February 2008
Fast-track your trade mark application with the UKIPO… but will it make a difference?
From 7 April 2008, applicants for a UK registered trade mark can have the waiting time for examination of the trade mark cut down to 10 working days if they pay an additional £300. Usually, examination of a standard application currently takes one month. The UK Intellectual Property Office will refund the fast-track fee if the examination report is not sent to you within 10 days. Applicants wanting to make use of the fast-track system need to pay the additional fee of £300 at the time of filing and should submit the registration form online with the fast track option selected.
The value of this new system is questionable however. Unfortunately, the fast track process cannot be used for a series of marks at this stage. All applications also still have to go through a three-month opposition period before they are registered. This means that realistically some applicants may find that the overall waiting time from filing to registration is not significantly shortened. The UK IPO will be conducting a consultation shortly on whether changes should be made to the opposition period for all applications, whether or not they have been fast-tracked.
Briffa’s comment
This new system could be helpful for businesses or individuals who are already using an unregistered mark and are keen to get it registered as soon as possible to help protect their brand.
Be warned though - your fast-tracked application could still be objected to at the opposition stage! If another party does raise an objection to your application, the time frame until registration will inevitably be longer as you will need to present arguments about your mark to the UK Intellectual Property Office to respond to the particular objection and prove why your mark should be registered. We can correspond with the Intellectual Property Office on your behalf to help you overcome any objections.