Power to cancel or vary registration and to rectify the register
Section 57 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 deals with power to cancel or vary registration and to rectify the register. On application made in the prescribed manner to the [High Court] or to the Registrar by any person aggrieved, the [Register or the High Court, as the case may be,] may make such order as it may think fit for cancelling or varying the registration of a trade mark on the ground of any contravention, o The Act came into force on 15 Sep 2003.
(1) On application made in the prescribed manner to the 1[High Court] or to the Registrar by any person aggrieved, the 2[Register or the High Court, as the case may be,] may make such order as it may think fit for cancelling or varying the registration of a trade mark on the ground of any contravention, or failure to observe a condition entered on the register in relation thereto.
(2) Any person aggrieved by the absence or omission from the register of any entry, or by any entry made in the register without sufficient cause, or by any entry wrongly remaining on the register, or by any error or defect in any entry in the register, may apply in the prescribed manner to the 1[High Court] or to the Registrar, and the 2[Register or the High Court, as the case may be,] may make such order for making, expunging or varying the entry as it may think fit.
(3) The 2[Register or the High Court, as the case may be,] may in any proceeding under this section decide any question that may be necessary or expedient to decide in connection with the rectification of the register.
(4) The 2[Register or the High Court, as the case may be,], of its own motion, may, after giving notice in the prescribed manner to the parties concerned and after giving them an opportunity of being heard, make any order referred to in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2).
(5) Any order of the 1[High Court] rectifying the register shall direct that notice of the rectification shall be served upon the Registrar in the prescribed manner who shall upon receipt of such notice rectify the register accordingly.
Section 57, 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.
Referred to by 7
- s. 13 Prohibition of registration of names of chemical elements or international non-proprietary names
- s. 31 Registration to be prima facie evidence of validity
- s. 36 Saving for words used as name or description of an article or substance or service
- s. 50 Power of Registrar for variation or cancellation of registration as registered user
- s. 97 Procedure for application for rectification, etc., before High Court
- s. 125 Application for rectification of register to be made to High Court in certain cases
- s. 157 Power to make rules
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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Woltop India Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
DATE VERIFIED Final Order 20.02.2025 (order-2.pdf): Where rectification is pending before a different Registry/High Court than the infringement suit court, TM Act s.124 supplies the conflict-management scheme — stay the suit until rectification is decided, then proceed conformably; consolidation is appropriate only when rectification and suit are before the same High Court or the High Court exercising appellate jurisdiction over that Registrar. s.124 is the statutory answer, not cross-territory transfer of rectification.
On this section: s.57 — rectification lies only before the High Court over the appropriate Registry office of registration; cannot be transferred to another HC solely for suit consolidation.
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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… recorded as the registered proprietor of the said mark pursuant to an Assignment Agreement dated 2<sup>nd</sup> September, 2016 executed in its favour by the previous registered proprietor, Ashland Licensing and Intellectual Property LLC. 2. Savita Oil Technologies Limited-appellant thence filed a petition under Section 57 of The Trade Marks Act, $1999^2$ for cancellation of the subject mark 'ALL FLEET' before the learned Single Judge largely contending that the same being descriptive was not registrable under Section 9(1)(b) of the Act and being used in a customary manner on account of being common to trade it was in …
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… appellant (original defendant) has got registered trade mark 'TOASHA'. - (b) The said registration was given by the competent authorities in favour of the defendant on 29.06.2011. (c) The respondent (original plaintiff) has already preferred an application for rectification under Section 47 to be read with Section 57 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 further read with Rule 92 of the Trade Mark Rules, 2017 and the same is pending before the concerned authorities since June, 2016. (d) Thus, it appears that there is a registered trade mark namely 'TOASHA' in favour of this appellant (original defendant) and rectification preferred …
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 57
What have the courts held on Section 57 of the Trade Marks Act?
Woltop India Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India (20 Feb 2025) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: s.57 — rectification lies only before the High Court over the appropriate Registry office of registration; cannot be transferred to another HC solely for suit consolidation.
How do I find court cases under Section 57 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 57, section 57 Trade Marks Act, section 57 of the Trade Marks Act. People searching for it also type 57 trademark 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 Woltop India Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India (20 Feb 2025).
What should I read with Section 57 of the Trade Marks Act, and has it changed?
7 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 57 of the Trade Marks Act come into force?
Section 57 of the Trade Marks Act, cited as Trade Marks Act 57, 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
- 47. Removal from register and imposition of limitations on ground of non-use716 words
- 30. Limits on effect of registered trade mark657 words
- 29. Infringement of registered trade marks651 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 14 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.