How can I get a trademark removed from the register through rectification

Question

A competitor holds a registered trademark that I believe was wrongly granted or has not been used for years, and I want it cancelled. I have been reading conflicting things online and I would like to understand what Indian law actually says about this, which Act and Section applies, what the realistic timelines and costs are, and what I should be doing right now to protect my position. If the matter can be resolved without litigation I would prefer that route, but I want to know what my rights are before I agree to anything or sign any document.

MyVakeel Legal Desk · Accepted Answer

How can I get a trademark removed from the register through rectification is governed in India primarily by Trade Marks Act, 1999, Section 47 and Trade Marks Act, 1999, Section 57. The short answer is set out below, followed by the practical steps most people in this situation need to take. Read it alongside the specific provisions named, because the exact relief available to you turns on the facts you can prove on paper.

Section 47 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 allows removal of a registered trademark on the ground of non-use, where the mark was registered without a bona fide intention to use it and there has been no use for the goods or services up to three months before the rectification application, or there has been no bona fide use for a continuous period of five years and three months.

Section 57 provides a broader ground for rectification or cancellation, permitting any person aggrieved to apply to the Registrar or, since the abolition of the IPAB in 2021, to the High Court, where an entry was made without sufficient cause, wrongly remains on the register, or where the registration lacks distinctiveness or was obtained through misrepresentation.

Rectification petitions are typically filed as a counter to an infringement suit, since Section 124 requires the civil court to stay the suit if the defendant raises a genuine plea of invalidity and refers the parties to the rectification forum, though post-2021 several High Courts now hear both together under their original side jurisdiction.

Success in a rectification petition depends on documentary proof — or its absence — of continuous commercial use, such as invoices, advertising spend, sales figures and correspondence, since bare assertions of non-use are rarely accepted without corroborating evidence.

What to do next: 1) Gather evidence, or the absence of evidence, of the registrant's actual commercial use; 2) File the rectification petition before the appropriate High Court with supporting documents; 3) Serve notice on the registered proprietor and the Trade Marks Registry; 4) Pursue the petition alongside any pending infringement suit if applicable.

If the other side has already issued a notice, filed a case or set a deadline, treat the matter as time-sensitive — most remedies under Trade Marks Act, 1999, Section 47 carry limitation periods, and a delay you cannot explain weakens an otherwise strong case. You can post the details on the MyVakeel forum for a practising advocate to review, or book a paid consultation with a Bar Council verified lawyer in this practice area.