Case study
LOTUS HERBALS PRIVATE LIMITED (New Delhi) filed for LOTUS and logo in Bangladesh on 13 January 2010. After objections under Sections 10(1), 10(3) and 8(c), the file was abandoned on 26 December 2018. SUPREMEiP® revived it with a restoration application, a direct hearing and, for the first time in Bangladesh, an application under Section 10(2) (honest concurrent use). The Tribunal restored and approved the mark on 13 March 2024; it was published on 2 July 2024 and registered on 21 January 2025.
Background: a 12-year file
LOTUS HERBALS PRIVATE LIMITED, headquartered in Sultanpur, New Delhi, applied on 13 January 2010 through a local agent to register "LOTUS" and its logo in Bangladesh. The application waited years for examination.
Case history
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 13 Jan 2010 | Application for LOTUS and logo filed in Bangladesh |
| 28 May 2017 | DPDT objects under Sections 10(1), 10(3) and 8(c), citing three earlier marks |
| After the objection | A response is filed, but the file does not move forward |
| 26 Dec 2018 | The application is abandoned |
| 2023 | LOTUS HERBALS appoints SUPREMEiP® to revive the file |
| 13 Mar 2024 | The Tribunal restores and approves the mark after multiple hearings |
| 2 Jul 2024 | Published in the Trademarks Journal |
| 21 Jan 2025 | Registered |
The objections the file faced
Section 10(1)
Earlier similar marks
Identical or deceptively similar to registered marks for similar goods.
Section 10(3)
Conflicting applications
A prior application holds up the later one.
Section 8(c)
Deception or confusion
A mark likely to confuse the public.
Three earlier marks were cited. Reading the register carefully showed an unusual position: the cited registrations had not been renewed but had never been declared abandoned, so they sat in an ambiguous legal state. Meanwhile the LOTUS application, though objected to, had no formal rejection against it.
The revival strategy
Restore the abandoned file
- Apply for restoration of the abandoned LOTUS application so that it is live again.
Direct hearing
- Apply for a hearing so the matter gets immediate attention instead of waiting on correspondence.
Challenge the cited marks
- Take legal steps against the cited marks, short of a cancellation case, to test their validity.
Invoke Section 10(2)
- Apply for registration alongside the cited marks on the ground of honest concurrent use or other special circumstances.
Section 10(2) allows the Registrar, in cases of honest concurrent use or other special circumstances, to permit more than one proprietor to register identical or nearly identical marks for the same goods or services, subject to limitations and conditions. This was the first time an application under it was filed in Bangladesh. See Section 10 explained.
The decision and registration
After multiple hearings the Tribunal ruled in favour of LOTUS HERBALS on 13 March 2024, restoring and approving the mark. Publication followed on 2 July 2024 and registration on 21 January 2025.
Analysis: why it matters
Revival
Abandoned files can come back
A file abandoned for years can be restored when the facts and the law support it.
Cited marks
Lapsed is not the same as abandoned
Unrenewed cited marks that were never declared abandoned can still be tested and challenged.
Section 10(2)
A new route
Honest concurrent use can allow co-existence on conditions, a path used here for the first time.
Tactics
Hearing plus restoration
Combining a restoration application with a hearing request shortened a 12-year wait.
Related: deemed abandoned marks, missed objection deadlines and the MAGPOW case.
Facing a difficult objection or opposition?
SUPREMEiP® builds a strategy for each file, including hearings and challenges to cited marks. Send us the notice.
