British Virgin Islands
Answer ... Third parties can oppose trademark applications.
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Huw Moses
from
HSM IP
British Virgin Islands
Answer ... Any person “with interest” has standing to oppose a trademark application. A person may be considered to have interest in an application for the registration of a trademark if it:
- claims to be the owner of the trademark;
- is the holder of a licence in respect of the trademark;
- establishes such a connection with the trademark as convinces the Registrar of Trade Marks, Patents and Copyright that it has a legitimate interest to protect;
- is the owner or licensee of a prior trademark which is identical or similar to the trademark that is the subject of the application and any registration of the latter trademark would likely confuse or mislead the public;
- claims that registration of the trademark will not be in the public interest and provides the reason for that claim, which the registrar accepts as reasonable;
- establishes that registration of the trademark will violate a provision of the Trade Marks Act or any rule, regulation or order made thereunder; or
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establishes any other reason that is prescribed.
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Huw Moses
from
HSM IP
British Virgin Islands
Answer ... The opposition period is open for a period of three months from the date of publication. A notice of opposition (Form TM8) and statement of grounds must be filed. The opposition deadline cannot be extended.
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Huw Moses
from
HSM IP
British Virgin Islands
Answer ... The Registrar of Trade Marks, Patents and Copyright shall hear the opposition proceedings.
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Huw Moses
from
HSM IP
British Virgin Islands
Answer ... Where the Registrar of Trade Marks, Patents and Copyright receives a notice of opposition under Section 51 of the Trade Marks Act which includes a statement of the grounds of opposition, he shall transmit a copy of the notice of opposition to the applicant, inviting the applicant to provide, within such period as the registrar shall specify, a counterstatement of the grounds on which the applicant relies for its application.
If the applicant fails to provide a counterstatement to the registrar within the period specified by the registrar, the applicant shall be deemed to have abandoned its application.
Where the applicant submits a counterstatement to the registrar within the period specified by the registrar, the registrar shall send a copy of the counterstatement to the person that gave notice of opposition.
The period to be specified by the registrar for these purposes shall be not less than 21 days and not more than 60 days from the date on which a copy of the notice of opposition is transmitted to the applicant. This notwithstanding, where it appears reasonable to the registrar that the applicant should be given a period greater than 60 days to provide a counterstatement of the grounds on which it relies for its application, the registrar may, upon application of the applicant, grant the applicant an extension of time for an additional period not exceeding 30 days as the registrar considers appropriate in all the circumstances.
Where the registrar receives a notice of opposition and a counterstatement, he:
- may rely on the notice of opposition and the applicant’s counterstatement, including the application, to make his decision;
- may give the parties the opportunity to make oral presentations before him and consider the evidence presented to him; and
- may determine whether and subject to what conditions (if any) the trademark is to be registered.
A person who gives a notice of opposition may, at any time before the determination of the opposition by the registrar, withdraw in the prescribed form its opposition to the application.
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Huw Moses
from
HSM IP
British Virgin Islands
Answer ... Yes. An appeal can be made before the High Court. Appeals to the High Court are governed by the Civil Procedure Rules 2000.
For more information about this answer please contact:
Huw Moses
from
HSM IP