Appeal against the decision of Trademarks Registry

06.30.2019

Appeal against the decision of Trademarks Registry

Appealable decisions
Any registrar’s decision or order made under the Trade Marks Ordinance may be appealed to the High Court. The specific definition of “decision” includes any act done by the Registrar in the exercise of this Ordinance or the discretion granted to him under this Ordinance. This actually means that any challenge to the registrar’s decision or order, whether based on statutory terms or in the exercise of discretion, shall be appealed to the High Court.

Appeals to the High Court are governed by the Rules of the High Court.

Appeal time limit
A notice of appeal should be filed and the grounds for appeal are filed and served within 28 days of the decision or order for the appeal.

In the case of any appeal against a registrar’s decision, the decision is deemed to have been made on the date of the notice of decision.

The time limit for filing an appeal may be extended by the Registrar in accordance with the rules of the High Court. This does not affect the court’s power to extend the period. An application for extension of the application time to the Registrar shall be submitted in writing and copied to the other party.

Court power
The power of the court in the appeal process is greater than the power of judicial review. The court not only exercises supervisory duties with the Registrar’s decision, but also has the power of the Registrar to determine any issue in its original jurisdiction under the Ordinance to make any order or exercise any other power, of which the Registrar may have made or exercised. In particular, it provides that the appeal should be by way of rehearing; it also provides for admission of further evidence and indicates how the evidence should be accepted; and any order that the Registrar could have made.

Costs
The court may usually grant any party what it considers reasonable costs, and usually follows the event.

In case of appeal failure
If the appeal fails and the Registrar’s decision is upheld, the Registrar’s original decision shall be taken unless the appellant further appeals. If no further appeal is filed within the appeal period, the prior decision shall remain effective.