Upon completion of evidence submission by both parties, the registrar shall appoint a hearing and the parties are notified of the same.
A request for adjournment of the hearing with reasonable cause can be made by either party under Form TM-M with by the prescribed fee of INR 900, at least 3 days prior to the hearing date. Further, no party shall be given more than two adjournments and each adjournment shall not be for more than thirty days. However, it is the discretion of the Registrar to accept such a request for adjournment and if so accepted, the registrar shall intimate the parties accordingly. If either party does not appear for the hearing at the prescribed time, the registrar shall accordingly pass orders in favour of the other party. Such decision of the registrar shall further be communicated to the parties in writing at the address of service as provided.
However, if both the parties attend the hearing at the prescribed date and time, the Registrar shall after hearing both the parties and reviewing the evidence submitted determine whether the trademark shall be registered or not thereby bringing the opposition proceeding to a conclusion.
Any party aggrieved by the Registrar’s decision may challenge the same by filing an appeal before the Intellectual Property Appellate Board.
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