for the applicant (or representative) to make submissions in person before the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks. If the examiner is satisfied with the submissions made at the hearing, he or she will order publication of the application in the Official Trademarks Journal, published weekly.

Publication

Once a Trademark application is accepted or all objections are being removed, it gets published in the Trademark Journal.

Opposition

Any party can oppose a published trademark application, using a prescribed form with the applicable fees.