Use It or Lose It

Having a trade mark is all well and good, but a recent case should serve as a reminder that failing to use trade marks may lead to them being lost. The case involved a trade mark for a cigarette brand which was registered to a tobacco company in the USA.

If renewal of a trade mark is opposed, the owner must prove that it has made genuine use of it for it to be preserved. In the case in point, the company could not demonstrate genuine use of the trade mark for a continuous period of five years and the application to renew it was therefore rejected.

The contents of this article are intended for general information purposes only and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute legal advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article.