UK & EC Trade Mark Watching Searches

The examination process of the UK Trade Marks Registry has now been changed to come into line with the examination practice adopted by the EC Trade Marks Registry.  These changes mean that the United Kingdom and European Community Trade Mark Registries will not refuse to register a trade mark even if that trade mark is identical or is likely to be confused with an existing registered trade mark. 

Subsequently, even though you may have successfully registered a trade mark, a competitor could apply to register the same or similar trade mark that would not be automatically refused by the Trade Marks Registry.  The onus is now on the proprietor of the earlier registered trade mark to challenge the offending trade mark application.  Obviously, for the owner of the existing trade mark to be able to challenge the offending application they must be aware of it, this is where our watching searches come in.

Our annual fee to monitor the United Kingdom and European Community Trade Mark Registers and to inform you of any new applications filed on either of these Registers that contain a trade mark that could be confused with your registered trade mark is £80 plus VAT.

If you would like to set up a watching search then you can either APPLY ONLINE or you can download the .pdf form and post it to us.