If you own a trademark, beware! Since the 1st October, the rules have changed and the UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) will no longer automatically refuse a new trademark application simply because a similar or identical mark is already registered.
Now, when their search identifies the existence of a registered trademark, the IPO will inform the applicant for the new mark, who then has to decide whether to go ahead with the application.
If the applicant does go ahead, then the owner of the existing registered mark will be notified. They then have three months in which to make a block on the application.
For more information take a look at the IPO website.
About Giles
Giles is the founder and managing director of ContractStore. It was his idea to set up a company selling documents online and he has played a major part in the company's development.
He is an English solicitor, with over thirty years' experience of drafting and negotiating commercial and construction contracts in the UK and overseas. He has long been convinced that there is a quicker and simpler approach to the delivery and supply of most contracts, and he is an active proponent of the use of plain English in legal documents. He specialises in the drafting of construction and engineering contracts and as well as contributing contracts to the ContractStore website, he is co-author of the JCT Constructing Excellence Contract publiushed in 2007 (and its predecessor, the Be Collaborative Contract, which is available online from ContractStore).
I actually really like this, hopefully it will streamline the process at the IPO. A crucial, but useful, change is that EU holders have to “opt-in” to have be notified. If they do not opt-in they will have to monitor new trademarks themselves. A few applications I have made this year would have benefited this process as I don’t honestly believe that the trademark holder would have had the issues that the IPO had. It will bed interesting to see how many trademark battles will crop up in coming months/years as a result of this change.
I hope you would not have reservations if I put up a part of this on my univeristy blog?
Hi Perry – That would be fine, we would be happy (assuming of course you put a source credit) – could you post the link when its up?
Beneficial information like this one end up being held and maintained we will place this one on my bookmark list! Thanks for this wonderful publish and hoping to publish really this!