Certification by the Registrar under Section 36D(4) – QSEK

By   March 23, 2016

The Registrar will have to certify in the prescribed manner that the particulars appearing in the international application Correspond to the particulars appearing, at the time of the certification, in the application under section 18 or the registration under section 23, and small indicate the date and number of that application or the date an number of that registration as well as the date and number of the application from which that registration resulted, as the case may be, and shall within the prescribed period, forward the international application to the International Bureau for registration, also indicating the date of the international application. The office of origin must certify the date on which it received the request to present the international application. The date is important, provided the application is received by the international registration.

Sub-section (5): For a period of five years from the date of its registration, an international registration remains dependant on the mark registered or applied for in the office of origin. If the basic registration ceases to have effect, either by cancellation voluntarily or by a decision of the office or a court within the 5 years period, the international registration will not survive. Similarly where the international registration is based on application in the office of origin, it will be cancelled if an to the extent that application is refused or withdrawn within the five year period, or it, any registration has resulted from that application, ceases to have effect within that 5 year period.

Sub-section (5) incorporates this general principle in the Madrid Protocol in so far as an application under section 18 or the registration under section 23 is concerned, filed under the Trade Marks Act, 1999.

The proviso to sub-section (5) clarifies that where an appeal is filed against the registration or an action for withdrawal of application or opposition to the application has been initiated before the expiry of five years, any consequential final decision will be deemed to have taken place before the expiry of five years of international registration.

Sub-section (6): The registrar, during the five year period beginning with the date of international registration, is therefore bound to notify the international bureau of the facts and decisions concerning the outcome of any proceedings. As already explained above, under the Madrid System an international registration remain depended on a mark registered are applied for in the office of origin, for a period of 5 years from the date of its registration. Therefore if the basic registration ceases to have effect, for any reason the international registration will no longer be protected. The responsibility is on the office of origin to notify the international bureau of facts and decisions concerning the trade mark.

Sub-section (7): The sub-section (7) stipulates that the Registrar shall inform the bureau about the current status of the basic application or basic registration for cancelling any international registration.

It is to be noted that after the expiry of five years, the international registration will become independent of the basic application or basic registration. Accordingly timely notification of international bureau becomes very significant.

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