UK Retailers Can Apply for Trademark

UK Trademarks, European Trademarks, Trademark Application

In 1994, the Trademark Act caused the British legal trademark approach to fall in line with the general EU Directive regarding trademarks. The Trademark Act thus forced the UK to handle trademark applications in the same way as in the rest of Europe.

It was thanks to this Trademark Act, that recently the UK Registrar of Trademarks has decided that retail services can also register a trademark. The decision was made after two test cases by Debenhams and Dewhurst, who were sponsored by the British Retain Consortium, put forward that retail services could be protected under this law.

Before, retail services were not regarded the same as other service providers, who have been protected by trademark applications since 1986. The goods which were being sold by the retail service company could be protected by trademarks, but never before the service of selling retail was protected.

Registering a trademark makes it possible for retail service providers to protect themselves if another company tries to open a company under the same or very similar name. Previously, case law had held that the purpose of a trade mark was as an indicator of origin of goods or services, and that trading in other people’s goods (eg retailing) did not qualify as such a service.

Find the complete article and more general information on trademarks in the UK at www.ramage.co.uk

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Trademark @ November 19, 2007