Renewal of an Expired Trademark

Trademarks don't have a validity of lifetime tenure. Hence, they are to be renewed every after 10 years as regulated by the Trademark Act 1999 of India.

Did you miss your re-registration date that has led to the expired trademark? Well, you need not to get too worked up as you still can restore your trademark. In India even though the trademark is expired one can apply for its re-registration or renewal. But then there are challenges, if somebody else has already applied for registration of the expired trademark, then the owner is not left with any choice but to file objection or file opposition against the third party.

So in case the trademark holder misses out the renewal or re-registration period then there are few consequences that the owner of trademark will face:

  • If the proprietor doesn't apply for renewal or pay the fee for renewal, then it is certain that the trademark will be removed from the register. Before taking the decision, the registrar will publish in the trademark journal with tentative reasons for the removal of the specific trademark.
  • Not renewing the trademark will lead to hampering legal rights and along with the owner it affects the people associated with the registered trademark.
  • Re-registering a trademark helps you to keep away from duplicity and also maintains its exclusive nature. So, if your trademark expires, then your brand is not safe anymore as it is open in the market and can be taken by any third party who claims it.

I am sure you are threatened by the consequences that you might have to land in if your trademark expires. However, the Trademark Act is empathetic with the owners and understanding the importance of the mark it gives you another chance wherein you can apply for restoration of trademark.

What can save your trademark after it is expired?

For renewal of the trademark after expiration the owner of the mark can file TM-10 within six months after expiration and pay a certain amount of charges for renewing the trademark. If the time-lapse of renew is also missed then, the last hope is to file TM-13 within six months to a maximum within a year after expiration to request for restoring the trademark rights. Once the application is accepted the owner also needs to advertise about the same in the trademark journal to inform about its restoration and invite the objections from the people that might tamper later on restoration & renewal. If there are no objections heard within the restricted timeframe, then it is likely that your trademark will be re-registered and included in the trademark database. It needs to be mention that the trademark is valid only for a tenure of 10 years.

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