URLs for Attending Trademark Hearings to be Available on the Official Website from December 1, 2022

The Office of Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks (“the Office”) has issued a public notice notifying all stakeholders that with effect from December 1, 2022, the cause lists for show cause hearings in trademark applications that are to be conducted through video conference will be made available in a dynamic system on the official website of the office https://ipindia.gov.in. The Office has further explained that the hearing rooms for each hearing officer shall also be open for access through the link provided in the dynamic cause list. Additionally, it is to be noted that the hearing notice for the scheduled hearings shall be served one month in advance, however the URL to access the online hearing room shall only be accessible through the online dynamic cause list that will be published on the website. All stakeholders have therefore been advised to refer to the online dynamic cause list to gain access to the hearing room.

This notification seems to be a refreshing move since the Office and the URLs previously being shared by them for joining a hearing room over emails to the applicants or their representatives were repeatedly subject to technical and administrative issues. By making the dynamic list public and thereby transparent, we believe that the Office has taken strides in the right direction of ensuring efficiency in its functioning.