Keep Calm & Carry On (& Be Patient) - An Update

 Our bid to cancel the EU trade mark registration for 'KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON' rumbles on.

The trade mark registration gives the owner, Mr Mark Coop, trade mark rights in all EU countries over posters, clothing, household items and other merchandise.

Mr Coop’s team have just requested a two month extension for submitting evidence, which will push back the timings and ultimately the resolution.

“It’s been over a year since we started this action, and requesting a further two months is surprising,” said Mark Kingsley-Williams, Director at Trade Mark Direct.  “Given the strength of the case for cancellation some might see it simply as a tactic to delay the inevitable”.

Mr Coop’s team have already had half a year to put together their case. "It's hard to imagine they'll unearth any favourable legal arguments or evidence now that they could not before," said Mark Kingsley-Williams.

“We think it would have been better for Mr Coop and his reputation to have filed on time or relinquish his ownership of ‘'KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON'.”

Trade Mark Direct is undertaking this action to cancel the EU trade mark registration for 'KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON' at its own cost and is not acting for any third parties.

New Revised Timescales

July 2012: We submitted our arguments and evidence for the cancellation of the EU trade mark registration for 'KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON', owned by Mr Mark Coop.

Autumn 2012: The examiners were due to look at both sides’ evidence, however the delaying tactics used by Mr Coop means that his team now has until February 2013 to submit their evidence.

Spring 2013: New revised date for examiners to look at both sides’ evidence.

Summer 2013: A final response is not expected until the summer at the earliest.   NB. The Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market (OHIM), which registers the Community Trade Mark in the European Union, is not bound by any schedule.

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