What Happens if I Don’t Use My Trademark?

 

Someone else might use your trademark if you don't. Take a close look at this page to learn more about trademark registration online.

 

Businesses could decide not to utilise their trademarks for a variety of reasons. 

 

Perhaps the business is just starting out and lacks the funding necessary to run a marketing campaign. Or perhaps the owner of the brand is concerned that using the trademark will confine them to a certain market niche.

 

Whatever the motivation, it is critical to keep in mind that trademarks are a crucial commercial asset. They risk being permanently lost if not used.

 

You come across terms like "logo," "business name," and "registration." 

 

Do you understand how it is handled and how it relates to the trademark?

 

Let's first define a trademark registration and explain why we require one.

 

Yes, you have heard of a trademark. However, one could not aware of its advantages and the reasons one should think about trademarking. How will it be helpful, and how do we begin?

 

 

What is a Trademark?

 

A distinctive name or symbol registered under the appropriate name expresses your personality and the nature of your firm. 

 

A name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, image, or a combination of these things can all be considered trademarks. 

 

A trademark identifies the company that owns a particular brand of good or service. 

 

The Nike swoosh, for instance, is a registered trademark that denotes the brand's goods. Trademarks must be registered with the Patent and Trademark Office in order to be able to be protected.

 

 

Trademark Registration 

 

One can register their trademark logo, protect their company, and prevent others from exploiting it under the Trade Mark Act, of 1999. 

 

Your intellectual property is legally yours thanks to its registration. It gives you the sole right to utilise the goods and services. 

 

The misuse of the brand identification or logo would be a criminal violation.

 

 

Non-use Cancellation

Once a trademark has been registered, it must be used in commerce honestly and in relation to the products and services for which it has been designated. 

 

The trademark may be revoked and abandoned if it is not used. In accordance with Section 47 of the Trade Marks Act of 1999, a mark may be deleted from the register if it is not in use.

 

A mark may be eliminated in accordance with the Section for one of two reasons:

 

• Without the applicant's genuine intent to use it, the trademark must not have been registered. Prior to the removal request, the mark had not been used for at least three months.
• Before using this part, the mark must have been registered for at least five years without being utilised.

 

The following prerequisites must be satisfied before the registrar can cancel a registered trademark:

 

• A person who has been wronged must submit the application.
• Prior to filing, the owner must have held off on using the trademark for at least five years and one month.
• There won't be any extraordinary situations that affect the owner's use of the trademark during this time.

 

The first two must be established by the petitioner, and the third must be ensured by the proprietor.

 

Registration Without Bonafide Intention to Use

 

It is typical to request registration for all or a selection of classes, even if they are unnecessary. 

 

Defensive registration is the name given to this one. 

 

In order to stop others from registering the trademark, a trademark owner who has no genuine intention of using the trademark in some classes continues to register it in all or some classes.

 

This kind of registration may be cancelled in accordance with Section 47 of the Act.

 

 

Non-Use for Five Years & Three Months

 

Assume that five years after registration, the brand has not been used in the registered class. 

 

Registration is considered to be such if it is discovered that it has not been utilised within three months of the filing date. 

 

It is possible to delete trademarks from trademark registration. The day the registration certificate was issued counts as the registration date for this section.

 

 

An Exception Under Special Circumstances

 

In some cases, the owner's failure to use the mark is justifiable if it prevents usage because of events outside of their control. 

 

Such circumstances include import/export restrictions and supernatural occurrences.

 

According to the ruling in M J Exports Pvt. Ltd. Bombay vs. Sunkist Growers, non-use resulting from exceptional circumstances, such as the import policy, import control, and tariff duty of the Government of India, which were out of the proprietor's control, would not result in cancellation for non-use.

 

 

What Is Abandonment of a Trademark?

 

Simply put, trademark abandonment may result if the required steps are not followed to protect your registered property. 

 

Other scenarios in which a trademark expires include:

 

• Delay in renewing a trademark - A registered trademark is only good for 10 years before it needs to be renewed. When a trademark is not renewed, even after the grace period of one year following the date of expiration, it becomes "abandoned."
• Delay in replying to trademark opposition - Within three months of the date the journal of trademarks was published, anybody may object to a trademark application that has been published there. The trademark is deemed "dead" if the owner does not respond to this opposition within two months or does not show up for the hearing.
• Delay in replying to examination report - Following the submission of a trademark application, the examiner looks for any errors and issues an examination report that includes any objections. The trademark status goes to "dead" if the owner does not reply to this exam report within 30 days or does not show up for a hearing.
• The mark may be regarded as too common to be recognised as a trademark if it becomes too generic or loses its distinctiveness.

 

Re-registration or restoration of a trademark that has expired is permitted under the Indian Trade Marks Act of 1999. 

 

A dead or abandoned trademark can now be registered in just three easy steps of trademark registration online.