To tackle the growing concerns of Covid-19 pandemic, the Trademarks Registry (TMR) had suspended all show-cause hearings in trademark applications since March this year. With many Courts, Tribunals and Intellectual Property Appellate Board taking up urgent/pending cases through video conferencing, TMR has geared up and has now decided to resume hearings in those ‘pending for acceptance’ cases through video conferencing. To facilitate the scheduling of such hearings, TMR is seeking the consent of the applicant or their authorized agent/s by September 5, 2020 to a dedicated email address as designated by the TMR for this purpose. The public Notice dated August 26, 2020 is also shared below and you may click here to know more of the notification.
In the application matters where no consent is received by the TMR before the stated timeline, such applications will be put on hold and listed for hearings as and when physical hearings resume.
This is much welcome step by the TMO which will ease off the pendency figures of the pre-acceptance cases, expedite the disposal rate and bring much relief to the stakeholders.