When a trademark application is advertised in the Trade Marks Journal, anyone can oppose it, and the applicant must answer a notice of opposition with a counter-statement. Both steps run on fixed time limits that cannot be extended. StampMitra drafts and files the notice or the counter-statement through an authorised professional. We are a filing assistance platform, not the Registry and not a law firm.
After an application is accepted, the mark is advertised in the Trade Marks Journal. Any person may oppose it by filing a notice of opposition in Form TM-O within 4 months of the Journal date (Rule 42(1)). If the mark is advertised again, the new Journal date starts the period afresh. The notice names the application, the goods or services opposed, the earlier mark or right relied on and the grounds, and it is verified and signed.
Opposing another mark / Defending your application
The Registry does not publish how long a contested opposition takes, so we do not promise a date for the decision.
We choose the legal grounds from your facts. Tell us what you know.
Government fee: First Schedule of the Trade Marks Rules, 2017, as shown on the IP India fee page on 25 October 2026.
No identity number is typed on the order form. We collect papers securely after payment.
Check the Journal date on the Registry's Journal page before you order: a wrong date can cost you the right to oppose.
StampMitra is a filing assistance platform. It is not the Registry and not a law firm.
4 months from the date of the Trade Marks Journal in which the application was advertised, or advertised again (Rule 42(1)). The Rules give no extension.
2 months from receipt of the notice of opposition, by a counter-statement in Form TM-O (Rule 44). If you do not file in time, the application is treated as abandoned.
The Rules provide no extension for either period, so we treat both as fixed and start the same day we can.
No. Opposition lies only against an advertised application. A registered mark is challenged by a rectification or removal application, which is a different matter; talk to us about it.
Any person may oppose. Some grounds, such as an earlier mark, are easier to prove if you own that mark or can show dated use, so tell us what you have.
Order now. If the notice never reached you, the 2 months may not have started, and we review how the Registry served it the same day.
An authorised professional files it on an authorisation in Form TM-M that you sign. Only an advocate, a registered trade marks agent or a person in your sole regular employment can act for you.
The government fee is ₹2,700 for e-filing Form TM-O, charged for each class opposed. Our fee for filing the notice or the counter-statement is quoted after we read your answers, and the evidence, hearing and appeal stages are quoted separately.
The opponent files evidence within 2 months, the applicant within 2 months after that, and the opponent may reply within 1 month. A hearing follows and the Registrar decides in writing.
To the High Court. The Intellectual Property Appellate Board was abolished in 2021. Our partner advocate takes the appeal stage.
No. The Registrar decides on the evidence and the law. We prepare and file carefully and keep you informed at every stage.