Can you Lose Your Trade Mark?

 What happens once I have my trademark?

Trade mark registrations can technically be made to last forever, so long as you keep up to date with it. Just registering leaves you at risk of losing it in two ways:

Revoked!

This happens when you leave your trade mark unused, so with no evidence of trade being undertaken with that trade mark. If someone else wants to use it, they can revoke it. This means they file with the registry for revocation, which is the removal of that mark from the register. If you want to use a mark, it's strongly advisable to file the new application before beginning the revocation; otherwise someone else can jump in and register it from your fingertips.

Invalidation

This process involves proving a trade mark should not have been accepted on to the register in the first place. This can either be on what's known as absolute grounds, such as if it is too descriptive. Or if it’s too similar to a pre-existing registered mark or on a trade mark where the owners claim unregistered rights through use.

How do you avoid this?

Be sure to continuously use your trade mark for some aspect of your business, even if it’s only on your company website

Pay the renewal fees on time! Leave it too late and you are putting yourself in the lions cage.

Get our opinion before filing and we can tell you whether it might be considered descriptive or generic.

Popular posts from this blog

Word Marks? Logo Marks? What’s The Difference?

  So a trademark is your brand, which can be in a form of a word, picture, symbol, or a combination of these. Interestingly enough, 3D objects and sounds can also be registered aside from word trademarks and logo marks. What it does, is to seperate your brand from other goods and services that your competitors may offer. You should consider owning a trademark because it protects you and your consumers from counterfeit and fraud. Also, legal action for a trademark infringement is relatively cheap, sometimes as little as a few thousand pounds, compared to the hundreds of thousands of pounds you have to pay for an action claim of passing off in UK, same goes in the US. Trademarks allow the Trading Standards Officer or the police to criminally charge against counterfeit who use your trademark without your consent. It’s a good way to protect your hard earned good name, don’t you think? But what exactly will you register? A  word mark  registers the word itself you want to use,...
Read more

Trademark Registration dispute over Keep Calm and Carry On

Image
   WE NEED YOU! Join us to fight for the right of UK businesses to use the much loved slogan ‘KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON’ When  ‘KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON’  was used by the British Government in 1939, Britain was facing a possible invasion. Today, we are seeing the long arm of Europe encroaching on our national heritage again. The EU has granted an EU Community Trade Mark to  ‘KEEP CALM AND  CARRY ON’  meaning that only one company may use the slogan for  clothing, mugs, posters and other memorabilia. This could potentially put  many companies out of business. This is wrong and we do not believe it would have been accepted by the UK Trade Mark Registry for the following reasons: ‘KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON’  is part of the UK’s national heritage, first being used in 1939 on government posters to strengthen morale in the face of a possible German invasion Prior to the trade mark being registered, many businesses used  ‘KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON’ ...
Read more

Maintaining UK TM rights derived from EU registrations

  So as explained in an earlier post, when the UK left the EU cloned new trademarks were created at the UKIPO for owners of registered, active EU trademarks. These new trademarks have the same registration date as the EU trademark and are identical in every respect, other than the tacit assumption they were created under UK trademark law. As with any trademark, the new UK trademarks need to be maintained. Renewal of UK trademarks is required every 10 years from date of regsitration, starting from 6 months before the renewal date. If you miss the renewal date there is a 6 month grace period. Renewal in this period is essentially the same with no loss of rights though there is a penalty fee to pay. £1 for ‘late renewal’. The official fees payable to the UKIPO for renwewing a UK trademark are £200 for the first class of goods or services, and £50 for each extra class. Renewals for non UK resident owners requires a UK representative. If you would like cost effective trademark represent...
Read more