Received a Trademark Examination Report? How to Respond in Delhi

An examination report from the Trademark Registry is not a rejection — it is the Registrar raising objections that must be answered before the application can proceed to publication. Many applicants panic when they see one, but a well-prepared reply resolves the large majority of objections.

Common Grounds for Objection

• Section 9 (absolute grounds) — the mark is considered descriptive, generic, or lacking distinctiveness for the goods/services applied for
• Section 11 (relative grounds) — the mark is considered similar to an existing registered or pending trademark in the same or related class
• Incorrect or incomplete specification of goods/services
• Missing Power of Attorney (Form TM-48) or incorrect applicant details

The One-Month Deadline

You have one month from the date of the examination report to file a written response. Extensions are limited and not guaranteed, so this deadline should be tracked from the day the report is issued, not from when it is noticed in the Registry's online status.

What a Strong Reply Includes

• Legal arguments distinguishing your mark from any cited conflicting marks
• Evidence of prior use, if the mark has been used in commerce before filing (invoices, packaging, advertising material, dated screenshots)
• Evidence of acquired distinctiveness, where a Section 9 objection is raised on descriptiveness grounds
• A request for a hearing, if the objection is unlikely to be resolved through written submissions alone

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline

An application that receives no response within the prescribed period is treated as abandoned, and the entire filing — including the filing date priority — is lost, requiring a fresh application (and fresh fees) to refile.