Trade Marks: Fraud

(asked on 26th June 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to prevent individuals and companies from fraudulently registering trademarks with the Intellectual Property Office.


Answered by
Chris Skidmore Portrait
Chris Skidmore
This question was answered on 2nd July 2019

The Intellectual Property Office has a comprehensive procedure in place with regards to the registration of trade marks and examines every application in accordance with the Trade Mark Act 1994 and Rules 2008 to make sure that it meets the requirements for filing. Section 3(6) of the Act states that a trade mark shall not be registered if or to the extent that the application is made in bad faith.

Anyone can oppose the registration of a trade mark during the application process, once it has been published. Therefore, if a third party believes that an application has been filed in bad faith then an opposition can be filed on that basis, prior to the mark being registered. Opposition can be made through the Intellectual Property Office’s low-cost tribunal service. This provides a robust mechanism for all parties to submit detailed submissions and evidence in order to resolve any dispute that has arisen regarding ownership of a particular name. A similar mechanism is in place following the registration of a mark, via the ability for third parties to apply for the invalidation of a trade mark.

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