Removal from register and imposition of limitations on ground of non-use
Section 47 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 deals with removal from register and imposition of limitations on ground of non-use. A registered trade mark may be taken off the register in respect of the goods or services in respect of which it is registered on application made in the prescribed manner to the Registrar or the [High Court] by any person aggrieved on the ground either-- (a) that the trade mark was registered witho The Act came into force on 15 Sep 2003.
(1) A registered trade mark may be taken off the register in respect of the goods or services in respect of which it is registered on application made in the prescribed manner to the Registrar or the 1[High Court] by any person aggrieved on the ground either--
(a) that the trade mark was registered without any bona fide intention on the part of the applicant for registration that it should be used in relation to those goods or services by him or, in a case to which the provisions of section 46 apply, by the company concerned or the registered user, as the case may be, and that there has, in fact, been no bona fide use of the trade mark in relation to those goods or services by any proprietor thereof for the time being up to a date three months before the date of the application; or
(b) that up to a date three months before the date of the application, a continuous period of five years from the date on which the trade mark is actually entered in the register or longer had elapsed during which the trade mark was registered and during which there was no bona fide use thereof in relation to those goods or services by any proprietor thereof for the time being:
Provided that except where the applicant has been permitted under section 12 to register an identical or nearly resembling trade mark in respect of the goods or services in question, or where the 2[Registrar or the High Court, as the case may be] is of opinion that he might properly be permitted so to register such a trade mark, the 2[Registrar or the High Court, as the case may be] may refuse an application under clause (a) or clause (b) in relation to any goods or services, if it is shown that there has been, before the relevant date or during the relevant period, as the case may be, bona fide use of the trade mark by any proprietor thereof for the time being in relation to--
(i) goods or services of the same description; or
(ii) goods or services associated with those goods or services of that description being goods or services, as the case may be, in respect of which the trade mark is registered.
(2) Where in relation to any goods or services in respect of which a trade mark is registered--
(a) the circumstances referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (1) are shown to exist so far as regards non-use of the trade mark in relation to goods to be sold, or otherwise traded in a particular place in India (otherwise than for export from India), or in relation to goods to be exported to a particular market outside India; or in relation to services for use or available for acceptance in a particular place in India or for use in a particular market outside India; and
(b) a person has been permitted under section 12 to register an identical or nearly resembling trade mark in respect of those goods, under a registration extending to use in relation to goods to be so sold, or otherwise traded in, or in relation to goods to be so exported, or in relation to services for use or available for acceptance in that place or for use in that country, or the tribunal is of opinion that he might properly be permitted so to register such a trade mark,
on application by that person in the prescribed manner to the 1[High Court] or to the Registrar, the tribunal may impose on the registration of the first-mentioned trade mark such limitations as it thinks proper for securing that that registration shall cease to extend to such use.
(3) An applicant shall not be entitled to rely for the purpose of clause (b) of sub-section (1) or for the purposes of sub-section (2) on any non-use of a trade mark which is shown to have been due to special circumstances in the trade, which includes restrictions on the use of the trade mark in India imposed by any law or regulation and not to any intention to abandon or not to use the trade mark in relation to the goods or services to which the application relates.
Section 47, The Trade Marks Act, 1999 (Act 47 of 1999).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
This section refers to
Referred to by 5
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Thukral Mechanical Works v. P.M. Diesels Pvt. Ltd.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Judgment of Main Case order-21.pdf 2008-12-18. Auto DATE-CHECK cited 1972-05-13 / 1979-05-12 / 1979-05-13 — DATE-CHECK VERIFY: those are trade-mark registration-period fact dates inside the named 18 Dec 2008 S.B. Sinha + Cyriac Joseph reportable (CA 7404/2008, Field Marshal). Isolate: TMM Act 1958 s.46(1)(b) (now Trade Marks Act 1999 s.47) non-use — the five-year clock against an assignee does not automatically restart so as to visit the predecessor’s non-use on a bona fide assignee without impleading the original registrant or proving trafficking/camouflage. Leading SC. Distinctive (Thukral, Field Marshal). Map TM 47 only.
On this section: Trade Marks Act s.47 (1958 Act s.46(1)(b)) non-use is a penal provision: a bona fide assignee is not automatically liable for the predecessor’s five-year non-use without impleading the original registrant or proving trafficking (Thukral Mechanical Works).
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… Heard the learned counsels appearing on either side. 3. The learned counsel for the respondent would have no serious objections in ordering the petition for framing the additional issue. However, he would seek this Court to restrict the additional issue only with regard to the amendment available under Section 47 of the Trade Marks Act. 4. However, the learned counsel for the applicant would submit that he had made averments for rectification of the Trade Marks both under Section 47 and 57 of the Trade Marks Act. Since, the applicant had raised the grounds both under Section 47 and 57 of the Trade Marks Act, I am of the …
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… that the observations made in the impugned judgment that the appellant's right in the registered trademark was abandoned in the year 2005, on account of non-use during the year 2000-2005 is, ex facie , erroneous because there was evidence of use in the year 2005 and the necessary conditions, as stipulated under Section 47 of the Trade Marks Act, were not fulfilled. He submitted that the learned IPAB had failed to appreciate that the appellant had recommenced using the mark from the year 2005. Respondent no.3 had filed a suit in the year 2009, which also established that the appellant was using the trademark in question in the year …
Made under this section, and citing it
3 instruments name this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.
Questions about Section 47
What have the courts held on Section 47 of the Trade Marks Act?
Thukral Mechanical Works v. P.M. Diesels Pvt. Ltd. (18 Dec 2008) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Trade Marks Act s.47 (1958 Act s.46(1)(b)) non-use is a penal provision: a bona fide assignee is not automatically liable for the predecessor’s five-year non-use without impleading the original registrant or proving trafficking (Thukral Mechanical Works).
How do I find court cases under Section 47 of the Trade Marks Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Trade Marks Act 47, section 47 Trade Marks Act, section 47 of the Trade Marks Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Thukral Mechanical Works v. P.M. Diesels Pvt. Ltd. (18 Dec 2008).
What should I read with Section 47 of the Trade Marks Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 12 (Registration in the case of honest concurrent use, etc), section 46 (Proposed use of trade mark by company to be formed, etc), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 5 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. 3 instruments name it without being made under it, most recently The Intellectual Property Appellate Board (Procedure) Rules, 2003 (2003), then The Trade Marks (Applications and appeals to the Intellectual Property Appellate Board) Rules, 2003 (2003).
When did Section 47 of the Trade Marks Act come into force?
Section 47 of the Trade Marks Act, cited as Trade Marks Act 47, came into force on 15 Sep 2003, having been enacted on 30 Dec 1999. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 2. Definitions and interpretation1911 words
- 157. Power to make rules1216 words
- 11. Relative grounds for refusal of registration985 words
- 30. Limits on effect of registered trade mark657 words
- 29. Infringement of registered trade marks651 words
- 36E. International registrations where India has been designated532 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.