A trademark objection is an objection by the Trademark Registry when they have a reason to believe that the Trademark Application filed by an applicant has some error or defects or is same or similar to an existing Trademark.
After filing a trademark application, it goes through a process where a Trademark Examiner looks into the application and checks if there are any existing trademarks that are the same or similar to the one you’re applying for. The Trademark Examiner’s findings are put together in a document called the trademark examination report.
Factors | Trademark Objection | Trademark Opposition |
Issued by | Trademark Registry | Third Party |
Fees | No | Yes |
Reply Timeline | Within 1 month of the report | Within 4 months of publication |
No Reply Effect | Cancellation | Abandoned |
Stages | Before Opposition | After Objection |
Trademark | Patent | Copyright | |
What can be protected? | Product, Service, Word, Device, Collective Mark, Numbers, Certification Mark, Packaging, Shape, Colour, Pattern, Sound, Symbol, Slogan, Tag line. | Inventions, Product or Process. | Books, articles, music, photography, sculptures, dances, sound recordings, motion films etc. |
Eligibility | Distinctiveness and Uniqueness. | Novel, Unique and Industrial applicability. | Unique and Original work |
Validity | 10 years | 20 years | Author’s lifetime + 60 years. |