A Trademark agent or a trademark attorney has considered to be an individual who are qualified under the Trademarks Act, 1999 and Trademarks Rules, 2002. The registered trademark attorney or trademark agent offers plenty of valuable advises and direct that is related to all legal aspects of fling trademark application, opposition, granting application, and trademark search and objection proceedings. The trademark agent need to be qualified the examination which conducted by the trademarks Registry. Anyone can be a trademark agent, when qualified the preliminary examination. A 21 year completed person can write the Trademark agent examination as per the Trademarks Act, 1999. The person must complete a graduate degree in any Indian University or other than the law degree. There are two ways to be a trademark agent. Any individual can eligible by professional qualification to practice before the Trademark Registry of India or passing a qualification examination which is conducted by the Trademark Registry of India. A company secretary, who is passed the examination conducted by the Company Secretaries of India, need not be writing the trademark agent examination. The company secretary is eligible to appear before the Trademark Registry by practicing as a trademark agent.

Recognition of trademark agent

Except as otherwise provided by rules, any act required or authorized by this Act to be done by or to a person in connection with the registration of a trademark, or any procedure relating to a registered trademark, may be done by or to an agent authorized by that person orally or in writing.

The register of trademark agent

(1). The Secretary of State may make rules requiring the keeping of a register of persons who act as agent for others for the purpose of applying for or obtaining the registration of trademarks; and in this Act a registered trademark agent means a person whose name is entered in the register kept under this section.

(2) The rules may contain such provision as the Secretary of State thinks fit regulating the registration of persons, and may in particular-

(a) Require the payment of such fees as may be prescribed, and

(b) Authorize in prescribed cases the erasure from the register of the name of any person registered in it, or the suspension of a person’s trademark registration.

(3) The rules may delegate the keeping of the register to another person, and may confer on that person-

(a) Power to make regulations-

(i) With respect to the payment of fees, in the cases and subject to the limits prescribed by the rules, and

(i) With respect to any other matter which could be regulated by the rules, and

(b) Such other functions, including disciplinary functions, as may be prescribed by the rules. 

Unregistered persons not to be described as registered trademark agents

1) An individual who is not a registered trademark agent shall not-

(a) Taking carry on a business (otherwise than in partnership form) under any name or other description which contains the words ‘registered trademark agent; or

(b)In form of business otherwise describe or hold himself out, or permit himself to be described or held out, as a registered trademark agent.

(2) A partnership shall not-

(a) Continue on a business under any name or other specification which contains the words ‘registered trademark agent’; or

(b) In form of a business otherwise describe or hold itself out, or permit itself to be described or held out, as a firm of registered trademark agents, unless all the partners are registered trademark agents or the partnership satisfies such conditions as may be prescribed for the purposes of this section.

(3) A body corporate shall not-

(a) A carry on a business (otherwise than in partnership) under any name or other description which contains the words ‘registered trademark agent’; or

(b) continuing a business otherwise describe or hold itself out, or permit itself to be described or held out, as a registered trademark agent, unless all the directors of the body corporate are registered trademark agents or the body satisfies such conditions as may be prescribed for the purposes of this section.

(4) A person who contravenes this section commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale; and proceedings for such an offence may be begun at any time within a year from the date of the offence.

Right to prescribe conditions, &c for mixed partnerships and bodies corporate

 (1) The Secretary of State may make rules prescribing the conditions to be satisfied for the purposes of section 84 (persons entitled to be described as registered trademark agents

(a) In relation to a partnership where not all the partners are qualified persons, or

(b) In relation to a body corporate where not all the directors are qualified persons, and imposing requirements to be complied with by such partnerships or bodies corporate.

(2) The rules may, in particular-

(a) Prescribe conditions as to the number or proportion of partners or directors must be qualified persons;

(b) Impose requirements as to-

1. a) The identification of qualified and unqualified persons
2. b) Advertisements, circulars or letters issued by or with the consent of the partnership or body corporate and which relate to its business, and

c)the manner in which a partnership or body corporate is to organize its affairs so as to secure that qualified persons exercise a sufficient degree of control over the activities of unqualified persons.

(3) Contravention of a requirement imposed by the rules is an offence for which a person is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(4) In this section qualified person means a registered trademark agent.

Use of the term ‘trademark attorney’

 (1) No offence is committed under the enactments restricting the use of certain expressions in reference to persons not qualified to act as solicitors by the use of the term ‘trademark attorney’ in reference to a registered trademark agent.

(2) The enactments referred to in sub-section (1) are section 21 of the Solicitors Act, 1974, section 31 of the Solicitors (Scotland) Act, 1980 and Article 22 of the Solicitors (Northern Ireland) Order 1976.

Privilege for communications with registered trademark agents

(1) This can be applicable to communications as to any matter relating to the protection of any design or trademark, or as to any matter involving passing off.

(2) Any such communication-

(a) Between a person and his trademark agent, or

(b) For the reason of carrying, or in response to a request for, information which a person is seeking for the purpose of instructing his trademark agent,

(c) is privileged from, or in Scotland protected against disclosure in legal proceedings in the same way as a communication between a person and his solicitor or, as the case may be, a communication for the purpose of obtaining, or in response to a request for, information which a person is seeking for the purpose of instructing his solicitor.

(3) In sub-section (2) ‘trademark agent‘ means-

(a) A registered trademark agent, or

(b) A partnership entitled to describe itself as a firm of registered trademark agents, or

(c) A body corporate entitled to describe itself as a registered trademark agent.

Right of registrar to refuse to work with certain agents

 (1) The Secretary of State may make rules authorizing the registrar to refuse to recognize as agent in respect of any business under this Act-

(a) A person who has been convicted of an offence under section 84 (unregistered persons describing themselves as registered trademark agents);

(b) An individual whose name has been erased from and not restored to, or who is suspended from, the register of trade mark agents on the ground of misconduct

(e) A person who is found y the Secretary of State to have been guilty of such conduct as would, in the case of an individual registered in the register of trademark agents, render him liable to have his name erased from the register on the ground of misconduct;

(d) A partnership or body corporate of which one of the partners or directors is a person whom the registrar could refuse to recognize under paragraphs (a) (b) or (c) above.

(2) The rules may contain such incidental and supplementary provisions as appear to the Secretary of State to be appropriate and May, in particular, prescribe circumstances in which a person is or is not to be taken to guilty of misconduct. For more clarification about trademark registration n tirupur, kindly visit our site and feel free to contact us. We are the registered Trademark Agent in tirupur and assisting you in a right way. Thanks for reading!!!