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Trademark Application after being filed goes through manifold phases. The particular status “marked for exam” in an application signifies that it is under the examination of the Trademark Officer and will shortly be examined. The definite term “examination” means that a particular Trademark will be examined to observe if it complies with and overcomes the objections expressed in the Indian Trademark Act, 1999 and after which it will proceed to advertisement and finally for registration.

The Trademark Officer is obligated to inspect the application and assess its validity under the provisions of Trademark Law.

Step-By-Step Examination Of Trademark Application

1. Firstly, the basic documents are checked by the Officer like whether the application is filed in a proper manner and a prescribed fee has been paid by the Applicant.
2. The Trademark Application is examined by keeping in mind the following criteria-:

• The mark must be covered under the correct goods and services.
• The format of the application form must be correct.
• The mark should go well with all the requirements mentioned in the Trademark Act, 1999.

3. After being satisfied by the details and documents, the Examiner analyzes the mark as per its scope of registration.
4.  If he comes across any reason that renders the mark incapable of being registered under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 then the objections are raised along with the relevant provisions mentioned in the Trademark Examination Report and is shared to the Applicant.

Time Span For Trademark Examination

The Trademark Office does not prescribe any specific or definite time period for such examination. Once the application has been marked for exam, the Applicant has to wait for the Examination Report. When such a report is generated it is sent to the Applicant via email and also gets published on the IP India website.

The consolidated Examination Report issued by the Examiner will either specify the objections (if any) or will provide the acceptance to the application. The Search Report is attached with the Examination Report which lists the Trademarks in conflict.

Objections Raised In The Examination Report

There are certain grounds on which the objections can be raised by the examiner and those are as follows:-

• As per Section 11 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, an applied Trademark must not be similar to the existing Trademark and if the Examiner finds the similarity between two then he/she can refuse its registration on these grounds to avoid confusion. The main motive behind this ground is to safeguard the Trademark owner’s right
• As per Section 9 of the Act, an applied mark should be different from the existing Trademarks and must not hurt the public sentiments or hold obscene content. If the examiner finds that the application does not comply with Section 9 of the Act then he/she can refuse its registration.
• A Trademark Application can be rejected if the applicant fails to comply with the legal requirements that are either laid down by the Trademark Office or are mentioned in the Trademark Law.
• An objection can be raised by an examiner if he/she finds that the applied mark does not fall under the adequate class relating to the goods and services provided by it. 

A reply to the Examination Report must be given within 30 days by the applicant or by the person authorized by the applicant. A failure to it may lead to cancellation of an application. Also the reply can be submitted online along with necessary forms or documents explaining the validity of the Trademark claim by the applicant.

Conclusion 

It is best suited for all the parties involved in the Trademark Registration process to remain up-to-date with the Trademark’s Office examination process and procedure in order to maximize their probability of obtaining constructive outcomes.

For more information on Trademark, contact us on [email protected].