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TM rules to get a good spring-clean -- please advise!

By Johanna Gibson, David Pearce, Jeremy Phillips and Ilanah Simon.

Not content with setting ever-faster standards for processing IP matters on behalf of its users and their representatives, the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) is making sure its users move quickly too. Earlier this year a formal consultation was launched on new set of consolidated Trade Mark Rules dealing with proposed changes to opposition periods and making appropriate reference to marks that designate the UK via the Madrid Protocol. In short, a new version of that popular classic, the Trade Marks (International Registration) Order 1996.

This time around the UKIPO is taking the opportunity to give a complete overhaul to the old, much-amended Order in order to increase clarity, certainty and completeness. Another aim of this overhaul is to making it easier to incorporate fresh amendments in the future. Consultation on this is informal since it does not involve any policy changes. The new draft, while looking radically different to the old Order, preserves the legal status quo, as an analysis annexed to the consultation paper shows.

The Order is a highly technical piece of legislation and the approach taken in the draft text may well interest users of the Madrid system. UKIPO would appreciate all comments by 30 June [the IPKat says, that's 2008 ...], which should be sent to Edward Smith. Comments may be sent by email, fax or post to Trade Mark Rules Consultation, Room 2R20, UK Intellectual Property Office, Concept House, Cardiff Road, NewportNP10 8QQ, Wales, United Kingdom, Planet Earth ...

The Informal Consultation can be read in pdf format here and in a larger read-only Word document format that nearly destabilised the IPKat's computer here.

How to achieve clarity here

Full post as published by IPKat on June 05, 2008 (boomark / email).