| You were unhappy as you were unable to file your national phase application by fax on boxing
day because the fax failed. The fax was eventually successful and you were then unhappy we did not confirm receipt of the fax and provide you with and application
number for you to pay the fee within the deadline. On the 21 February 2011 you sent a further email saying, "All that I seek pursuant to my complaint is for
my lawful right to the 3 June 2008 priority calendar date to be duly retained for my UK Patent application". |
We responded to you by letter on the 25 January 11 informing you that you must file an extension of time by the 3 March 11 in order to claim your priority date to enter the UK national phase or your application will lapse in due course. We also explained that your application does not seem to meet the patentability requirements and maybe refused after a full examination. We also informed you that you would also require an address for service within the European Economic area and that you need to inform us of this address by the 25 March 11. |
| You told us, "The website is a death trap to people, like 90% of the population. It's not easy to use for people who don't regularly use computers. You were not happy that you can't file the electronic form because it's too difficult and that you now can't receive the discount. You were really unhappy with how difficult the system is. You said that nothing is easy. You were also unhappy with the service provided by info centre." |
We listened to the call and have taken your feedback on board. |
| You told us, "The website is a death trap to people, like 90% of the population. It's not easy to use for people who don't regularly use computers. You were not happy that you can't file the electronic form because it's too difficult and that you now can't receive the discount. You were really unhappy with how difficult the system is. You said that nothing is easy. You were also unhappy with the service provided by info centre." |
We listened to the call and have taken your feedback on board. |
| You, "Found the website not user friendly and difficult to understand." You were trying to file for a Patent online. First of all you thought you had to fill out the paper version and email us and then you couldn't understand that the form was electronic. You said that, "Registering at Companies House was a lot easier and the forms were more understandable." |
Your comments were forwarded to the relevant senior manager for their information. |
| You complained that the online filing for a patent is not user friendly and ranted how ridiculous it is to file the online form one and none of the questions make sense. You could not complete the form as you did not have the specification saved correctly and then complained you had just wasted half an hour talking to us. You said you had never not been able to complete an online form before and then hung up. |
Your comments were forwarded to the relevant senior manager for their information. |
| You said, "Turning off access to your database at 22:00 hours is ridiculous. This is the 21st century and websites do not need to conform to office hours. Equally, applications from overseas, operating with different time zones cannot always
conform to your unnecessary restrictions." |
We replied, "The way our search systems are currently set up rely heavily on our database being available to provide the information required. The database is updated on a nightly basis to ensure the data is as accurate and up to date as possible. In order to apply these updates the system must be taken "offline" during this process, we also use this time for scheduled maintenance work. We are
aware that this does cause some difficulty to applicants, unfortunately we cannot change the current system but we are in the process of upgrading the whole of the
Trade Marks IT Systems and once this is online the search services should be available 24/7." |
| You called regarding classification advice for a second TM application that you were making. You spoke to someone and then called back to speak to a manager to complain about the treatment you had received. The customer was very upset and holding back tears. You said that we had been very rude to her and that our manner was aggressive. You said that you felt intimidated. We apologised to you and told you we would take this up with the relevant manager. We also informed you of the complaints procedure - you were hesitant to lodge a formal complaint as you felt that this may in some way affect the outcome of your TM examination. We assured you this was not the case and again apologised for the service that you had received. |
We rang you and you were full of praise for our service in general. You have used our services before and obtained a trade mark registration. You explained how helpful the examiner was when your mark faced an objection and you wanted to hopefully, avoid any problems this time. However you felt that your conversation with classification today was not handled in a profession manner. You felt it was very rude and they did not listen to or answer your question. We explained that the classification team was not the right area to provide you with the advice you required, but explained that your expectation of a professional standard of customer service should not be reduced. We apologised for any misunderstanding that may have occurred
and that we should have explained fully why this team could not assist her. During our conversation today we provided you with the guidance you required and answered
your question to your satisfaction. You were happy that the situation was resolved. We have spoken to the classification manager and stressed the importance of maintaining
a professional approach at all times. |
| You were complaining a TM7a was allowed to be filed on his application when the last day for objection was the 20 March 11. I explained that this date fell on a Sunday so the last day would be the 21 March 11 to file an objection. You were also unhappy that you were not notified of the Company who owns the trademark all though you were aware that they did exist before you applied. You were unhappy that your application has been allowed to proceed to be advertised. We informed you of the offices Trade Mark procedures. |
We replied, "Thank you for your email dated 25 March and the feedback you provided to our office. We are sorry that you are unhappy with our procedures. In response to your query regarding your opposition deadline, I would draw your attention to the following Hours of business information available on our website. In accordance with Section 80 of the Trade Marks Act 1994, this confirms that, "Business done on any day after the specified hours of business, or on a day which is not a business day, shall be deemed to have been done on the next business day." Unfortunately, in this particular case, the opposition filed against your Trade Mark has been validly filed. We are also sorry to hear that your application has now been opposed. As an unrepresented applicant, please could we also direct you to our website which contains information you may find useful in dealing with your Trade Mark opposition proceedings. Finally, if you need further assistance, please reply to my email with details and I will arrange for one of my colleagues in Tribunal section to telephone you." |
| You were very unhappy that a Trade Mark has been registered in Europe without your knowledge. You didn't understand how this can be possible. You would like an explanation to why this has happened. You no longer see the point of your trademark. |
We e-mailed you asking for some further information but you did not reply and therefore we were unable to answer your enquiry accordingly. |
