Opposition is the stage where an earlier brand owner or another person challenges a mark after Journal advertisement. The counterstatement and evidence stages have different service triggers and prescribed periods. File on time and check the applicable rules and any order before relying on a remedy for delay.
6 problems solvedFor brand owners, trademark attorneys and agentsLast reviewed: 8 October 2026
The status shows "Opposed", and a notice of opposition (Form TM-O) is served on you.
Why it happens
After advertisement in the Journal, any person can file an opposition within four months. Usually it is the owner of a similar earlier mark.
How to fix it
Read the notice of opposition and the grounds.
File a verified counterstatement on TM-O within two months from receipt of the notice copy from the Registrar under Section 21(2) and Rule 44. Failure to file attracts deemed abandonment. Keep the actual notice and service records.
Collect evidence of your own use and of differences between the marks for the evidence stage.
Avoid it next time
Search properly before filing to reduce opposition risk, and keep the address for service current so the notice reaches you.
The two months to file the counter-statement have passed.
Why it happens
The two-month period is fixed by Section 21(2) of the Act itself, so the Registrar's general power to extend time does not apply to it. If no counter-statement is filed in time, the application is deemed abandoned.
How to fix it
Check when the notice copy was served by the Registrar, including the relevant email and deemed-service records under Rule 18. The Section 21(2) and Rule 44 period runs from receipt of that copy from the Registrar.
Take advice quickly on any remedy. If the application is treated as abandoned, consider a fresh application.
Avoid it next time
Diary the two-month deadline the day the notice arrives.
The counter-statement is filed, and you are unsure about the evidence steps.
Why it happens
After the counter-statement, the opponent files evidence in support of the opposition, the applicant files evidence in support of the application, and the opponent may file reply evidence, each within set periods.
How to fix it
Diary each separate trigger: the opponent’s two months run from service of the counterstatement; the applicant’s two months run from receipt of the opponent’s affidavit copies or prescribed reliance-intimation; the opponent’s reply evidence has one month from receipt of the applicant’s affidavit copies.
File evidence by affidavit with relevant documents, or send the prescribed reliance-intimation where applicable. Serve the required copies and exhibits on the other party and make the required delivery intimation to the Registrar; keep service proof.
Rules 45(2) and 46(2) provide deemed-abandonment consequences where the required action is not taken in time. Courts have interpreted evidence-deadline powers differently, so do not describe an extension as universally available or universally impossible. File within the prescribed periods; an overdue case needs review of the applicable law, decision and any order.
Avoid it next time
Collect use evidence continuously, not only when an opposition arrives.
The mark was published in the Journal before being formally accepted.
Why it happens
The Registrar may advertise an application before acceptance where the mark faces a distinctiveness objection (Section 9(1)) or a conflict with an earlier mark (Section 11(1) or (2)), or in other exceptional circumstances. This lets others oppose it before a final decision.
How to fix it
Watch for oppositions during the four-month period.
If there is no opposition, the application proceeds towards registration, subject to any remaining conditions.
Avoid it next time
Respond quickly to every Registry communication so the application keeps moving.
Stuck on one of these right now? Send us the application number, the notice or a screenshot of the status. We will tell you the fix and the deadline, and file it for you if you want.
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