| You said that you were very unhappy with the new Notification System. |
We gave a thorough explanation as to why the IPO had moved to this new system, clearly explaining
that this decision was only taken following a consultation exercise with the IPO’s customers. You were
also given the contact number of the Deputy Head of International Trade Marks, in case you required
any further clarification on the
new system. |
| You said that you were unhappy that we had accepted a similar trade mark to yours. |
We told you that in cases where there was conflict and the later mark was not yet registered
then it was possible to oppose the later mark. Unfortunately the later mark had been registered and
opposition was no longer an option. However, it was still possible to file invalidity proceedings. The contact details of the Head of Law Section were given in case you wanted invalidity advice. |
| You said you had a trade mark registration in class 41 and were suing a company for using
this trade mark without your consent. |
We sent a thorough reply explaining the Roles and Responsibilities of the Intellectual Property
Office. You were told all about the examination process and what routes were available to you and you
were also given the contact details of the Head of Law Section in case you had any further questions
relating to opposition or invalidity proceedings. |
| You said that you were given incorrect advice by the Central Enquiry Unit (CEU) before applying
for this trade mark. |
We explained that all calls in the CEU are recorded and this is brought to the attention
of all customers at the beginning of each CEU call. The call has been reviewed and it was handled in
line with our normal procedures. |
| You said that we were wrong to accept a trade mark and that we should remove it from our
register. |
We said that the trade mark had gone through the examination process and was considered
to be acceptable. The opposition process was there to allow people to lodge oppositions and none were
lodged in this case. The invalidity procedure can also be used to remove a registered trade
mark if you feel
that the IPO was wrong to
accept it. |
| You said that you had received some misleading information about notifications relating
to prior rights holders. |
We apologised for any advice that might have been given that was not as clear as it should
have been. He then went on to give a full explanation of the notification system and how it related
to prior rights holders. |
