94 Government Gazette 23 March 2012 Act No. 1, 2012 No. 4907 INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY ACT, 2012 Removal when mark becomes generic name 177. Where a registered trade mark is or contains matter which is not or no longer capable of distinguishing within the meaning of section 134, any interested person may apply to the Registrar to require that the registered owner must – (a) disclaim any right to the exclusive use of such matter; or (b) make such other disclaimer or endorsement as may be necessary for defining the rights under the registration; or (c) remove the registration, but, any such disclaimer or endorsement or removal does not affect any other rights of the registered owner in respect of the trade mark except as arising out of the registration. Procedure and effect of removal 178. (1) An application under section 176 or 177 must be filed with the Registrar in the form and manner as prescribed, and must be accompanied by a statement setting out the ground or grounds on which the applicant relies for the registration to be removed. (2) An application for the removal of a trade mark from the register of marks, together with the statement setting out the ground or grounds on which the applicant relies, must, in the prescribed manner, be served on the owner of the mark. (3) The owner has the right to submit, in the prescribed manner, to the Registrar his or her reply to the application for the removal of the trade mark. (4) The parties must follow the procedure and submit such evidence as prescribed and the Registrar must, in the manner contemplated in section 147, decide the matter and determine the relief, if any, to be granted. (5) The Registrar may not remove a trade mark from the register if the owner of that mark can show that special circumstances in the trade existed which prevented the use of the mark and that there was no intention not to use the mark in respect of those goods or services, or that there was no intention to abandon the use of the mark in respect of those goods or services, as contemplated in section 176(2). Invalidation of registration 179. (1) Any interested person may apply to the Tribunal for the invalidation of the registration of a trade mark on the ground that the requirements of section 131, 137 or 138 have not been complied with or are no longer complied with. (2) An application under subsection (1) must be made in the prescribed manner and be accompanied by a statement setting the ground or grounds on which the applicant relies for the registration to be invalidated.