2-day delay doesn’t kill trademark application, says High Court
The Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that a two-day delay in serving a trademark counterstatement does not invalidate an application. The judge determined that the regulation requiring simultaneous filing and service is directory rather than mandatory.
Why it matters
This ruling prevents technical procedural errors from causing the loss of intellectual property rights, providing more flexibility in legal filings.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that Regulation 24(2) of the Trade Marks Regulations 2019 was to ensure that the opponent received timely notice rather than to create a technical hurdle that could deprive an applicant of valuable trademark rights.
KUALA LUMPUR: A two-day delay in serving a counterstatement to a trademark opponent does not automatically result in the withdrawal of a trademark application, the High Court has ruled.
Judicial commissioner Edwin Paramjothy Michael Muniandy said the Registrar of Trademarks (RoT) had erred in treating Regulation 24(2) of the Trade Marks Regulations 2019 as requiring an applicant to serve its counterstatement on the opponent on the same day it is filed.
The case involved Chinese automotive parts manufacturer GSP Automotive Group Wenzhou Co Ltd and Japanese battery maker GS Yuasa Corporation.
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