Once a trade mark is registered, third parties cannot use your trade mark or a similar mark on identical or similar goods and/or services that your trade mark is registered for, as it will give you the exclusive rights to use your trade mark for those goods and/or services.

Once your trade mark is safely registered, we recommend that a watching service is set up to monitor any competitors who may be seeking to register a substantially similar mark in the areas where your business trades. This enables you to react quickly to any potential infringements on your trade marks. For more information, please see under Services and Fees.

If you notice or have been notified by an Examiner that a competitor is applying for a trade mark which is identical or similar to yours for identical or similar goods and/or services, then you may wish to take action against this new application, as this new mark could reduce the value of your trade mark if it is allowed on the register.

We would be happy to assist you in defending your mark.

For an initial appraisal of your trade mark versus the new trade mark application we charge £50.00 + VAT. 

If you then want to enforce your rights, you can proceed with either a Cease and Desist letter or filing an opposition against the trade mark application. We could send a Cease and Desist letter first before filing an opposition, to try to come to an amicable solution.

Cease and Desist letter

A Cease and Desist letter is a letter requiring the applicant to stop using the name or logo within a certain time frame, as they’re infringing your registered trade mark rights (in case you have a registered trade mark) or as they’re passing off or taking unfair advantage (in case of unregistered trade mark rights, for example, whilst your application is still going through the registration process). If they do not comply, a further letter might be sent or legal action taken. Our fees for drafting and sending the initial Cease and Desist letter is £225.00 + VAT.

Filing an opposition

If you wish to file an opposition against the trade mark application, our experts are happy to assist you with this. Opposition work will be charged on a time related basis and our experts’ fee is £225.00 + VAT per hour. For example, for preparing and submitting the action (first step), this may take 1-2 hours’ work (but dependent on actual time spent) and so example fees for that stage would be £225.00 – £450.00 + VAT. Please note that the official fee for filing an opposition against a UK trade mark application is £200.00, whilst the official fee for filing an opposition against a Community Trade Mark application is £310.00. We will update you on the costs involved for each step along the way.

Please contact us if you are interested in the above or have any questions and we are happy to assist you.