From 1 October, the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) will examine UK trademarks on the basis of absolute grounds only.
This is in a stark reverse of UK trademark strategy where previously any applications could be rejected if they posed a commercial conflict against an existing trademark. In response, UK business will need to pro-actively look to prevent similar trademarks being registered.
Although existing UK trademark holders will still be warned of new applications, which could be of commercial opposition, it is not known how this service will be offered, or how thorough it will be.
Keith Hodkinson, partner at Marks and Clerk in Leeds commented, “No one wants a conflicting trademark to slip through the net and existing trademark holders cannot afford to be complacent. The effectiveness of the new procedures will depend on the comprehensiveness of the searching and monitoring by the UKIPO. Increasing proactivity will be vital on the part of trademark owners themselves and we strongly recommend that our clients budget for trademark watching services.”
The changes will only affect trademarks that have been registered in the UK. EC trademarks will remain unaffected.
