Checked your trademark on the IP India portal and found a status you do not understand? This guide decodes every registry status in plain English — what it means, whether you need to act, and what happens next. Select your status below.
The trademark status "Formalities Chk Pass" means your application has cleared the Registry's initial check of documents, forms, and fees. It is a positive administrative milestone — not final approval. No action is required from you; the application now waits to be assigned to an examiner.
Read guideThe status "Formalities Chk Fail" means the Registry found a defect in your trademark application during the initial paperwork check — commonly a missing power of attorney (Form TM-48), an unsigned form, an incorrect fee, or a bad logo image. It is fixable: you must correct the defect, usually within 30 days of the notice.
Read guideThe status "Send to Vienna Codification" means your trademark contains a logo or figurative element and has been forwarded to the Registry's Vienna Codification unit to be assigned international classification codes for its visual elements. It is a normal, positive step for logo marks — no action is required from you.
Read guideThe status "Marked for Exam" means your trademark application has been assigned to a Registry examiner who will review it on absolute and relative grounds and issue an Examination Report. No action is required at this exact moment, but the next step — the Examination Report — may need a time-bound reply.
Read guideThe status "Objected" means the trademark examiner raised one or more objections in the Examination Report — commonly under Section 9 (not distinctive) or Section 11 (similar to an existing mark). Your application is not rejected. You must file a written reply, usually within one month, to keep it alive.
Read guideThe status "Ready for Show Cause Hearing" means that after your objection reply (or lack of one), the Registrar has scheduled a hearing where you must appear and argue why your trademark should be registered. Attending — in person or via video — is critical; missing it usually leads to abandonment or refusal.
Read guideThe status "Refused" means the Registrar has declined to register your trademark — usually after an objection was not overcome at reply or hearing stage. It is a formal rejection, but not always the end: you can request the grounds, file an appeal within the prescribed time, or re-file a revised application.
Read guideThe status "Accepted & Advertised" means your trademark passed examination and has been published in the Trade Marks Journal. A four-month window now opens for third parties to oppose it. If no valid opposition is filed, your mark proceeds to registration. This is a strongly positive, late-stage status.
Read guideThe status "Opposed" means a third party has filed a Notice of Opposition against your trademark during the journal publication window. To keep your application alive you must file a counter-statement, generally within two months, and then contest the opposition with evidence. Ignoring it leads to abandonment.
Read guideThe status "Registered" means your trademark is fully granted and legally protected in India for 10 years from the date of application. You may now use the ® symbol, enforce your rights against infringers, and license or assign the mark. Remember to renew it before the 10-year term ends.
Read guideThe status "Abandoned" means your trademark application has lapsed because a required action was not taken in time — most often a missed Examination Report reply, counter-statement, or hearing. In limited cases it can be restored if the delay is explained; otherwise you must file a fresh application.
Read guideThe status "Withdrawn" means the trademark application has been taken back — usually voluntarily by the applicant, or treated as withdrawn following a request or failure to proceed. The application no longer continues toward registration. If you still want the mark, you generally need to file a fresh application.
Read guide