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Trade mark priority

By Sarah Chatterley.

Use the “priority” system to “leapfrog” over any trade mark applications filed between your first application and subsequent applications filed within six months. 

Under an agreement called the Paris Convention, it is possible, under certain conditions, to claim the same filing date for later trade mark applications as for your first for a particular mark. This is particularly useful when “testing the water” with your mark in the UK before applying for trade mark protection in foreign territories. There are several requirements to be met to qualify, but if you are able to use the priority system your later applications will take precedence, ie have an earlier filing date, than those filed between your first and later applications. To qualify,

 

-       the application must be for the identical mark, for some or all of the identical goods/services (or included in a general term) and must stand in the same name as the original application

-       the territories must all belong to the Paris Convention or have a reciprocal agreement in place

-       later trade mark applications must be filed within 6 months of the first filing anywhere in the world

 

This news item may contain information of general interest about current legal issues, but does not contain legal advice.