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In practice, your application is not considered immediately when the six-month waiting period expires. Hundreds of trade mark applications are filed every day, and so there is bound to be a backlog. Time passes before each application is examined — but it’s like this the world over.
Once any problems in your application are rectified to the Registrar’s satisfaction, a notice of acceptance will be issued. The next stage in the prosecution process is an advertisement.
The fact that your application has been accepted is not conclusive. It just means that your application is in order as far as the Registrar is concerned. Before the Registrar will grant registration of the trade mark, however, he must be satisfied that there are no objections from anyone else. So, you must put an advertisement in the Patent Journal, a type of Government Gazette published by CIPC. It can be accessed free of charge.
The purpose of the advertisement is to inform the world at large that you have applied for registration of a particular trade mark, that you intend to use it for the specified goods or services, and that your application has been accepted by the Registrar. An example from the Patent Journal of 24 February 2016 is reproduced above. It shows the advertisement of the SAIIPL trade mark application as well as a number of other applications.
Hundreds of such advertisements, across all 45 classes, are placed every month. Some firms conduct a ‘watching search’ service. They will note your particular trade mark interest, and then advise you of any new trade marks appearing in the Patent Journal which might clash with your interest. You may then object if needed.
Now here is the important part. From the date of the advertisement in the Patent Journal, three months are allowed within which objections can be lodged. This period can be extended by agreement or as decided by the Registrar. This is referred to as the ‘opposition’ stage.