We have today received the UKIPO consultation document which sets out proposed changes to the system of applying for and registering trademarks in the UK. The main thrust of the consultation is that official fees will drop by varying amounts depending how the trademark is applied for. This seems to be in direct response to [...]

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As of 1st October this year, the UK changed the rules relating to the amount of time a trade mark application will remain in the opposition period – this has been cut from 3 months to 2 months, which will mean that uncontested applications will go through that bit quicker. The time to respond has [...]

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The High Court has overturned the UK IPO’s previous decision to refuse to allow the names of shopping centres to be registered as trade marks in class 35. The Court relied upon the ECJ’s decision in Praktiker Bau- und Heimwerkermärkte AG [2005] ECR I-5873, which related to retail services, finding that there was no reason [...]

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