Sections 50-51 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.
Once a person is on the register as a registered user, section 50 says how that entry can be varied or cancelled and who can ask. Section 51 gives the Registrar a tool to check that the underlying agreement is still alive.
Without prejudice to section 57, the Registrar may vary a registered user entry on the proprietor's application, and may cancel it on the application of the proprietor or any registered user, or of any person on four stated grounds, or on his own motion or on any person's application where the quality stipulation in the agreement is not enforced or complied with, or where the mark is no longer registered for the goods or services. Section 51 lets the Registrar require the proprietor to confirm within one month that the agreement continues; if he does not, the registered user ceases to be a registered user.
Section 50(1): the six routes
The sub-section opens "Without prejudice to the provisions of Section 57", so the general power to rectify the register remains available alongside it. The routes are these.
| Clause | Action | Who may apply | Ground |
|---|---|---|---|
| (a) | Vary the registration as to goods or services | The registered proprietor, in writing in the prescribed manner | None stated |
| (b) | Cancel | The registered proprietor, the registered user, or any other registered user, in writing in the prescribed manner | None stated |
| (c) | Cancel | Any person, in writing in the prescribed manner | Four grounds, listed below |
| (d) | Cancel | The Registrar on his own motion, or any person on written application in the prescribed manner | Quality stipulation not enforced or not complied with |
| (e) | Cancel | The Registrar | The mark is no longer registered for those goods or services |
The four grounds in clause (c)
- The registered user has used the mark otherwise than in accordance with the agreement under section 49(1)(a), or in such a way as to cause, or be likely to cause, deception or confusion.
- The proprietor or the registered user misrepresented or failed to disclose a fact material to the application which, if accurately represented or disclosed, would not have justified the registration.
- Circumstances have changed since registration so that, at the date of the application for cancellation, they would not have justified registration.
- The registration ought not to have been effected having regard to rights vested in the applicant by a contract in the performance of which he is interested.
Clause (d) is worth noticing: the Registrar may act on his own motion, and the ground is the quality stipulation in the agreement between the proprietor and registered user "regarding the quality of the goods or services". This ties back to the control particulars required by section 49; see Section 49.
Clause (e) follows from a change in the mark's own registration. If goods are struck out, for example by correction under section 58, the registered user entry for those goods can be cancelled.
If you need to clear a registered user entry, or defend one that has been challenged, our trademark rectification and removal team can prepare the application or the reply.
Section 50(2): notice
The Registrar "shall issue notice in the prescribed manner in respect of every application under this section to the registered proprietor and each registered user (not being the applicant) of the trade mark". So whoever applies, the others on the register are told.
Section 50(3): procedure and a fair hearing
The procedure for cancelling a registration "shall be such as may be prescribed". There is a proviso: before cancelling, the registered proprietor shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard. The registered user's own right to be heard is not stated in the sub-section, though the notice in sub-section (2) goes to each registered user.
The Trade Marks Rules, 2017 as notified list Form TM-U against sections 50(1)(a), (b), (c) and (d), described as an application for cancellation or variation of a registered user. The fee is in the First Schedule; no amount is given here. Check the Rules as currently amended.
Section 51: confirming the agreement still stands
Section 51 has two sub-sections.
Sub-section (1). "The Registrar may, at any time during the continuance of the registration of the registered user, by notice in writing, require the registered proprietor to confirm to him within one month that the agreement filed under clause (a) of sub-section (1) of Section 49 continues to be in force."
Sub-section (2). "If the registered proprietor fails to furnish the confirmation within one month as required under sub-section (1), the registered user shall cease to be the registered user on the day immediately after the expiry of the said period and the Registrar shall notify the same."
The consequences are automatic. There is no hearing step in section 51 itself. A proprietor who changes address or neglects the Registry's correspondence can lose the registered user entry through silence. The one-month period runs from the notice; the text says "within one month". Keep the address for service up to date and diarise any notice immediately.
Example. Desai Beverages has had Joshi Bottlers recorded as a registered user for six years. The licence was not renewed in writing, and Desai Beverages has moved its office. The Registrar sends a notice under section 51(1) asking for confirmation that the agreement continues. The notice goes unanswered for one month. On the next day, Joshi Bottlers ceases to be a registered user, and the Registrar notifies this. If Desai wants Joshi back on the register, a fresh application under section 49 is the route.
Relationship with other sections
- Registered user rules begin at Section 48.
- Proceedings by registered users are covered in Sections 52-54.
- The general rectification power referred to in the opening of section 50 is in Section 57.
- Certification trade marks are outside section 50: section 69 lists sections 48, 49, 50, 52 and 54 among the provisions that do not apply to them. Section 51 is not on that list. See Sections 69-70.
Practical points
- Keep your address for service current, so that a section 51 notice is not missed.
- Enforce quality stipulations. Clause (d) lets the Registrar cancel on his own motion where they are not enforced or complied with.
- Use the right clause. The proprietor may use (a) or (b); any other person must show a ground under (c) or (d).
- Expect notice to all. Anyone who applies should know that the proprietor and other registered users will be informed.
- Check for an effect on the licence itself. The cancellation affects the register entry. The text does not say what happens to the agreement as between the parties.
Need help with a registered user dispute?
Whether you want a licensee's entry removed or a notice from the Registry answered, deadlines are short. Our trademark rectification and removal team can prepare the application or reply and appear before the Registrar.
Key takeaways
- Section 50 operates "without prejudice to" section 57.
- The proprietor can apply to vary a registered user entry as to goods or services, or to cancel it; a registered user or other registered user can also apply to cancel.
- Any person can apply to cancel on four grounds; the Registrar can also cancel for unenforced quality stipulations or where the mark is no longer registered for the goods or services.
- The Registrar must issue notice of every application to the proprietor and each registered user who is not the applicant.
- Before cancelling, the registered proprietor must be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
- Under section 51, failure to confirm within one month that the agreement continues ends the registered user's status the next day.
Read next
- Section 48: registered users
- Section 49: registration as registered user
- Section 57: cancellation, variation and rectification of the register
- Trademark licensing: registered user and agreement
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.