Delhi HC issues directions to make records of Trade Marks easily accessible

In order to make records pertaining to Trade Marks easily accessible, the Delhi High Court has passed certain directions to the Registrar of Trade Marks.

Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw, who, in the past, has delivered multiple landmark judgments in the field of IPR, passed the following directions on July 31 in the matter of Registrar of Trade Marks v. Kapoor Saws Manufacturing 

The Registrar of Trade Marks was directed to:

• If not already in place, nominate one Nodal Officer of each branch to receive applications for certified copies and to issue certified copies.
• Within two months, announce on the website of the Registrar of Trade Marks, the particulars i.e. name/designation, address, phone number/s and email address of the Nodal Officer responsible for accepting and entertaining applications for certified copy and to issue certified copies for each office of the Registrar of Trade Marks.
• Within six months, make a provision, if not already in existence, for making online applications for certified copies.
• Within six months, make a provision on the website of the Registrar of Trade Marks for disclosure of the status of the applications for certified copies including any deficiency or defect therein required to be remedied by the applicant and/or the date when it will be ready for collection.
• Till the aforesaid is functional, as an interim measure, make a provision for sending intimation, to the applicant/s for certified copies, of deficiencies / defects required to be rectified via e-mail, SMS and other modes of communication.
• Endeavour to make provision for online payment of the fee and other charges if any for certified copies.
• Issue certified copies within one month of the receipt of a duly completed application.
• Indicate on the certified copy, whether it has been prepared from the original of the document or from a copy of the document.
• Explore the possibility of making an endorsement of ‘original seen and returned’ on the copies on the record, originals of which are returned.
• Ensure, that the certified copies are legible and wherever the original/ copy on the record of the Registrar of Trade Marks has any colour other than black and white, the certified copy reflects such colour.
• If the documents of which certified copies is sought have been lost or misplaced, intimate the same to the applicant within one month as aforesaid of the application for certified copy having been made.

The Court observed:

“Once the Registrar of Trade Marks has implemented the aforesaid, it is expected that neither will any of the parties to the litigation nor any of the Courts, where such litigations are pending, would mechanically issue summons to the Registrar of Trade Marks as witness, requiring it to produce records….”

Read the order below.

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