Trademark Rectification and Cancellation under Section 57: Removing Non-Used or Bad Faith Trademarks

Challenging Wrongfully Registered Marks: Rectification under Section 57

When an existing trademark registration blocks your genuine brand from being registered, or when a former employee or bad-faith squatter surreptitiously registers your proprietary mark in their personal name, legal recourse is available through Rectification Proceedings under Section 57 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999. Any 'person aggrieved' can apply to the Registrar of Trade Marks or the High Court to cancel or vary the registration.

Common grounds for rectification include establishing that the mark was registered without sufficient cause, remains wrongly remaining on the register, or under Section 47 has not been commercially used for a continuous period of 5 years and 3 months prior to the date of application. KOKJAGUAR Consultancy in Magarpatta City conducts forensic brand investigations and initiates rectification petitions before the Trade Marks Registry Mumbai and High Courts. Review our trademark dispute services.

Grounds for Filing a Rectification Petition

• Non-Use for 5+ Years (Section 47): The registered owner obtained the mark without bona fide intention to use it and has failed to use it commercially for over 5 continuous years.
• Bad Faith Registration: The registration was secured fraudulently by misrepresenting prior user dates or copying well-known brands.
• Wrongly Remaining on the Register: The mark has lost distinctiveness or has become generic in common parlance.
• Failure to Observe Conditions: The proprietor violated mandatory disclaimer conditions or limitations entered on the register.