Consequently, and to support the whole reason behind trademark registration, it is imperative, to ensure that trademark applicants obtain appropriate protection for their trademarks, that they should spell out clearly what they want their trademarks to cover from the outset.
The CJEU decision is in the IP Translator case is expected in the summer of 2012.
Francis Preedy is a senior trademark attorney at Hallmark IP. He can be contacted at: francis.preedy@hallmark-ip.com
Having graduated from Exeter University, Francis Preedy began his professional career at McKennas Solicitors. The McKennas practice was subsequently transferred to D Young & Co, where Preedy remained until he joined the in-house trademark department of Shell International Petroleum Company Limited in 1988. During his eight years at Shell before joining Hallmark IP, Preedy was responsible for all aspects of trademark protection worldwide on the chemical side of the group and he also had responsibility for trademark matters on the petroleum side for the former Eastern Bloc countries.