In 2012 the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks passed an order that prohibited requests for amending use information in trade mark applications. On October 9, 2014, the Delhi High Court quashed this order and held that all such amendment requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis, even if to prepone the date of commencement of use of trademark sought to be registered.
The Court said that the question in the case is whether the Controller General can direct that amendments to trade mark applications will not be allowed when the Trade Marks Act, 1999 grants power to the Registrar of Trade Marks to amend or correct ‘any error’.
We can only hope that the Registry will take up pending requests to amend use dates in trade mark applications. Applicants should, however, be aware that the Registry may ask for extensive evidence to back up a use claim!