Grant Spencer

Patents County Court News

Grant Spencer — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 10:47:53 +0000

The Patents County Court (Financial Limits) Order came into force on the 14^th June 2011. The order limits the value of claims that can be heard in the Patents County Court to a maximum of £500,000.

Italian Trade Mark Office expected to introduce opposition process shortly

Grant Spencer — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 11:02:15 +0000

The Italian Trade Mark Office is likely to initiate the procedure for filing opposition to trade mark applications shortly and it may be ready to receive oppositions in relation to applications filed after 1st May 2011. It is anticipated that there will be a three month opposition term although a formal statement has not yet issued.

At the moment proprietors of Italian trade mark registrations are only able to address a later filed registration via Court proceedings. The new procedures, when implemented, shall be rather welcome. We shall watch developments with interest.

We are very pleased to announce that Abida Chaudri joined our firm on the 10th January.

Grant Spencer — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 11:14:50 +0000

Abida originally qualified and practised as a solicitor undertaking commercial litigation. Since 1996, she has specialised in the field of trade marks and designs. She has extensive and wide ranging experience in the intellectual property field including clearance of brands for use, dispute resolution, portfolio management (contentious and non-contentious) and domain name issues. On transferring from commercial litigation to intellectual property in 1996, she initially joined a trade mark attorney practice in 1996. This was followed in 1999 by a move to a law firm specialising in intellectual property and lengthy secondments at an FMCG drinks company and one of the major multinational pharmaceutical companies.

Abida is a Member of the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys qualified by examination, a Registered Trade Mark Agent and a European Trade Mark Attorney. Abida has an LLB honours degree in Business Law and the Diploma in Intellectual Property Law & Practice from Bristol University. She is a regular writer on trade mark issues and her articles have been published widely. We welcome her to our firm.

Indian Trade Mark Practice

Grant Spencer — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 10:17:54 +0000

The Indian Trade Marks Registry has ceased offering official searches. The Registry has updated and digitized its records so that the data is now available online. It is now possible to carry out online searches of the Indian Trade Marks Register free of charge, although the search facility is not very sophisticated and the data is not wholly accurate so that such searches may not be of great value. The Registry will continue to examine applications on relative grounds.

Community Trade Marks Office and Opposition Decisions

Grant Spencer — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 10:38:18 +0000

The Office has decided to introduce a new layout for opposition decisions with the objective of making the decisions more straightforward and the reasoning unambiguous. This will hopefully benefit parties to oppositions as well as improving the efficiency of the Office. There will be six sections to each decision: comparison of the goods and services; comparison of the signs; dominant and distinctive elements in the signs; distinctiveness per se, enhanced distinctiveness of the earlier sign; the relevant public and the level of attention; and the global assessment. It will be interesting to see whether the new layout meets its objective.

Libya New Trade Mark Law

Grant Spencer — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 11:48:28 +0000

A new trade mark law has been introduced in Libya, effective from 21 August 2010. Significant changes include recognition of well known marks, provision for protection of sound marks, certification and collective marks, additional penalties for trade mark infringement (including fines and imprisonment), provision for late renewal of a trade mark in the form of a six month grace period, and extension of protection for a mark to cover not only identical but similar goods and services.

Trade Mark registration in Iraqi Kurdistan

Grant Spencer — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 10:35:48 +0000

Iraqi Kurdistan (or Kurdistan Region) has established a Trademarks Department and it is now possible to apply to register trade marks in this territory, which is an autonomous region of Iraq. The applicable law is the same as that in Iraq. Marks registered in Iraq can be extended to Iraqi Kurdistan if an appropriate letter is obtained from the Trademark Office in Baghdad. Please contact us if you are interested in obtaining protection in this region.

UK Intellectual Property Office Investment

Grant Spencer — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 16:44:49 +0000

The Government has introduced measures to assist five million small companies in the United Kingdom. As part of this programme, the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) announced on 1 November 2010 that it is investing £3 million to support over 300 companies. The funds are taken from the IPO’s savings and will benefit the Small Business Research Initiative which encourages innovation and Collaborative R&D Support. Companies will enjoy additional funding and advice on IP protection and management. A portion of the savings will also be used to increase efficiency within the IPO.

Netherlands Antilles news

Grant Spencer — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 11:32:51 +0000

On 10 October 2010, the government of the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved. The islands of the Netherlands Antilles were Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Saint Maarten and Saint Eustatius. Bonaire, Saba and Saint Eustatius are now special municipalities and will follow most Dutch law. They have been named the Caribbean Netherlands. Curaçao and Saint Maarten are new constituent states, similar to Aruba which withdrew from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986, and have their own parliament and government.

What does this change mean for trade marks? For national registrations existing in the Netherlands Antilles before 10 October 2010, these registrations will remain in force in Curaçao and Saint Maarten until their next renewal date. However, such registrations must be reconfirmed in the Caribbean Netherlands within one year, by 10 October 2011. Any International registration that designated the Netherland Antilles will remain in force in the territories. From now on, since 10 October 2010, to cover all five islands, new applications must be filed in Curaçao, Saint Maarten and the Caribbean Netherlands.

Trade Marks in Uganda

Grant Spencer — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 14:24:11 +0000

It is now possible to file applications to register trade marks in relation to services in Uganda; previously, applications could only cover goods. The new Uganda Trademarks Act 2010 is now in force and the Ugandan Trade Marks Registry has been receiving new applications covering services since 29 September 2010. Please contact us directly if you would like more information or are interested in protecting your brand for services in this country.