INDIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Safir Anand and Twinky Rampal, Anand and Anand Advocates
Grounds for Cancellation of Copyright Registration A copyright registration can be challenged or can - celled if it was obtained through fraud or misrepre - sentation. Time limitations The law does not specify a strict time limit for chal - lenging copyright registration. However, general prin - ciples of limitation laws in India may apply, which could restrict challenges to within three years from the date when the fraud or misrepresentation was discovered. 5.2 Legal Grounds for Filing an Opposition or Cancellation There are no specified grounds of opposition under the statutory law, but an opposition is broadly based on absolute or relative grounds as stated under the Trade Marks Act 1999. Besides this, an opponent could also raise objection with regard to the propri - etorship of the trade mark opposed, prohibitions con - tained in Section 13, absence of consent in writing in Section 14, etc. 5.3 Ability to File an Opposition or Revocation/Cancellation Filing of Opposition Any person may give a notice of opposition to the registration of a trade mark, regardless of whether the opponent has any commercial or personal interest in the matter or is a prior registered trade mark owner. The question of bona fides of the opponent does not arise. The prescribed official government fee to file an opposition against any advertised mark is USD40, and attorneys’ fees are USD885. Revocation/Cancellation Proceeding Any aggrieved person may make an application before the TMO or the Intellectual Property Division for removal of a registered trade mark or for cancelling the registration of the trade mark and for rectification of the register, as such. Persons aggrieved are generally persons who are in some way or another substantially interested in having the mark removed from the register, or persons who would be substantially damaged if the mark remained on the register, perhaps as it would affect their own
Once an opposition is filed, the applicant and the opposing party can enter into negotiations to reach an amicable resolution. This informal “cooling-off period” is not explicitly pre - scribed under the Trade Marks Act 1999, but parties often mutually agree to request an adjournment of proceedings to facilitate negotiations. • During this time, both parties may request the Reg - istrar of Trade Marks to suspend the proceedings temporarily. • This informal “cooling-off period” is not explicitly prescribed under the Trade Marks Act 1999, but parties often mutually agree to request an adjourn - ment of proceedings to facilitate negotiations. If an amicable resolution is reached, the opponent can withdraw its opposition by filing an appropriate appli - cation before the Registrar of Trade Marks. Under the Trade Marks Act 1999, there are statutory limitations and specific time periods for filing revoca - tion or cancellation actions, as described below. Revocation or Cancellation of a Trade Mark A trade mark can be revoked or cancelled on several grounds, such as non-use, lack of distinctiveness, or if it was registered in bad faith. Time limitations • Non-use revocation: A trade mark can be revoked if it has not been used for a continuous period of five years from the date of registration and three months before the date of the application for can - cellation. • Bad faith or other grounds: There is no specific statutory time limit to file for revocation or cancel - lation on grounds such as bad faith, lack of distinc - tiveness, or violation of procedural requirements. Such actions can be filed anytime during the valid - ity of the trade mark registration. • Well-known marks or prior rights: Cancellation can be sought at any time if the trade mark violates the rights of a prior well-known or registered mark.
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