Well, the answer to this question was answered by the Delhi High Court in a recent judgment in the case of MS Aman Engineering Works Vs Registrar Trade Marks, Trade Marks Ministry, New Delhi & Anr., 2022[1].
The Delhi High Court, in its ruling, determined that the Registrar of Trade Marks does not possess the authority to extend the time for filing a review application beyond one month from the date of the decision under review. The court held that the Registrar’s power to condone delays is limited to the period prescribed by law, and Rule 119 of the Trade Marks Rules serves as the outer limit for such condonement. Therefore, if an application seeking review is not filed within one month of the decision, the Registrar lacks the power to accept and consider it. This interpretation reaffirms the principle that the prescribed time limit in Rule 119 must be adhered to strictly, and the Registrar cannot exercise discretion to extend the filing period beyond what is stipulated in the rule.
The case at hand involves a petition challenging the orders passed by the Senior Examiner of Trade Marks in review applications filed by respondent no. 2. The review applications were filed against the rejection orders issued for the marks “RITE KRANTI” and “B&M KRANTI,” which had been dismissed as “abandoned” due to non-compliance with the registration process. Respondent no. 2 filed the review applications almost seventeen and sixteen years after the rejection orders, well beyond the prescribed time limit.
The central issue, in this case, was whether the Registrar of Trade Marks had the authority to condone the delay in filing review applications beyond the prescribed time limit stated in Rule 119 of the Trade Marks Rules, 2017. The petitioner argued that the review applications were barred by limitation and that the Registrar had no power to condone the delay.
The court examined Section 127(c) of the Trade Marks Act, which empowers the Registrar to review its own decisions. Rule 119 of the Trade Marks Rules specifies that review applications must be filed within one month of the decision, with the Registrar having the discretion to grant an additional month upon request. The court emphasized that the time limit set by Rule 119 serves as the maximum period for condoning the delay in filing review applications.
Section 131 of the Act grants the Registrar the authority to extend time for performing certain acts, provided that the Act does not explicitly prescribe a time limit. However, the court held that Rule 119 should be considered as a prescribed time limit within the Act itself. Therefore, the Registrar does not possess the power to condone delays beyond the period stipulated in Rule 119.
The court noted that its previous judgment in Surinder Corporation, U.S.A. v. Hindustan Lever Limited & Anr.[2]applied to Rule 119, as it sets the outer limit within which the Registrar can condone the delay. According to the Surinder Corporation case, the Registrar has no authority to condone delays in filing review applications beyond one month from the date of the decision.
Based on the above reasoning, the court set aside the impugned orders passed by the Senior Examiner of Trade Marks and allowed the petition.
[1]2022/DHC/004701.
[2]2007 SCC OnLine Del 1018.
DUCTUS EDGE 