‘Brief Order’ Of Advertisement Before Acceptance Of Mark Must Be Available On Trade Mark Registry’s Portal For Litigants’ Reference: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has observed that a brief order which has to be passed at the time of directing advertisement before acceptance of a mark should be made available on the online portal of the Trade Marks Registry for reference of the litigants.

Justice Prathiba M Singh said that in case such a brief order is not uploaded for all the trademark applications, a copy of the same should still be made available upon litigant’s request via email.

The court took note of two judgments passed by coordinate benches which held that a brief order should be passed at the time of acceptance or rejection of a mark.

“It is doubtful whether such an order can be called as an internal note sheet. Ordinarily, a brief order should be available on the online portal of the Trade Mark Registry for litigants’ reference. However, if the same is not uploaded for all applications, a copy of the brief order should still be made available upon request via email. The need for filing an application under the RTI Act, 2005 appears to be unnecessarily onerous,” the court said.

Justice Singh was dealing with a plea moved by an entity, Laxmi Kohlu Ghar, seeking direction on the Trade Mark Registry in relation to prosecution of its trade mark applications and compliance of directions issued by the Court.

It was the entity’s grievance that the reasons for the orders passed by the Trade Mark Office, whether accepting or directing the advertisement of a mark, are not made publicly available.

The Trade Mark Registry took a stand that the reasons for accepting or directing the advertisement of a mark under Section 20 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, are recorded in an internal note sheet maintained by the Registry, which may be given upon filing of an RTI application by the applicant or any other concerned party.

However, Justice Singh observed that need for filing an application under the RTI Act appeared to be “unnecessarily onerous.”

As the counsel appearing for the Central Government sought time seek instructions in the matter, the court listed the matter for further submissions on January 25, 2024.

Title: LAXMI KOHLU GHAR THROUGH ITS PARTNER SH ARUN KUMAR v. CONTROLLER GENERAL OF PATENTS DESIGNS AND TRADE MARKS AND REGISTRAR OF TRADE MARKS & ORS.

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Del) 1169

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