On the 28th of July, 2016, The Ministry of Commerce and Industries has announced that the process relating to the generation and issuance of registration certificates of trademarks has been fully automated.
Therefore, form 01.08.2016 the trademark registration certificates will be generated through an automated system.
Automatic generation of trademark certificates is for the trademark applications:
- which have been published in the Trade Marks Journal Number 1720 dated 23.11.2015 and thereafter,
- where no request for amendment filed on behalf of the applicant is pending for disposal,
- where the copy of original application for registration is available in the Trade Marks Registry's electronic database,
- where no requirement (like fee, Power of Attorney, etc.) is pending for compliance on part of the applicant , and
- which have not been specifically prohibited for registration by the order of any court, IPAB or any competent authority.
The notification goes on to state that the applications that are not aforelisted will be processed by the registration wing of the examination publication registration section of the TMR Mumbai on a case to case basis in accordance with the provisions of the Tradmarks Act 1999.
In all the other cases the automatically generated trademark certificate will be transmitted to the applicant or his autorised agent vide the email address recorded with the trademark office. To this end, the applicants or authorised agents must submit their valid email id to the TMR office. This will facilitate quick transmission of the trademark certificates.
The registered trademark certificate will also be made available on the official website along with the status of the application concerned. The trademark registration certificate made available on the website may be downloaded and printed by the applicant.
The automation of the generation of the trademark registration certificates is a laudable move as it helps in reducing the time taken for the transmission of the registration certificate to the applicant. This reduces the overall time taken for the registration of a trademark.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.