# § 1063. Opposition to registration
**(a)** Any person who believes that he would be damaged by the registration of a mark upon the principal register, including the registration of any mark which would be likely to cause dilution by blurring or dilution by tarnishment under section 1125(c) of this title, may, upon payment of the prescribed fee, file an opposition in the Patent and Trademark Office, stating the grounds therefor, within thirty days after the publication under subsection (a) of section 1062 of this title of the mark sought to be registered. Upon written request prior to the expiration of the thirty-day period, the time for filing opposition shall be extended for an additional thirty days, and further extensions of time for filing opposition may be granted by the Director for good cause when requested prior to the expiration of an extension. The Director shall notify the applicant of each extension of the time for filing opposition. An opposition may be amended under such conditions as may be prescribed by the Director.
**(b)** Unless registration is successfully opposed—
**(1)** a mark entitled to registration on the principal register based on an application filed under section 1051(a) of this title or pursuant to section 1126 of this title shall be registered in the Patent and Trademark Office, a certificate of registration shall be issued, and notice of the registration shall be published in the Official Gazette of the Patent and Trademark Office; or
**(2)** a notice of allowance shall be issued to the applicant if the applicant applied for registration under section 1051(b) of this title.
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**Source Credit**: (July 5, 1946, ch. 540, title I, § 13, 60 Stat. 433; Pub. L. 87–772, § 8, Oct. 9, 1962, 76 Stat. 771; Pub. L. 93–596, § 1, Jan. 2, 1975, 88 Stat. 1949; Pub. L. 93–600, § 1, Jan. 2, 1975, 88 Stat. 1955; Pub. L. 97–247, § 9(a), Aug. 27, 1982, 96 Stat. 320; Pub. L. 100–667, title I, § 114, Nov. 16, 1988, 102 Stat. 3940; Pub. L. 106–43, § 2(b), Aug. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 218; Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(9) [title IV, § 4732(b)(1)(B)], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A–583; Pub. L. 109–312, § 3(b), Oct. 6, 2006, 120 Stat. 1732.)
## Editorial Notes
### Prior Provisions
Acts , §§ 6, 7, ; , .
### Amendments
2006—Subsec. (a). substituted “the registration of any mark which would be likely to cause dilution by blurring or dilution by tarnishment” for “as a result of dilution”.
1999—Subsec. (a). substituted “Director” for “Commissioner” wherever appearing.
inserted “, including as a result of dilution under ,” after “principal register” in first sentence.
1988— designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), substituted “prescribed fee” for “required fee”, and added subsec. (b).
1982— substituted “an” for “a verified” after “required fee, file”, inserted “when requested prior to the expiration of an extension” after “Commissioner for good cause” and struck out provision that an unverified opposition could be filed by a duly authorized attorney, but such opposition would be null and void unless verified by the opposer within a reasonable time after such filing is fixed by the Commissioner.
1975— substituted provisions relating to extensions of time for filing opposition upon written request prior to the expiration of the thirty-day period for an additional thirty days, and further extensions for good cause, for provisions relating to extensions of the time for filing opposition for good cause shown.
substituted “Patent and Trademark Office” for “Patent Office”.
1962— inserted “An opposition may be amended under such conditions as may be prescribed by the Commissioner”, and struck out “notice of” after “file a verified” and “time for filing”.
## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
### Effective Date of 1999 Amendments
Amendment by effective 4 months after , see section 1000(a)(9) [title IV, § 4731] of , set out as a note under , Patents.
Amendment by effective , and applicable only to any application for registration filed on or after , see , set out as a note under .
### Effective Date of 1988 Amendment
Amendment by effective one year after , see , set out as a note under .
### Effective Date of 1982 Amendment
Amendment by effective six months after , see , set out as a note under , Patents.
### Effective Date of 1975 Amendments
> “This Act [amending this section and sections 1071 and 1117 of this title] shall become effective upon enactment [
>
> ], but shall not affect any suit, proceeding, or appeal then pending.”
, , , provided that:
Amendment by effective , see , set out as a note under .
### Repeal and Effect on Existing Rights
Repeal of inconsistent provisions, effect of this chapter on pending proceedings and existing registrations and rights under prior acts, see notes set out under .
## Executive Documents
### Transfer of Functions
For transfer of functions of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of Commerce, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of Commerce, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 5 of 1950, §§ 1, 2, eff. , 15 F.R. 3174, , set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.