Drawbacks Associated with Trademark Hearing through Video Conferencing

In order to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, the Registry of Trademark in India had stopped accepting the application of Trademark Registration on lockdown. The pandemic has hit the globe indeed very hard, and in the light of existing condition, the world has turned digital to handle the ongoing pandemic. The Controller General of Designs, Patents, and Trademarks has issued a Public Notice on August 26, 2020 which tells that due to the Covid-19 pandemic and interpreting provisions given under the Trademark Rules, 2017, Trademark hearing via video conference will be allowed.

Introduction of Trademark Hearings via Video Conferencing

The same goes for the IP sector, and the Controller General of Designs, Patents, and Trademarks office in India had announced the show cause hearing to be held via video conferencing.

But, a situation has been imposed, and it is provided that only those matters (Pending acceptance) will take place in which the approval of the applicants or their certified agents has been obtained and they have consented of their candidature in Trademark hearing via video conferencing to the IP office before 5^th September, 2o20 to an email address delivered by the Intellectual Property Office for the exact purpose.

To validate their approval for the virtual hearing, the participant of their attorney is required to submit his or her request on a precise email address with the subject ‘approval for show-cause hearing via video conferencing.

Official Notification by Registry of Trademark

 Notice concerning the same was posted on 26^th of August, 2020. It is mentioned in the notice published by the Intellectual Property Office, India, that the authorities will attempt to prepare a chart scheduling all the pre-accepted applications as per the time slots available.

But, considering the number of pending applications that have been scheduled on a single day, it is advised to decrease the number of the applications to be heard on a single day, as the high number of hearing on one day may lead to disappointing outcomes.

A fair and sound hearing needs a reasonable amount of time. In the meantime, the matters in which the approval have not been obtained is controlled by the Intellectual Property Office to be kept in a state of temporary suspension till a suitable period of time and to be taken into consideration as and when the situation improves, and the physical hearings can be scheduled.  It is a much-recognised effort that will help in quick approval and rejection of the pre-accepted cases, which was being expected for a long time.

Provision of Trademark Hearing

The provisions of the Trademark hearing via video conferencing have already been furnished in the Trademark Rules, 2017, back when it was changed. A few matters the Trademarks were held over video conference in the last years. But, for some unintelligible reason, the method of Trademark hearing via video conferencing didn’t gain deserving attention.

Considering the comfort level of the candidates, their attorneys, and the judicial officers, physical hearing has been preferred over the Trademark hearing, and even several other problems regarding the intellectual properties are being addressed via video conferencing, but the situation has been severely altered after the impact of this pandemic situation. In response to the Covid-19 condition, the Trademark hearing and several other issues regarding intellectual property are being addressed via video conferencing by the courts, the Patent Office, and the IP appellate board as the physical hearings are no longer guided.

In the current world, it is vital to function remotely, and the same is expected from the Registry of Trademark to work virtually so as to ease the functioning and to reduce the infection risk. The virtual manner of functioning will provide hassle-free working and is being widely accepted all over the globe.

Drawbacks of the Trademark Hearings via Video Conferencing

As each coin has two faces, the same is valid on the Trademark hearings via video conferencing. Therefore, the Trademark hearings via video also have certain drawbacks, which act as an obstruction in its smooth functioning. The restrictions are as follows:

Slow Internet Obstruct the Video Conferencing

On the one hand, the virtual hearing permits a candidate, their attorneys or the legal officer to attend the hearing remotely. One can avoid the expense of travelling & maintain their cool which is usually lost while waiting for the physical hearings. On the other hand, to provide smooth Trademark hearings via video conferencing, the platform made for the objective of the hearing should be well-designed to prevent interruption at the time of meetings. The internet plays a significant role in the hassle-free conduct of virtual hearings.

Restrict the Documents Size for Supporting Evidence

Another concern is during a physical hearing; an attorney is appropriate to support their cause using extra documents in a format of hard copy. But, in Trademark hearings via video conferencing, the Registry of Trademark has put a limit of 10 MB for the function of uploading documents.

With the restriction in the size of uploading documents, the attorney falls short of the space for uploading the evidence in most of cases. The size acts as a challenge to add supporting evidence. Concerning this limitation, it is advisable for the hearing platforms to have a feature of live-sharing the extra documents with the hearing officer to support their cause. It has been said by the Intellectual Property Office in India that the authority has been attempting its best level to organise technologically advanced features to advance its functioning.

Conclusion

With the outbreak of Covid-19^[1], the world has been turned upside down. The virus obliged the globe to go through some severe changes. The unfavourable impact of Covid-19 has also been inflicted upon the judicial system of India, and the authorities have come up with virtual hearing to deal with the situation. The decision of the Controller general office in India to conduct Trademark hearings via video conferencing is a much delightful and friendly step. The virtual hearing is expected to elevate and decrease the number of pending applications in the court.

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