indication has been accepted, the applicant shall advertise in the prescribed manner
the application as accepted, and the advertisement shall set forth any conditions and
limitations subject to which the application has been accepted:
Provided that in exceptional circumstances the Registrar may direct that an
application shall be advertised before acceptance and, where an application has been
so advertised, the Registrar may direct that it shall be advertised again when it has
been accepted.
(2) Any person may, within two months from the date on which an application was
advertised in terms of subsection (1), notify the Registrar that he opposes the
registration of the geographical indication concerned on any one or more of the
following grounds—
(a)
that the applicant is not entitled to lodge the application;
(b)
that the application does not comply with the requirements of
subsection (1) of section seventeen;
(c)
that the indication sought to be registered is not a geographical
indication as defined in section two;
(d)
that the application of the geographical indication concerned to the
product specified in the application would be contrary to public order or morality;
(e)
where the application is for the registration of a foreign geographical
indication, that it is not or has ceased to be protected in the foreign country concerned
or has fallen into disuse in that country.
(3) A notice of opposition in terms of subsection (2) shall—
(a)
be given in writing in the prescribed manner; and
(b)
include a statement of the grounds of opposition.
(4) The Registrar shall send a copy of any notice of opposition in terms of subsection
(2) to the applicant and, within the prescribed time after its receipt, the applicant may
send the Registrar in the prescribed manner a counter-statement of the grounds on
which he relies for his application.
(5) If an applicant¾
(a)
does not send the Registrar a counter-statement in terms of subsection
(4) after being sent a copy of a notice in terms of that subsection, he shall be deemed
to have abandoned his application;
(b)
sends the Registrar a counter-statement in terms of subsection (4), the
Registrar—
(i)
shall furnish a copy of it to every person who gave notice of
opposition; and
(ii)
after considering the evidence and hearing any representations or
argument the parties may wish to make, shall decide whether registration is to be
permitted and, if it is, with what amendments, modifications, conditions or limitations
it is to be permitted.
(6) An appeal shall lie from any decision of the Registrar under this section.
(7) At the hearing of an appeal under this section, any party may, either in the
manner prescribed or by special leave of the Tribunal, bring forward further material
for the Tribunal’s consideration.
(8) In an appeal under this section, no further grounds of objection to the registration
of the geographical indication concerned shall be allowed to be taken by the opponent
or the Registrar, other than those stated in terms of this section by the opponent,
except by leave of the Tribunal and, where any further grounds of objection are taken,
the applicant shall be entitled to withdraw his application on giving the prescribed
notice, without payment of the opponent’s costs.
19
Registration
(1) If—
(a)
no notice of opposition is lodged in terms of subsection (2) of section
eighteen in respect of an application for registration of a geographical indication; or
(b)
the Registrar has decided, in terms of subparagraph (ii) of paragraph