Whilst Brexit may seem to have been "done" on 1 January 2021, lawmakers have been working on legislation that would effectively remove the principle of EU law supremacy and general principles of EU law and directly effective EU rights. The upshot of this is that as of 1 January 2024 and the coming into force of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (the 2023 Act) the UK is no longer required to interpret UK law in line with previously harmonised EU laws.
With the focus on the UK's trade mark examination process, this article highlights the key differences that already exist between UK and EU-wide trade mark practices and looks at potential areas in which the UK could distance itself further from the EU's jurisprudence.
Much of the UK's trade mark law and practice is harmonised by EU legislation and governed by case law decided by the EU courts. For example, UK trade mark law is governed by the Trade Marks Act 1994 that implements the EU Trademark Directive (2015/2436) and the EU Trademark Regulation (2017/1001), which gives effect to EU trade marks in the United Kingdom. From 1 January of this year the 2023 Act reduces the EU's influence over the UK, providing the opportunity for UK legislators and courts to diverge from the meaning and effect of EU laws.
So, what distinguishes UK trade mark examination procedure from that of the EU and what could change in the future?
Differences between UK and EU examination
Key differences between examination of UK and EU trade mark applications:-
Intention to use
One significant difference between a UK and EU trade mark filing is
that an individual or business filing the application must declare
that they have a bona fide intention to use the trade mark for the
goods/services applied for. This requirement does not apply to EU
trade mark applications.
'Series' applications
It is possible to include up to six acceptable variants of the same
mark in one UK trade mark application. Series mark applications are
an attractive quirk of UK law and practice that do not exist in the
EU system. They are often a useful tool for obtaining cost
effective protection for businesses which may have several versions
of a mark that they wish to protect, such as logos and composite
marks that are represented in different orientations and/or
colourways. Overall, series mark applications can save businesses
time and expense when protecting their brands, which is often
appealing especially when their budgets are small.
Examination
In the UK the examination of a trade mark application can be
swifter than an EU trade mark application. The UKIPO's
examination is conducted in one single report and will deal with
any specification objections and non-distinctiveness issues at the
same time. In the same report the examiner will also include
details of prior rights that could potentially block an application
if challenged. This is in contrast to the EUIPO's examination
process in which specification queries are dealt with initially,
followed by a separate examination report raising any concerns over
whether the mark is sufficiently distinctive to distinguish the
goods and services of the applicant from other businesses. In
between these two reports, the EUIPO will also issue an unofficial
search report informing applicants of potentially problematic
earlier rights (if this has been requested at the time of filing).
The EU process is therefore somewhat more fragmented than in the
UK.
As a result, examination of an EU trade mark application can be
longer than a UK application, particularly if the applicant uses
the full time period allowed to respond – around four months
if specification and inherent distinctiveness objections are raised
by an examiner – whereas in the UK, subject to the
Registrar's scrutiny of any extension of time requests,
objections set out in a UK report must be addressed within two
months.
Oppositions
Managing a UK opposition is more onerous than its EU counterpart
with much stricter rules for submitting evidence within a shorter
time frame. This is because opposition proceedings are subject to
the 'overriding objective' 1 to ensure that all proceedings
are completed within a reasonable time whilst avoiding unnecessary
expense.
Generally speaking, any opposition or contentious matter conducted
through the UKIPO is dealt with on a much shorter time frame and
with more scrutiny from the hearing officers, for example when
seeking extensions of time or suspensions in inter-partes
proceedings even when parties are in agreement with delaying
proceedings to allow settlement discussions to take place.
The UK's deadline to oppose an application is shorter than that
in the EU, being two and three months respectively. An interested
party looking to oppose a UK application can file for a one month
extension of time but absent any such requests or third party
oppositions a problem-free UK application can be registered in
around three to four months from when it was filed. In contrast, a
smooth path to registration for an EU application will be four to
six months.
Pre-registration oppositions in the UK can be based on a broader
range of grounds - not only prior trade marks, copyright or
registered designs but also on claims that the mark cannot function
as a trade mark (inability to distinguish goods/services), has
become a generic term commonly used in trade (inability to
distinguish goods/services), deceptive or the application was filed
in 'bad faith'. Whilst it is possible to object to an EU
application on the latter grounds relating to the mark itself
(absolute grounds) this can only be done once the mark is
registered through invalidity proceedings.
If a UK applicant does not file a counter-statement or defence in
an opposition, the application will generally be deemed abandoned
and the proceedings will draw to a close at an early stage. This
contrasts with EU opposition proceedings, in which even if the
applicant fails to engage in the proceedings in any way, the
opposition will still proceed to a decision in which the applicant
may be successful. This aspect of the EU opposition procedure can
often be frustrating for opponents that are forced to see an
opposition to a final decision despite the applicant's lack of
involvement in the proceedings.
Potential for future divergence
It is envisaged that the 2023 Act will also provide the
opportunity for the UK courts and the UKIPO to decide cases
differently to EU case law. The UK's laws are currently
governed by a handful of important EU cases which have been the
go-to precedents for trade mark practitioners for almost 30 years.
Now that the 2023 Act is in force, this could pave the way for more
UK-centric case law in these constantly developing areas.
We have already seen the Court of Appeal diverge on the law on
trade mark acquiescence 2 but in regards to trade mark
examination there is another possibility on the horizon. Indeed,
seven years into the ongoing trade mark case of Sky v
SkyKick 3 there is scope for the Supreme Court to
depart from the EU's harmonised case law on what 'bad
faith' means for claiming overly broad monopolies and the
broadness of specifications. Specifically, the highly anticipated
judgement could side with adopting a classification system
requiring narrower and more precise specifications in contrast to
the EU's practice of allowing broader specifications of goods
and services. If it did, trade mark owners protecting, for example,
a mark for 'software' would be required to state the
specific purpose of the software. We are monitoring the case
closely and will update you as soon as the judgement is out.
Other important areas involved in trade mark examination and
opposition include concepts such as trade mark distinctiveness,
similarity of goods and services, registrability of 3D trade marks,
as well as principles relating to assessment of a likelihood of
confusion. All of the legal principles relating to these have
evolved through the EU Courts 4 and it will be
interesting to see if UK law and practice will start to depart from
those principles.
Whilst the future is likely to see the gradual divergence of UK
trade mark law and practice from that of the EU, Marks &
Clerk's UK and EU trade mark experts are well positioned to
advise clients on the implications of this divergence, as well as
what steps should be taken by businesses to best
Footnotes
1. Rule 1.1 of the Civil Procedure Rules that also govern the conduct of civil litigation
2. Industrial Cleaning Equipment (Southampton) Ltd v Intelligent Cleaning Equipment Holdings Co Ltd & Anor [2023] EWCA Civ 1451
3. SkyKick UK Ltd and another (Appellants) v Sky Ltd and others (Respondents) [2018] EWHC 155 (Ch); Case C-371/18 and Opinion of AG Tanchez; [2021] EWCA Civ 1121
4. See for example EU judgements in Cases C-191/01 P (Doublemint), C-104/01 (Libertel), C-53/01 (Linde), C-383/99P (Baby-Dry), C-363/99 (Postkantoor), C-299/99 (Phillips) , C-342/97 (Lloyd/Loint's), C-108/97 & C-109/97 (Chiemsee) , C-39/97 (Canon v MGM), C-251/95 (Sabel v Puma)
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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