A Pakistani trademark application moves through a fixed sequence, and at several points it is waiting on you rather than on the Registry. Knowing which stage means “nothing to do” and which means “a clock is running” is the difference between a registration and an abandoned file.
Quick reference
| Stage | What it means | Your deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Filed and acknowledged | The application has a date | — |
| Deficiency notice | Something is missing or unpaid | Two months |
| Examination | The Registry is searching and checking | — |
| Objection raised | Grounds have been communicated in writing | Two months, extendable to three in aggregate |
| Accepted | Accepted absolutely, or with conditions or limitations | — |
| Advertised in the Journal | The opposition window opens | — |
| Opposed | A notice of opposition has been filed | One month for the counter-statement, extendable to two in aggregate |
| Registered | The certificate issues | Renewal diary starts |
Filed and acknowledged
The application is made on the relevant form, in one class, and the Registrar acknowledges receipt. The date of filing is what you have secured at this point — and if Convention priority was claimed, the effective date reaches back to the first Convention filing.
Nothing has been examined yet. A filing receipt says the Registry has your application; it says nothing about whether the mark is registrable.
Deficiency notice
Before substantive examination, the Registry checks that the application meets the formal requirements — the particulars, the representation, the one-class rule, the fee.
If something is missing, a notice issues and the applicant has two months to put it right. The consequence depends on what was deficient. For some failures the application is deemed never to have been made; for others it is treated as abandoned. Either way, the two months is not a soft deadline, and it is one of the few periods the Rules expressly exclude from the general power to extend time.
Examination
The Registrar examines whether the application meets the requirements of the Ordinance, and carries out a search of earlier marks for the same or similar goods or services.
This is the stage with no fixed statutory timetable — the Ordinance says “as soon as practicable”. It is the part of the process where files sit, and where chasing achieves less than people expect.
Objection raised
If the requirements appear not to be met, the Registrar informs the applicant and gives an opportunity to make representations or amend the application. Where the Registrar objects to acceptance, or proposes to accept subject to conditions, amendments, disclaimers, modifications or limitations, that is communicated in writing.
The applicant then has two months to alter the application as proposed, respond, or ask to be heard. That period can be extended by the Registrar, but only to three months in aggregate.
Miss it, or fail to satisfy the Registrar, and the application is refused. Where the Registrar refuses or accepts conditionally, the grounds of the decision and the materials relied on are stated in writing — which is what an appeal or a further response is built from.
The grounds themselves are covered in marks that cannot be registered, and the mechanics of replying in examination and objections.
Amendment and correction
At any time, before or after acceptance, the tribunal may correct an error in the application or permit an amendment, on such terms as it thinks fit — where it is fair and reasonable to do so.
Two limits bound this, and they are the ones that matter in practice. No amendment may substantially affect the identity of the mark, and none may extend the goods or services covered. You can narrow, clarify and correct. You cannot turn one mark into another, or add goods you wish you had claimed.
If an amendment is allowed after advertisement, the amendment is itself published.
Accepted
Acceptance means the Registrar is satisfied the requirements are met. It can be absolute, or subject to conditions or limitations — a disclaimer of a descriptive element, a limitation as to colour, a restriction on the specification.
Conditional acceptance is still acceptance, but read the conditions before celebrating. They define what you will actually own, and they travel with the registration.
Advertised in the Journal
Once accepted, the application — together with any conditions and limitations — is advertised in the Trade Marks Journal. For all legal purposes, that advertisement is sufficient notice of acceptance.
The Registrar can also advertise an application before acceptance where exceptional circumstances make it expedient, notifying those circumstances at the same time, and may, but need not, advertise it again once accepted.
Advertisement opens the opposition window. Anyone may file a notice of opposition within two months of the advertisement, extendable by the Registrar to no more than two months in aggregate.
This is the stage to be watching the Journal if you are protecting a portfolio rather than prosecuting one application. The window is short and it does not reopen.
Opposed
A notice of opposition, with a statement of the grounds, is served on the applicant. The applicant must file a counter-statement within one month of receiving it, extendable to two months in aggregate.
The consequence of silence is severe and automatic: an applicant who does not send a counter-statement is deemed to have abandoned the application. There is no hearing, no decision on the merits, and nothing to appeal.
After that, the opponent may file a rejoinder, evidence goes in, and the Registrar decides — after giving both sides an opportunity to be heard — whether registration is to be permitted and on what conditions. The grounds available are any on which the application could have been rejected, with one exception: an opponent cannot rely on the ground that the mark cannot be represented graphically.
The full procedure is in trademark opposition in Pakistan.
Registered
Where the opposition period passes without opposition, or an opposition is decided in the applicant’s favour, the mark is registered and the certificate issues.
Registration is not the end of the diary. The term runs from the date of registration, renewal falls due at the end of it, and from the second renewal onwards the Registrar may require evidence that the mark has been used in Pakistan. The file to start on the day of registration is the use file — invoices, packaging, advertising — because it is far harder to assemble years later. See renewal and restoration.
If the application is refused
An appeal against a decision of the Registrar lies to the High Court, and the Rules set the time at two months from the date of the decision, or such further time as the High Court may allow. For the purpose of an appeal, the date the notice of the decision is sent is taken to be the date of the decision.
There is a restriction worth knowing. On an appeal by an applicant against a decision under sections 21, 22 or 28, neither the Registrar nor an opposing party may advance grounds other than those recorded in the decision or already argued, without the express permission of the High Court — and if additional grounds are allowed in, the applicant may withdraw the application on notice without being liable for costs.
Frequently asked questions
How long does trademark registration take in Pakistan? There is no statutory timetable for examination — the Ordinance says “as soon as practicable” — so the overall time varies considerably. The fixed periods are the applicant’s: two months to answer an objection, and one month to file a counter-statement in an opposition.
What does “accepted subject to conditions” mean? The Registrar is satisfied the mark can be registered, but with a disclaimer, limitation or restriction attached. Those conditions are advertised with the application and define what the registration actually covers.
What happens if I miss the deadline to reply to an objection? The application is refused. The two-month period can be extended, but only up to three months in aggregate, and the request should be made before the period expires.
What happens if I ignore an opposition? The application is deemed abandoned. Failing to file a counter-statement within the time allowed ends the application without any decision on the merits.
When does the opposition window open and close? It opens on advertisement of the accepted application in the Trade Marks Journal and runs for two months, extendable to no more than two months in aggregate.
Can I change my mark after filing? Only within limits. An amendment may not substantially affect the identity of the mark or extend the goods or services covered. Narrowing and correcting are possible; substituting a different mark is not.
Useful official resources
- Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan — the Trade Marks Journal and application status
- Trade Marks Ordinance, 2001 — sections 27, 28, 29, 33, 114
- Trade Marks Rules, 2004 — rules 25, 27, 29, 30, 33, 80, 85
See our related notes on filing a trademark in Pakistan, examination and objections and trademark opposition.
Holding a Pakistani application that has stalled, or a deadline you are not sure about? Talk to us.