The Trade Marks Act, 1999 provides mechanisms to cancel, vary, or rectify entries in the Register of Trade Marks if they are wrongly made or wrongly remaining on the register.
To safeguard the integrity of the marketplace and protect consumers, the Trade Marks Act, 1999 imposes specific restrictions under Sections 40 and 41, read with Rule 83 of the Trade Marks Rules.
When an application for trademark registration is opposed under Section 21 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, the Applicant must file a Counter-Statement to defend their rights and keep the application alive.
Instead, the application is subjected to substantive examination by the Trade Marks Registry under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and Trade Marks Rules, 2017 (as amended up to 2024).