Once your trade marks are registered, it’s easy to look at the trade mark box as ticked, to file away the registration certificates and to only dig them out in the event of a dispute.
However, as your business evolves, it’s important to take some time now and again to confirm that the protection you have fits your current needs. In this newsletter, we’ve outlined some key points to think about.
1. Are all aspects of your brands registered? These will most commonly be your name, logos and slogans as well as your names for your products and services.
2. Does the list of the goods/services (the ‘specification’) for your registered trade marks cover everything that:
• you sell; and
• you intend to sell in the future, if you will be expanding your offering?
3. Are your marks protected in all of the jurisdictions where you sell and intend to sell? For example, protection in mainland China will not provide protection in Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan. Similarly, protection in the UK will not provide protection in Gibraltar, Guernsey or Jersey.
4. Do you have appropriate trade mark watching services to ensure that you are notified of ‘conflicting’ trade mark applications filed by others?
5. Are the relevant registers up-to-date? For example:
• if you have changed your registered name or address, this change should be recorded;
• in some jurisdictions, where the only use of a trade mark has been by a licensee – in the event of ‘attack’ on the basis of non-use – the trade mark will be revoked unless the licence has been recorded with the registry.
Please contact Mark Corran via email, or phone for further information
If you wish to arrange a brand assessment or you have any questions about your brand protection, please contact us.
We an assist with all various legal aspects of brand protection, including:
- branding;
- copyright;
- design rights;
- domains;
- intellectual property audits;
- knowhow;
- licensing;
- patents;
- rights acquisitions; and trade marks
