SPECIAL REPORT
Tricks of the Trade Mark
If you think you know your way around Trade Mark legislation, think again. A salutary tale from a Printwear & Promotion reader prompted us to take a closer look at what you can do to stay on the right side of the law...
H
ow can you be certain that the catchy slogan youʼve been printing on those T shirts that have been flying out of your shop for the last umpteen years are trademark-free and not someone elseʼs intellectual property? If you havenʼt bothered to check, you could come unstuck and, as well as having to trash whatever youʼve printed – at great expense – you could face a hefty penalty and find yourself in hot water. And if you think it canʼt happen to you, just read what happened to one unfortunate Printwear & Promotion reader, based in the north west. A few weeks ago, the reader – who runs a successful T shirt printing business – contacted the P&P newsdesk. For as long as he could remember, heʼd been making a nice profit selling a popular line of “Frankie says relax” T shirts from his eBay shop.
So imagine his surprise (and horror), when he went online one morning, only to discover that every last “Frankie” T shirt had been removed – without warning – from his eBay shop. When he contacted eBay, it was, in fact, eBay themselves whoʼd pulled them. It turned out that the “Frankie says relax” slogan had been trademarked by another company, meaning that heʼd been infringing someone elseʼs trademark by selling the T shirts.
| 62 | December 2012
Needless to say, our reader is currently out of pocket, and has been left scratching his head!
“How on earth would or could I have known that?” he asked us. When he delved deeper, it transpired that the slogan had only been trademarked this summer by a company called Fonfella Ltd. The trademark application was filed on May 23rd, it was registered on August 31st and the next renewal date is May 23rd, 2022 – effectively preventing anyone else from using that slogan for the next 10 years.
So, on behalf of our reader, we contacted the IPO (the Intellectual Property Office) to see what, if anything, our reader could have done to avoid falling into that trap. We also contacted Fonfella, who declined to comment.
The issue of intellectual property is hugely complex, however, the best source of information is the Intellectual Property Office website:
www.IPO.gov.uk When we contacted the IPO press office, to tell them what had happened to our reader, the advice was simple.
Y Trade Marks Journal
ou can search for trademarks and keep abreast of new trademark applications online at the above web
address. And, unbeknown to us – or to our reader – there is even a Trade Marks
Journal available online. All trade marks that the IPO has accepted and are awaiting registration are advertised in the Trade Marks Journal which is published on the IPO website every Friday. It contains details of all trade mark applications accepted in the previous week (Thursday to Wednesday) as well as registrations, renewals, and changes to the register.
It is worth noting that applications are open to opposition for two months beginning with the publication date. Anybody considering opposition may extend this period to three months by completing an online form (TM7a). The IPO press officer was keen to point out the difference between copyright and trademarks. A trade mark is a sign which can distinguish a company's goods and services from those of other traders. They can consist of words, logos or a combination of both and provide quick and easy legal protection of a company brand. Copyright protects original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, published editions of works, sound recordings (including CDs), films (including videos and DVDs) and broadcasts. Copyright gives creators rights to control ways their material is used. These rights start as soon as the material is recorded in writing or any other way. There is no
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