Print Options

(1) The Registrar shall examine whether the application complies with the requirements of

(a) section 1;

(b) section 3;

(c) subsection (1) and (2) of section 4; and

(d) section 5.

(2) If the Registrar finds that the conditions in subsection (1) have been complied with, the Registrar shall accept the application to be published so that any interested person may file a notice of opposition to the registration within the prescribed period and in the prescribed manner.

(3) An interested party may give notice of opposition to the Registrar on the grounds that section 1 or one or more of the requirements of section 4 have not been complied with.

(4) The Registrar shall send the notice of opposition to the applicant and the applicant shall send the Registrar in the prescribed manner within the prescribed period a counter-statement of the grounds on which the applicant relies.

(5) If the applicant fails to respond to the notice of opposition the applicant shall be deemed to have abandoned the application.

(6) The Registrar shall send a copy of the counter-statement to the person who filed the notice of opposition and shall decide whether the trade mark should be registered after hearing the parties.

(7) The applicant has the same privileges and rights when an application is published and until the registration of the trade mark as the applicant would have if the trade mark had been registered, it shall however be a valid defence to an action in respect of an act done after the application was published, if the alleged infringer establishes that the trade mark could not validly have been registered at the time the act was done.