Trade Mark Monitoring & Name Watching after Registration
There is little point in registering a trade mark if one does not then invest in the care of it, not unlike other investments that may require periodic management and nurturing to protect their value and realise their true potential.
The UK and Community Registrars will accept conflicting trade marks unless the proprietor of the earlier right objects. Therefore it is essential that trade mark owners subscribe to a monitoring and name watching service.
- Although you own the rights to a trade mark it is up to you to ensure that a third party has not adopted a conflicting trade mark.
- A trade mark monitoring service of the pertinent registers will alert us to prospective trade marks that may conflict with your rights.
- We can then advise you of the appropriate action to take in order to prevent both their use and registration.
What normally happens with this service is that an identical word search is conducted at the commencement of the registration so that the client knows the current status of the Registers regarding their mark, with quarterly updates being provided.
Applications that are advertised for opposition purposes as well as new applications will be drawn to the client's attention on a monthly basis for their consideration.
This will allow time to try and negotiate an amicable settlement, if appropriate and if this cannot be concluded within the advertisement period, opposition can be filed whilst negotiations between both parties continue.
In addition, caveats can be placed upon new applications which will tell us when the application is to be advertised or whether it is abandoned, costing £80 + VAT for FD clients.
FD Trade Marks Ltd is pleased to offer monitoring services of any register in the world, not just the UK and Europe. The cost of this watching service starts at £780 plus VAT, with further work that may result therefrom charged at the usual hourly rate of £260 plus VAT.