Kerala High Court Orders Registrar To Decide Trademark Applications Pending For Over A Decade In Three Months

The Kerala High Court has directed the Registrar of Trademarks to consider and pass orders on two trademark registration applications that have remained pending since 2012 and 2014, directing that a decision be taken within three months.

Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas observed that the applications filed by Nisar Ali Pari, proprietor of Bella Bathware, had remained undisposed of despite the passage of more than a decade.

"Despite the lapse of more than a decade, the applications have not been disposed of, which is quite unfortunate.", the court observed. 

Pari applied for registration of the trademarks on June 7, 2012 and April 22, 2014. The applications were accepted by the Examiner of Trade Marks and the Senior Examiner of Trade Marks on April 10, 2018. Opposition notices were issued on July 4, 2018, and evidence was subsequently filed in both opposition proceedings.

The Central Government Counsel submitted that the applications could not be disposed of because of the large volume of matters pending consideration, while acknowledging that evidence had already been taken.

The court rejected the explanation for the delay.

"even if a large number of applications are pending, still, 14 years and 12 years are too long a period to dispose of an application for registration of a trade mark.", the court noted.

The court directed the Registrar of Trademarks to consider and pass appropriate orders on both applications "as expeditiously as possible, at any rate, within an outer period of three months" from the date of receipt of a copy of the judgment. The writ petition was disposed of accordingly.