Every trademark right in India passes through a single institutional gateway: the Trade Marks Registry. It is the administrative body that receives applications, conducts examination, publishes marks for opposition, grants registration, maintains the official register, and adjudicates a wide range of inter partes proceedings. Without the Registry, the statutory scheme of trademark protection under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 would have no operational existence. An understanding of how the Registry is constituted, how its offices are distributed across the country, how jurisdiction is allocated between them, and what functions each performs is therefore indispensable for anyone seeking to acquire, maintain, or enforce trademark rights in India.
The Trade Marks Registry was established in India in 1940 under the Trade Marks Act, 1940 – the country’s first dedicated trademark statute. It has continued in unbroken operation since then, absorbing the jurisdiction of its predecessor body under the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958, and functioning today under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 (Act No. 47 of 1999) and the Trade Marks Rules, 2017. Its institutional history of over eight decades makes it one of the longest-standing intellectual property administrative bodies in the country.
The Statutory Foundation – Sections 3, 5, and 6 of the Act
The Registrar of Trade Marks – Section 3
Section 3 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 provides for the appointment of the Registrar of Trade Marks. The Central Government appoints a person to be known as the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, who shall be the Registrar of Trade Marks for the purposes of the Act. The Central Government may also appoint such other officers as it thinks fit for the purpose of discharging, under the control and supervision of the Registrar, such functions of the Registrar as the Registrar may authorise them to discharge.
The Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM) is therefore simultaneously the apex officer of three distinct intellectual property registries – the Patent Office, the Designs Registry, and the Trade Marks Registry. The CGPDTM functions under the administrative supervision of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), which operates under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. The head office of the CGPDTM is located in Mumbai, which is also the head office of the Trade Marks Registry.
The officers designated to assist the Registrar in the functioning of the Trade Marks Registry include Senior Joint Registrar of Trade Marks, Geographical Indications and Copyright; Joint Registrar of Trade Marks, Geographical Indications and Copyright; Deputy Registrar of Trade Marks, Geographical Indications and Copyright; Assistant Registrar of Trade Marks, Geographical Indications and Copyright; and Examiner of Trade Marks and Geographical Indications. Each of these officers exercises delegated functions under the overall control and supervision of the Registrar.
The Trade Marks Registry and Its Offices – Section 5
Section 5(1) of the Act provides that for the purposes of the Act there shall be a Trade Marks Registry, and that the Trade Marks Registry established under the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 shall be the Trade Marks Registry under the 1999 Act. This provision ensures continuity – the institutional identity and the accumulated records of the Registry under the 1958 Act were carried forward without disruption into the new statutory regime.
Section 5(2) provides that the head office of the Trade Marks Registry shall be at such place as the Central Government may specify, and that for the purpose of facilitating the registration of trademarks, there may be established at such places as the Central Government thinks fit branch offices of the Trade Marks Registry. The head office is located in Mumbai, at Bouddhik Sampada Bhawan, S.M. Road, Antop Hill, Mumbai – 400 037.
Section 5(3) empowers the Central Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, to define the territorial limits within which an office of the Trade Marks Registry may exercise its functions. This is the source of the territorial jurisdiction framework that governs which Registry office an applicant must approach.
Section 5(4) provides that there shall be a seal of the Trade Marks Registry – a formal requirement that underscores the Registry’s character as a statutory body whose official acts carry legal effect.
The Register of Trade Marks – Section 6
Section 6(1) provides that for the purposes of the Act a record called the Register of Trade Marks shall be kept at the head office of the Trade Marks Registry. This register contains all registered trademarks with the names, addresses, and descriptions of the proprietors; the goods or services in respect of which each mark is registered; the date of registration and of each subsequent renewal; conditions, limitations, and disclaimers subject to which the mark is registered; and such other matters as may be prescribed. Section 6(5) provides that the register shall be kept under the control and management of the Registrar.
Section 6(6) imposes an important decentralization requirement: there shall be kept at each branch office of the Trade Marks Registry a copy of the register and such other documents as the Central Government may direct. This ensures that the full records of the trademark system are not confined to Mumbai alone but are accessible across all five offices.
The register is maintained in electronic form and is accessible to the public through the official IP India website. Any person may search the register online without charge, and formal certified copies of entries in the register may be obtained by application to the Registrar.
Section 6(7) provides that the Register of Trade Marks – both Part A and Part B – that existed at the commencement of the 1999 Act shall be incorporated in and form part of the register under the Act. This ensured that all marks registered under the two-tier system of the 1958 Act (which classified marks as either Part A or Part B based on their level of distinctiveness) were absorbed into the unified register of the 1999 Act without the need for re-registration.
Territorial Jurisdiction – The Five Offices
The Trade Marks Registry currently operates through five offices: one head office and four branch offices. The territorial jurisdiction of each office is defined by notification of the Central Government under Section 5(3) of the Act and is implemented through the Trade Marks Rules, 2017. An application for registration of a trademark shall be filed at the office of the Trade Marks Registry within whose territorial limits the principal place of business of the applicant in India is situated. If the applicant does not carry on business in India, the application shall be filed at the office within whose territorial limits the address for service in India as disclosed in the application is situate.
Mumbai (Head Office) – Bouddhik Sampada Bhawan, S.M. Road, Antop Hill, Mumbai – 400 037. The Mumbai office has jurisdiction over applications from the States of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Goa.
Delhi (Branch Office) – Bouddhik Sampada Bhawan, Plot No. 32, Sector 14, Dwarka, New Delhi – 110 078. The Delhi office has jurisdiction over applications from the States of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and the Union Territory of Delhi and Chandigarh.
Kolkata (Branch Office) – Nizam Palace, 2nd M.S.O. Building, 7th Floor, 234/4, A.J.C. Bose Road, Kolkata – 700 020. The Kolkata office has jurisdiction over applications from the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tripura, Jharkhand and Nagaland, and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Chennai (Branch Office) – G.S.T. Road, Guindy, Chennai – 600 032. The Chennai office has jurisdiction over applications from the States of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, and the Union Territories of Pondicherry and Lakshadweep.
Ahmedabad (Branch Office) – Bouddhik Sampada Bhawan, Near Chanakyapuri Overbridge, Besides AMC City Civic Centre, Ghatlodia, Ahmedabad – 380 061. The Ahmedabad office has jurisdiction over applications from the State of Gujarat and Rajasthan and the Union Territories of Daman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The Ahmedabad office was established as an independent branch office to handle trademark filings from Gujarat and Rajasthan, which had previously been within the jurisdiction of the Mumbai head office.
The territorial jurisdiction rule is strictly applied. A trademark application will not be accepted at an office other than the one with jurisdiction over the applicant’s principal place of business. For foreign applicants – persons or entities without a principal place of business or residence in India – the appropriate office is determined by the location of their appointed trademark agent or attorney in India. The jurisdiction of the office within whose territorial limits the agent operates then becomes the appropriate office for the foreign applicant’s proceedings.
The same territorial jurisdiction rule applies not only to registration applications under Section 18, but also to notices of opposition under Section 21, applications for removal on grounds of non-use under Section 47, and applications for rectification or cancellation under Section 57. The appropriate office for each of these proceedings is the office within whose territorial limits the trademark in question is on the register, or the office within whose territorial limits the applicant’s principal place of business is situate, as the case may be under the Trade Marks Rules, 2017.
The Classification of Goods and Services – Sections 7 and 8
Section 7(1) of the Act requires the Registrar to classify goods and services, as far as may be, in accordance with the International Classification of Goods and Services established by the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (the Nice Classification). India follows the Nice Classification, which currently comprises forty-five classes – thirty-four classes for goods (Classes 1 to 34) and eleven classes for services (Classes 35 to 45).
Section 7(2) provides that any question arising as to the class within which any goods or services fall shall be determined by the Registrar, and the Registrar’s decision shall be final.
Section 8 empowers the Registrar to publish an alphabetical index of the classification of goods and services. The Nice Classification and the IP India classification database are accessible on the official website, enabling applicants to identify the correct class for their goods or services before filing.
Class determination is a matter of practical importance because a trademark registration extends only to the goods and services specified in the application and covered by the applicable class. An applicant wishing to protect a mark across multiple categories – for example, both clothing (Class 25) and retail services (Class 35) – must file separate applications for each class, with separate fees.
Core Functions of the Registry
Examination of Applications – Sections 9, 11, 18 and 19
The receipt and examination of applications for trademark registration is the Registry’s primary function. Under Section 18, any person claiming to be the proprietor of a trademark used or proposed to be used by them may apply in writing to the Registrar for registration. The application must be made in the prescribed form (Form TM-A), accompanied by the prescribed fee, and must specify the mark applied for, the class of goods or services, and the address for service in India.
Upon receipt, the application undergoes examination in two stages. The first is examination on absolute grounds under Section 9 – the Registrar examines whether the mark is capable of distinguishing the applicant’s goods or services from those of others; whether it consists exclusively of marks or indications that are customary in trade; whether it is descriptive, deceptive, or contrary to morality or public order; and whether it falls within any of the other categories of absolute prohibition listed in Section 9.
The second is examination on relative grounds under Section 11 – the Registrar conducts a search of the register for marks that are identical or deceptively similar to the applied-for mark in respect of the same or similar goods or services, and assesses whether the use of the applied-for mark in India would be likely to cause confusion on the part of the public.
If objections are raised, the Examiner issues a First Examination Report (FER) setting out the grounds of objection and the similar marks cited. The applicant has thirty days from the date of the FER to file a written response. The Registrar may thereafter call for a hearing at which the applicant may make oral submissions. Following the hearing, the Registrar makes an order accepting or refusing the application.
Section 19 provides that the Registrar may refuse an application or require it to be amended, modified, or accepted subject to conditions. Section 22 empowers the Registrar to permit correction of errors in or amendment of the application on such terms as it thinks just, at any time before or after acceptance.
Acceptance and Advertisement – Section 20
When an application has been accepted – whether absolutely or conditionally – the Registrar is required under Section 20 to advertise the application in the Trade Marks Journal before the mark is registered. The Trade Marks Journal is the official publication of the Registry, published periodically, in which all accepted trademark applications are advertised to invite opposition from the public.
Advertisement is a critical step in the registration process. It constitutes constructive notice to the public that the applicant is seeking exclusive rights in the advertised mark. It is from the date of advertisement that the statutory opposition period begins to run.
Opposition Proceedings – Section 21
Section 21(1) of the Act provides that any person may, within four months from the date of the advertisement of an application in the Trade Marks Journal, give notice to the Registrar of opposition to the registration. This four-month window is absolute – the Trade Marks Rules, 2017 do not provide for extension of time for filing a notice of opposition.
The notice of opposition must be given in the prescribed form (Form TM-O) and must set out the grounds of opposition. The Registrar then serves a copy of the notice on the applicant, who has two months from the date of service to file a counter-statement. If the counter-statement is not filed within this period, the application is deemed to have been abandoned.
Once both the notice of opposition and the counter-statement have been filed, both parties are directed to file their evidence. The opponent files their evidence first, followed by the applicant. The Registrar may thereafter hold a hearing at which both parties may present oral arguments. Following the hearing, the Registrar decides whether the opposition shall be sustained or dismissed.
Under Section 21(5), the Registrar, after hearing the parties and considering the evidence, decides whether and subject to what conditions or limitations the registration is to be permitted. The Registrar may take into account a ground of objection whether or not it was relied upon by the opponent. Following the abolition of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) by the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, which came into force on 4 April 2021, decisions of the Registrar in opposition proceedings are now appealable to the High Court.
Registration and Certificate – Section 23
Section 23(1) provides that, subject to the provisions of Section 19, when an application for registration has been accepted and has either not been opposed within the four-month period, or has been opposed and the opposition has been dismissed, the Registrar shall, unless the Central Government otherwise directs, register the trademark within eighteen months of the filing of the application. The trademark when registered shall be registered as of the date of the making of the application, which date shall be deemed for the purposes of the Act to be the date of registration.
Upon registration, the Registrar issues a certificate of registration in the prescribed form under Section 23(2). This certificate constitutes prima facie evidence of the validity of the original registration and of all subsequent assignments and transmissions of the trademark, by virtue of Section 31 of the Act. The certificate of registration is the document that, as a practical matter, is relied upon in infringement proceedings as proof of the registered proprietor’s title.
Renewal and Restoration – Section 25
The term of a registered trademark under Section 25(1) is ten years from the date of registration. A trademark may be renewed indefinitely for further periods of ten years each upon payment of the prescribed renewal fee. The Registrar is required to send notice of the approaching expiry of registration to the registered proprietor before the date of expiry.
Section 25(3) provides that if a trademark is not renewed – that is, if the renewal fee is not paid before expiry – the Registrar may remove the trademark from the register. However, Section 25(4) and (5) provide a mechanism for restoration: a trademark that has been removed for non-renewal may be restored and renewed if an application is made in the prescribed form and fee within one year from the date of expiry of the last registration. The Registrar may impose such conditions as it thinks fit upon restoration.
Non-Use Cancellation – Section 47
Section 47 of the Act empowers any person aggrieved to apply to the Registrar for removal of a trademark from the register on the ground of non-use. A trademark may be removed under Section 47 if up to one month before the date of the application, a continuous period of five years and three months has elapsed from the date of registration during which the trademark was not used in relation to the registered goods or services.
A registered trademark may also be removed on the ground that the trademark was registered without any bona fide intention to use it, and there has in fact been no bona fide use of it from the date of registration up to the date one month before the date of the application. The non-use cancellation mechanism is an important tool for clearing the register of defunct marks that have ceased to function as active identifiers of commercial origin, and for freeing up marks that others wish to legitimately adopt.
Non-use cancellation applications are filed before the Registrar, who acts as the first forum for hearing and determining such applications. Following the abolition of IPAB, decisions of the Registrar in Section 47 proceedings are now subject to appeal to the High Court.
Rectification and Cancellation – Section 57
Section 57 is the provision that empowers an aggrieved person to seek rectification or cancellation of a trademark registration. An entry made in the register without sufficient cause, an entry wrongly remaining on the register, or an error or defect in any entry in the register may be the subject of a rectification application.
Under Section 57(1), the Registrar may, on the application of any person aggrieved, order the making, expunging, or varying of any entry in the register. Under Section 57(2), the High Court has concurrent jurisdiction with the Registrar to hear rectification applications. However, where a rectification application has been filed before the Registrar and no suit for infringement has been instituted, the matter proceeds before the Registrar. Where an infringement suit is pending before a court, the rectification petition is ordinarily filed before the High Court.
Following the abolition of IPAB by the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, the jurisdiction to hear rectification and cancellation applications that was previously exercised by the IPAB – which had been established under the now-deleted Sections 83 to 100 of the Act – has reverted to the High Courts. The five High Courts with territorial jurisdiction over the five offices of the Trade Marks Registry are the High Courts of Bombay (Mumbai), Delhi, Calcutta (Kolkata), Madras (Chennai), and Gujarat (Ahmedabad). The question of which High Court has jurisdiction to hear a rectification petition – whether it is the court within whose jurisdiction the Registry office where the mark is registered is located, or whether it may also be a court within whose jurisdiction the cause of action arose – has been the subject of ongoing litigation and is presently being examined by the Delhi High Court in a larger bench reference.
The Madrid Protocol – Section 36A to 36G
India acceded to the Madrid Protocol (the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks) with effect from 8 July 2013. The Madrid Protocol is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and provides a system for the international registration of trademarks through a single application, enabling protection in multiple contracting parties with a single filing in one language and the payment of a single set of fees.
Sections 36A to 36G of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, inserted by the Trade Marks (Amendment) Act, 2010, provide the domestic legislative framework for India’s participation in the Madrid system. Section 36C specifically provides that the Trade Marks Registry shall deal with international applications – both as an office of origin (receiving and transmitting applications from Indian applicants seeking international protection) and as the designated office (receiving and processing international registrations in which India has been designated for protection).
Under the Madrid Protocol, an Indian trademark owner who has filed a basic application or obtained a basic registration in India may file an international application through the Trade Marks Registry (as the office of origin), designating the contracting parties in which protection is sought. The Registry certifies the application and transmits it to the WIPO International Bureau in Geneva, which records the international registration. Individual designated offices – including those of the contracting parties so designated – are then responsible for examining the application under their domestic law and either extending or refusing protection.
The Madrid Protocol has significantly expanded the Registry’s administrative role, requiring it to maintain records of outgoing international applications, respond to WIPO notifications, and examine incoming designations of India within eighteen months of the relevant notification from the International Bureau.
Powers and Discretionary Functions of the Registrar
Beyond its adjudicative functions, the Registrar exercises a range of administrative and quasi-judicial powers under the Act.
Section 127 sets out the general powers of the Registrar, including the power to summon and enforce attendance of witnesses and to compel the production of documents; to receive evidence on affidavit; to issue commissions for examination of witnesses; and to award costs. These powers give the Registrar the tools of an adjudicatory tribunal for the purpose of conducting the various proceedings before it.
Section 128 requires the Registrar to exercise any discretionary power vested in it by the Act after giving the applicant or registered proprietor an opportunity to be heard. This requirement of a hearing before the exercise of an adverse discretion is a fundamental safeguard of procedural fairness.
Section 129 governs evidence before the Registrar. Except where the Rules otherwise provide, evidence must be given by affidavit. Oral evidence is permitted only at the discretion of the Registrar where it is necessary or expedient in the interests of justice.
Section 133 empowers the Registrar to advise any person who proposes to apply for registration of a trademark as to whether the trademark appears to be prima facie distinctive and capable of registration. This preliminary advice function – though not binding – is a useful practical mechanism enabling applicants to obtain an informal assessment before committing to the expense of a full application.
Section 148 requires the Registrar to make available to the public all documents and records maintained under the Act, subject to prescribed conditions. The provision for public access is fundamental to the register’s function as a notice system: it ensures that interested parties – whether traders conducting clearance searches or members of the public seeking to identify the source of goods – can access the records of all registered trademarks.
The Role of Trademark Agents and Attorneys
Under Section 145 of the Act, the Registrar may refuse to recognise as agent in any proceeding before it any person who has been convicted of an offence under the Act or who has been guilty of misconduct in their capacity as an agent. The Trade Marks Rules, 2017 set out the conditions under which a person may represent others before the Registry as a trademark agent or attorney.
In practice, while applicants may file trademark applications and conduct Registry proceedings personally, the complexity of the examination, opposition, and rectification processes – and the procedural requirements of the Rules – mean that most applicants, particularly corporate entities and foreign applicants, engage registered trademark agents or attorneys to conduct proceedings on their behalf.
For foreign applicants, the appointment of an agent in India is mandatory. The address for service in India provided by the foreign applicant – which is the address of their appointed agent – also determines which Registry office has territorial jurisdiction over their application, as described above.
Conclusion
The Trade Marks Registry is far more than a filing office. It is the institutional foundation upon which the entire system of trademark registration, maintenance, enforcement, and inter partes adjudication in India is built. Its five offices, distributed across the country and governing precisely delineated territorial jurisdictions, ensure that trademark applicants and proprietors across India – from Gujarat to the North-East, from the Deccan to the Himalayas – have accessible and consistent access to the statutory machinery for trademark protection.
The Registrar, empowered by a broad range of quasi-judicial, administrative, and discretionary powers under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, occupies the central administrative and adjudicative position in the trademark system. From examination and opposition through registration and renewal to rectification and non-use cancellation, every stage of a trademark’s life cycle is administered, overseen, and recorded by the Registry. The abolition of the IPAB by the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 has reinforced the Registry’s first-instance adjudicative role, with the High Courts now serving as the appellate forum for all matters that were previously decided by the IPAB.
For practitioners, brand owners, and legal professionals engaged with Indian trademark law, a thorough understanding of the Registry’s structure, jurisdiction, and functions is the essential starting point for effective and timely engagement with the trademark system.
References
- The Trade Marks Act, 1999 (Act No. 47 of 1999) – https://ipindia.gov.in
- The Trade Marks Rules, 2017 – https://ipindia.gov.in/Trademarks/TM_Rules_2017
- The Trade Marks (Amendment) Act, 2010 (Act No. 40 of 2010) – Madrid Protocol provisions
- The Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Act, 2021 (Act No. 33 of 2021)
- Madrid Protocol (Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, 1989) – https://www.wipo.int/madrid/en/
- Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks – https://www.wipo.int/nice/en/
- TRIPS Agreement, Annex 1C – https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/27-trips.pdf
- IP India Official Website – https://ipindia.gov.in/trademarks/trademarks
- Manual of Trade Marks Practice and Procedure – https://ipindia.gov.in
- National IPR Policy, 2016 – https://dpiit.gov.in
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