Appeal against refusal: stages and deadlines
An appeal against a refusal moves a trade mark file from the examiner to a separate appeal body. It does not restart the application; it reviews the file as it stands, plus any argument filed on time. Miss the filing deadline stated in the refusal notice, and the refusal usually becomes final — not because the mark is weak, but because the file is closed.
What actually changes once an appeal is filed
Filing on time suspends the effect of the refusal. The mark is not registered, but it is not dead either — the file moves into a queue with its own rules on who may submit what, and by when. Past that filing deadline, the office treats the case as settled, and no further submission reopens it. That moment is the point of no return in this procedure: everything before it is negotiable, everything after it is administrative history.
Stages, in the order they happen
| Stage | Who acts | What the stage produces |
|---|---|---|
| Refusal notice issued | Examiner or first-instance office | Written grounds and a deadline for reply or appeal |
| Notice of appeal filed | Applicant or representative | The case leaves the examiner's file and enters the appeal register |
| Statement of grounds | Applicant, within the period set in the notice | Written argument the appeal body will actually read |
| Written proceedings | Appeal body; other side, if one exists | Exchange of observations, request for evidence if needed |
| Hearing, where held | Appeal body, at its own discretion or on request | Oral clarification of disputed points |
| Decision | Appeal body | Confirmation, reversal, or partial reversal of the refusal |
| Further review | Court with jurisdiction over the appeal body | Review limited to points of law, not a fresh look at the mark |
What to do first
- Read the refusal notice for the deadline it states, not the deadline you assume from a similar case.
- Instruct a representative to file the notice of appeal before that deadline, not the statement of grounds — the two are separate steps with separate timing.
- Collect the evidence the examiner's objection actually targets: distinctiveness evidence for a descriptiveness objection, coexistence evidence for a conflict objection.
- Draft the statement of grounds against the examiner's stated reasoning, point by point, not against the mark in general.
- Check whether the mark sits inside a wider assignment or licence. If it was assigned as part of a larger deal, a different checklist applies — see Contract review against a security annex for that logic.
- Confirm who signs the appeal on behalf of the applicant, and keep that authority on file — the appeal body checks it before it checks the argument.
Who decides, and on what basis
The appeal body is not the examiner and does not repeat the examiner's reasoning by default. It looks at the file, the statement of grounds, and any response from the other side, then decides on the papers or after a hearing. Where a hearing is held, the body applies its own internal rules on who may sit on the panel, comparable in structure to Conflict of interest register: what the decision maker looks at before scheduling. A decision against the applicant can go further, but only to a court that reviews legal reasoning, not the commercial merits of the mark.
If you are in one of these situations
If the deadline in the notice has already passed, filing a fresh application is usually faster than arguing for reinstatement, and it avoids relitigating the same objection from a weaker position.
If the objection rests on a conflict with an earlier mark held by a third party, the appeal turns into a two-sided procedure, and the other side's silence does not help you by default — see the FAQ below on non-response.
If goods bearing the mark are already stopped at a border while the appeal is pending, the border procedure runs on separate logic; see A customs authority detains a shipment patent when the other side has already moved, for how that timing interacts with a pending appeal.
If the mark is one of several filed together as a portfolio, withdraw the weakest ones early rather than appealing all of them on the same argument — a panel treats each mark on its own facts.
What this page does not decide
This page sets out order of steps, the deciding body, and the general shape of the timeline. It does not calculate your specific deadline — that figure is fixed in your refusal notice, not here. It does not assess whether your mark is likely to survive the objection; that depends on the file, and no procedure page can substitute for reading it.
Sources and limit
This description reflects the general structure of appeal proceedings before a trade mark office and does not cite specific statutory provisions, because a procedural page of this kind is not the place to verify a legal citation against a national text. Where a client needs a documented position on a specific national registry rather than a general procedure, that sits in a separate output — for example Asset in Hungary in detail, which is built from registry data rather than procedural description. Last reviewed: this page is checked against current office practice at each substantive edit.
Related reading
A comparable procedure with its own filing window and its own decision-maker is described in How customs application for action trade mark runs in practice.
FAQ
How long does an appeal against refusal take in practice?
The length depends on whether a hearing is held, whether the other side files observations, and the current caseload of the appeal body. Written-only cases move faster than cases with a hearing and an active opponent.
Which documents are needed to start?
A notice of appeal referencing the refused application, proof of the representative's authority, and — within the separate deadline that follows — a statement of grounds addressing the examiner's stated objection point by point.
What happens if the other side does not respond?
Silence from the other side does not automatically decide the case in your favour. The appeal body still reviews the file on its merits and may ask for clarification before deciding.
If a competitor's design rather than a mark is the problem you are dealing with, the starting logic differs — see When a design is copied by a competitor in practice, and what to do first.