Section 20 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Section 20 is the publication step. Once the Registrar accepts a trade mark application, he must have it advertised in the prescribed manner so that anyone who objects can come forward. The section also lets him advertise before acceptance in some cases, and lets him re-advertise, or merely notify, a corrected or amended application.
After acceptance, absolute or conditional, the Registrar shall, as soon as may be, advertise the application together with any conditions or limitations, in the prescribed manner. He may advertise before acceptance where sub-section (1) of section 9 and sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 11 apply, or in exceptional circumstances. After a pre-acceptance advertisement, correction or amendment he may re-advertise or notify the change. The opposition clock in section 21 runs from the advertisement or re-advertisement.
If you are still at the filing stage, our trademark registration service takes an application through examination and publication.
Sub-section (1): advertisement after acceptance
The first limb is a duty. "When an application for registration of a trade mark has been accepted, whether absolutely or subject to conditions or limitations, the Registrar shall, as soon as may be after acceptance, cause the application as accepted together with the conditions or limitations, if any, subject to which it has been accepted, to be advertised in the prescribed manner."
Key words:
- "shall" - advertisement is mandatory after acceptance, not discretionary.
- "as soon as may be" - the section sets no number of days.
- "as accepted together with the conditions or limitations" - the public sees the application in the form accepted and the terms attached to it.
- "in the prescribed manner" - the manner is for the Trade Marks Rules, 2017; the Act does not name the publication here.
Advertisement matters because it starts the period in section 21: any person may give notice of opposition within four months from the date of the advertisement or re-advertisement. For the practical side of the journal and the opposition window, see publication in the Trade Marks Journal and the opposition period.
The proviso: advertisement before acceptance
The proviso allows the Registrar to advertise before acceptance in two situations:
| Situation | Text | In plain terms |
|---|---|---|
| Marks within certain grounds | The application "relates to a trade mark to which sub-section (1) of Section 9 and sub-sections (1) and (2) of Section 11 apply" | Pre-acceptance advertisement is tied to marks that attract those refusal provisions; the text gives no further explanation |
| Exceptional circumstances | "any other case where it appears to him that it is expedient by reason of any exceptional circumstances so to do" | An open discretion; the Act does not list the circumstances |
The reading of the first limb needs care. The text lists section 9(1) and sections 11(1) and (2) together. Those provisions are the refusal grounds (see section 9 and section 11). If your mark has been advertised before acceptance, the Registrar's notice will show which route was used. Pre-acceptance advertisement is a discretion ("may"), not a duty.
Sub-section (2): advertising again, or notifying
Sub-section (2) deals with two kinds of case:
- (a) an application has been advertised before acceptance under sub-section (1); or
- (b) after advertisement, an error in the application has been corrected, or the application has been permitted to be amended under section 22.
In either, "the Registrar may in his discretion cause the application to be advertised again". For case (b) he has a lighter alternative: instead of advertising again, he may "notify in the prescribed manner the correction or amendment made in the application".
| Event | Registrar's option |
|---|---|
| Advertised before acceptance (clause (a)) | May advertise again |
| Error corrected after advertisement (clause (b)(i)) | May advertise again, or notify the correction |
| Amendment permitted under section 22 after advertisement (clause (b)(ii)) | May advertise again, or notify the amendment |
Both are discretionary; the section does not say which to choose. The notification route is available only for clause (b). For clause (a), the choice is simply whether to advertise again.
Why this matters to an applicant: a re-advertisement is stated in section 21(1) to be a starting date for the opposition period, along with the original advertisement. The text of section 21 says "within four months from the date of the advertisement or re-advertisement". Section 20(2) does not say that a notification of a correction restarts any period. If an amendment to your application changes what the public would see, expect that the Registrar's chosen route will be set out in the notice, and read it carefully.
Example. Kavya Organics files an application for the mark "KAVYA PURE" for edible oils. After advertisement, the applicant asks to correct a spelling error in the goods description and the Registrar permits the correction under section 22. Under section 20(2)(b)(i), he may re-advertise the application or notify the correction in the prescribed manner.
What section 20 does not say
- It names no fee and no form; the Rules do.
- It does not give the Registrar a period within which to advertise ("as soon as may be").
- It does not say what the publication is called; the "prescribed manner" is a matter for the Rules.
- It does not say that advertisement is a sign of eventual registration. Registration follows only under section 23, after the opposition stage, and is subject to section 19.
Practical points
- Watch for the advertisement date. For an applicant, it begins the period in which opposition may come. For a business that wants to object to someone else's mark, it begins its four months. Keep a diary entry the day the journal is published.
- Check conditions and limitations. The advertisement shows the application as accepted along with its conditions. If terms are wrong, raise it early.
- After any amendment, ask which route was used. Re-advertisement and notification are different routes under section 20(2).
- Do not stop watching after advertisement. Withdrawal of acceptance remains possible under section 19.
Need help with your trade mark application?
If your application has been accepted or advertised, the next four months matter. Our trademark registration team monitors your application through to registration, tracks the journal date and acts if an opposition is filed.
Key takeaways
- After acceptance, advertisement is mandatory ("shall"), in the prescribed manner, with conditions or limitations shown.
- The Registrar may advertise before acceptance in the cases named in the proviso, including exceptional circumstances.
- After pre-acceptance advertisement, correction or section 22 amendment, he may re-advertise; for correction or amendment he may instead notify the change.
- Section 21 runs the four-month opposition period from the advertisement or re-advertisement.
- The section states no fee, form or number of days; consult the Trade Marks Rules, 2017.
Read next
- Section 19: withdrawal of acceptance
- Section 21: opposition to registration
- Section 22: correction and amendment of application
- Trademark opposition explained
Disclaimer: Based on the Trade Marks Act, 1999 as amended by the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 and the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, as consulted on 1 October 2026. Forms, fees and procedure are set by the Trade Marks Rules, 2017 as amended from time to time. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.