Trademark Hearing in India — Show Cause Hearings, Rule 115 and Adjournments
A trademark hearing is the point at which your application stops being a paper exercise and someone has to stand up and argue it. The Registrar fixes a hearing when the written record has not resolved matters — most commonly because a reply to the examination report did not satisfy the examiner, or because an opposition has reached the end of its evidence rounds.
There are two quite different hearings and they are frequently confused. A show cause hearing under Rule 33(6) of the Trade Marks Rules, 2017 is an ex parte hearing between the applicant and the Registrar about whether the mark is registrable at all. An opposition hearing under Rule 50 is a contested hearing between two parties after evidence has closed. The preparation, the tone and the consequences of non-appearance differ in each.
Rule 115 allows hearings to be held at the appropriate Registry office or through video conferencing, which has made attendance far more practical across the five Registry offices. This guide covers when a hearing is fixed, how notice works, how to prepare, what to file before and after, how adjournments are limited, what happens if you do not appear, indicative fees, and what orders the Registrar can pass.
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What is a trademark hearing in India?
A hearing is the Registrar exercising the quasi-judicial side of the office. Section 127(a) gives the Registrar all the powers of a civil court for receiving evidence, administering oaths, enforcing the attendance of witnesses and compelling production of documents. Section 128 goes further: the Registrar shall not exercise a discretionary power adversely to a person without giving that person an opportunity of being heard, if so required.
That principle is why the hearing exists. A refusal is a discretionary act with real commercial consequences, so the Act builds in a chance to be heard before it happens. Treating the hearing as a formality is the most common and most expensive mistake applicants make.
Hearings are listed on the Registry’s cause list and notified to the address for service. The portal status typically reads "Ready for Show Cause Hearing" at the examination stage, or reflects the opposition hearing schedule in a contested matter.
Show cause hearing or opposition hearing — what is the difference?
| Feature | Show cause hearing | Opposition hearing |
|---|---|---|
| Governing rule | Rule 33(6), conducted under Rule 115 | Rule 50, conducted under Rule 115 |
| Stage | After the examination report reply, before acceptance | After evidence closes in an opposition |
| Parties | Applicant and the Registrar only | Applicant and opponent, before the Registrar |
| What is argued | Registrability under Sections 9 and 11 | The pleaded grounds and the evidence on record |
| Trigger | Reply unsatisfactory, or applicant requested a hearing | Closure of evidence under Rules 45 to 48 |
| Notice period | As stated in the hearing notice | First date at least one month after the first notice |
| Adjournments | Per the notice and Registry practice | Maximum two, each up to thirty days (Rule 50(2)) |
| Non-appearance risk | Application may be treated as abandoned where no reply was filed | Application abandoned, or opposition dismissed for want of prosecution |
| Outcome | Acceptance, conditional acceptance or refusal (Rule 33(8)) | Registration permitted, permitted on conditions, or refused (Section 21(5)) |
A useful mental model: at a show cause hearing you are persuading the Registry that its own objection is answerable, so the material you bring is the same material that went into your trademark objection reply, argued live. At an opposition hearing you are arguing against a party with its own evidence on record — see trademark opposition for the procedural build-up.
When is a show cause hearing scheduled?
Rule 33(6) provides that if the response to the examination report is not satisfactory, or where the applicant has requested a hearing, the Registrar shall provide an opportunity of hearing, conducted as per Rule 115. Those are the only two triggers, and the second one is within your control.
- The reply did not dislodge a Section 9 objection on distinctiveness or descriptiveness
- The reply did not adequately distinguish every mark cited under Section 11
- Use or acquired-distinctiveness evidence was asserted but not properly proved
- A formal defect flagged in the report was never cured
- The applicant expressly asked to be heard in the reply
- The Registrar is minded to accept only subject to conditions or limitations under Section 18(4)
Asking for a hearing in the alternative at the end of a reply is standard drafting practice. It costs nothing and it protects against the worst case, because Rule 33(7) treats non-appearance far more harshly where no written reply is on record at all.
How do you get notice of a trademark hearing?
The notice is issued to the address for service recorded on the application. That is why the address for service and email on Form TM-A matter so much — a hearing notice sent to a lapsed email address is still validly served, and the consequence of not appearing is borne by the applicant.
- 1.Keep the address for service and email on the application current at all times
- 2.Check the IP India portal status against your application number weekly
- 3.Watch the Registry cause lists for your appropriate office
- 4.Confirm the mode — in person at the Registry, or by video conference under Rule 115
- 5.Note whether the notice requires documents to be filed in advance
- 6.Diarise the last date for an adjournment request, which is earlier than the hearing date
- 7.Arrange the authorised representative’s appearance and confirm the TM-48 on record covers them
For opposition hearings, Rule 50(1) requires the Registrar to give notice of the first date of hearing after the closure of evidence, and that first date must be at least one month after the date of the first notice. That month is the window to settle, prepare written arguments, and decide who appears.
How do you prepare for a trademark show cause hearing?
- 1.Re-read the examination report and list every surviving objection
- 2.Pull the current register status of every cited mark — lapsed or abandoned citations are your best point
- 3.Prepare a one-page comparison table for each citation: visual, phonetic, conceptual, goods and consumer
- 4.Assemble the use evidence in a paginated, indexed bundle keyed to dates
- 5.Confirm the affidavit of use is verified, notarised and on record
- 6.Obtain consent letters under Section 11(4) where a proprietor is willing
- 7.Decide in advance the narrowest specification you would accept, and be ready to offer it
- 8.Line up the authorities you intend to rely on and note them in a short list
- 9.Prepare written submissions to file at or before the hearing
- 10.Test the video-conference link, audio and document sharing well before the slot
The most effective hearing submissions are short and specific. A hearing officer working through a list of matters responds to a clean concession on the weak points and a precise, evidenced argument on the strong ones — far better than an attempt to defend everything equally.
What happens at the hearing itself?
A show cause hearing is usually brief. The hearing officer identifies the surviving objections, the applicant or the authorised agent responds to each, and any documents directed to be filed are taken on record. Rule 115 permits the hearing at the appropriate office or through video conferencing or another audio-visual mechanism, and video hearings are now routine.
An opposition hearing is longer and structured as a contest. Both sides argue on the pleadings and the evidence already filed. Rule 50(5) requires the Registrar to consider written arguments if submitted by a party, which makes a written brief a reliable way to ensure your best points survive the compression of a short oral slot.
No new evidence goes in as of right at an opposition hearing. Rule 48 lets the Registrar allow further evidence at any stage on such terms as are thought fit, but that is a discretion to be asked for, not an entitlement.
Can a trademark hearing be adjourned?
In opposition proceedings the position is explicit. Rule 50(2) allows a party to request adjournment for reasonable cause on Form TM-M with the prescribed fee, at least three days before the date of hearing, and the Registrar may adjourn on such terms as are directed. The proviso caps it: no party shall be given more than two adjournments, and each adjournment shall not exceed thirty days.
For an examination-stage show cause hearing under Rule 33, Rule 50 is not automatically the governing adjournment provision, because Rule 50 sits within the opposition machinery. In practice the hearing notice and Registry procedure set out the mechanism, and a request is made on Form TM-M with a genuine reason. Do not assume two adjournments are available as of right at a show cause hearing — check the notice.
| Request | Form | When to file | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjournment of an opposition hearing | TM-M | At least three days before the hearing | Two adjournments, each up to thirty days |
| Adjournment of a show cause hearing | TM-M | As early as possible, per the hearing notice | Discretionary; check the notice and Registry practice |
| Change of hearing mode to video conference | Request to the Registry | Before the hearing date | Rule 115 permits it |
| Written arguments in an opposition | Filed on record | At or before the hearing | Rule 50(5) requires them to be considered |
| Further evidence | Request under Rule 48 | Any stage, with leave | Discretionary, on terms |
What happens if you do not attend the hearing?
Non-appearance is where applications die quietly. The consequence depends on which hearing it is and on what is already on the record.
- Show cause hearing with no written reply on record — Rule 33(7) allows the Registrar to treat the application as abandoned
- Show cause hearing where a written reply was filed — the Registrar considers the record and passes an order under Rule 33(8), which may still be a refusal
- Opposition hearing, applicant absent at the adjourned date — Rule 50(3) allows the application to be treated as abandoned
- Opposition hearing, opponent absent at the adjourned date — Rule 50(4) allows the opposition to be dismissed for want of prosecution, with the application proceeding subject to Section 19
- Repeated non-appearance after adjournments — the caps in Rule 50(2) are exhausted and no further indulgence is available
The asymmetry in Rule 33(7) is worth reading twice. It bites where the applicant has neither appeared nor submitted any reply to the office objection. That is the strongest practical argument for always filing a reply on time even when a hearing looks inevitable — the written record is what protects you if the hearing date is missed.
What orders can the Registrar pass after a hearing?
| Order | Provision | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Accepted absolutely | Rule 33(8), Section 18(4) | Mark is advertised in the Journal; the four-month opposition window opens |
| Accepted with conditions or limitations | Section 18(4) | Registration granted on a narrowed basis — assess whether it is commercially useful |
| Refused | Section 18(4) with grounds recorded under Section 18(5) | Application ends unless reviewed or successfully appealed |
| Application treated as abandoned | Rule 33(7) or Rule 50(3) | File dies; fees are lost |
| Opposition allowed | Section 21(5) | Application refused |
| Opposition dismissed | Section 21(5) | Mark proceeds to registration under Section 23(1)(b) |
| Opposition dismissed for want of prosecution | Rule 50(4) | Application proceeds subject to Section 19 |
Rule 50(6) requires the decision in an opposition to be communicated to the parties in writing at the address given for service. Section 18(5) requires the Registrar to record in writing the grounds for a refusal or conditional acceptance and the materials relied on, which is what makes a meaningful appeal possible.
What are your options if the hearing goes against you?
- 1.Request the grounds of the Registrar’s decision on Form TM-M where they are not already on record
- 2.Assess whether the refusal turned on evidence that can now be supplied
- 3.Consider a review of the Registrar’s own decision under Section 127(c), filed on Form TM-M
- 4.Consider an appeal within the statutory period from communication of the order
- 5.Consider refiling with a narrowed specification, a modified mark or a different class strategy
- 6.Approach the proprietor of a cited mark for consent under Section 11(4) and refile
- 7.Where the refusal is commercially fatal, plan a rebrand and file the replacement mark early
Review and appeal are different remedies and are not interchangeable. A review asks the same authority to reconsider, and is suited to an error apparent on the record. An appeal asks a higher forum to take a different view — and since the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 abolished the Intellectual Property Appellate Board, appeals from the Registrar are heard by the High Court, notwithstanding the Appellate Board references still in the unamended text of the Act.
How much does a trademark hearing cost?
| Item | Form | Indicative fee (e-filing) |
|---|---|---|
| Attending a show cause or opposition hearing | — | No statutory fee for attendance |
| Adjournment request | TM-M | Around ₹900 |
| Amendment of the application before the hearing | TM-M | Around ₹900 |
| Interlocutory petition in a contested proceeding | TM-M | Around ₹2,700 |
| Seeking grounds of the Registrar’s decision | TM-M | Around ₹900 |
| Review of the Registrar’s decision | TM-M | Around ₹2,700 |
| Certified copy of the order | TM-M | Around ₹900 |
| Preparation, written submissions and appearance | — | Professional fees scoped after a short discovery call |
These are indicative figures from the First Schedule to the Trade Marks Rules, 2017, confirmed against the current schedule before filing. Appearance itself attracts no government fee, so the economics of a hearing are almost entirely about preparation time — which is exactly where the outcome is decided.
How do you avoid ever needing a hearing?
- File a distinctive, preferably coined mark rather than a descriptive one
- Clear the mark through a full search, including pending applications, before filing
- Draft the specification narrowly enough to avoid an obvious Section 11 overlap
- Reply to the examination report within the prescribed period, answering every ground
- Prove use with an affidavit and dated exhibits rather than asserting it
- Deal with each cited mark individually instead of in a single generic paragraph
- Obtain consent under Section 11(4) early where a citation is a genuine obstacle
- Offer a specification amendment proactively rather than waiting to be pushed
- Keep the address for service current so nothing is missed
- Monitor the portal and the Journal continuously through prosecution
A hearing is not a failure — plenty of marks are accepted at a show cause hearing that could never have been accepted on the paper record alone. But a hearing costs months, and the preparation habits that win one are the same habits that make it unnecessary. Where speed is the priority, expedited trademark registration under Rule 34 also brings the show cause hearing forward, so the whole prosecution moves faster.
Why choose Arjun Filings for trademark hearing?
Arjun Filings runs trademark hearing as a checklist-first engagement: a qualified CA or CS scopes the work, tells you exactly which documents are needed, and reviews every form before it is signed and submitted. You get a named specialist, a status update at each stage, and a compliance calendar for whatever comes next.
- Focused support for trademark hearing
- Class and description drafting help
- Status tracking through examination
- Clear next steps on objections