In the United Kingdom, Common Law protects trademark owners. Registered trademarks coexist with unregistered trademarks. However, a UK trademark registration gives owners greater benefits than simple Common Law protection.
MAS LEGAL provides BrandToBe trademark search and registration package for your UK trademark registration.
In England and Wales, unregistered trademarks benefit from the action of passing off. The burden of proof lies on plaintiffs who must demonstrate that they have built up a reputation in the mark, the likelihood or actual confusion in the public, and a real and tangible probability of damage. A passing off action can be difficult to prove and is usually expensive.
A registered trademark in the United Kingdom gives greater benefits to its owner.
A registered trademark is a property right. This means that you can dispose of it as you wish, licence it, franchise it and sell it.
A registered trademark makes it easier to take legal action against the infringing party. Trading Standards Officers or the Police may bring criminal charges against counterfeiters.
A trademark rights holder can lodge an application with HMRC for the detention by Customs, generally for a period of ten working days, of any goods that are detected at the UK external border and that are suspected of infringing an intellectual property right. Customs can also contact the rights-holder if they discover suspected infringing goods during the course of other checks.
If you are seeking Customs action at the UK or European Union border, we can file an application for you.
Our tips for protecting your trademarks and our trademark best practices.
In order to launch a new brand or target new markets, it is important to verify your freedom to operate. BrandToBe® includes a trademark search and registration package for the UK.
BrandToBe® is designed to research and analyse new brand availability. We prepare a full risk assessment, conducted by legal experts.
We conduct availability searches on proprietary databases. We assess a broad range of Intellectual Property rights that might prevent exploitation (trade names, common law marks, domain names, company names, copyright, etc.). We assess the pros and cons of a particular brand name compared to alternates; We propose mitigation solutions if we find obstacles and risks to the registration of your trademark.
If your brand is available for registration or if our lawyers find a suitable mitigation strategy, we will prepare and file your trademark application in the UK at no additional cost (terms apply).
MAS LEGAL is a law firm located in London, UK. Practice regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority of England and Wales, registration number 468289. Admission to practice in France. Intra Community VAT No GB 144 873491.
MAS LEGAL is part of an independent lawyer network with Offices in Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and the USA. MAS LEGAL provides trademark services covering Europe, Canada, USA, China, Japan, and over 76 other countries.