ITMA spring conference: IPO reveals record trademark filings
The UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has revealed that it has received a record number of trademark applications in the last financial year.
Steve Rowan, divisional director for trademarks and designs at the IPO, told an industry conference that, this morning (March 19), total annual applications surpassed the 55,000 mark for the first time, adding that there has been a 33% increase in filings since 2011.
“This is the highest figure since there has been a UK registry and we are seeing a huge growth in applications,” Rowan told the Institute of Trademark Attorneys' (ITMA) spring conference, which is being held in London.
The current financial year runs from April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015.
Rowan was speaking on the subject of convergence—the theme of this year’s conference—and said the IPO would be seeking to join the Hague Agreement by “some point next year”.
Administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization, the agreement covers protection for industrial designs in all participating nations.
Rowan told delegates: “It’s a complicated procedure [joining a treaty or agreement] and it may take some time but our plan is to join next year.”
He added that the office, in order to bring it more into line with the rest of Europe, is reviewing its fees for registering designs.
“There’s not enough convergence between UK law and EU law and our fees are very out of step with our counterparts in Europe. Applicants have previously found they are better off getting a Community design (covering all of Europe) as opposed to a UK design.”
The IPO has also launched a consultation on introducing an opinion service for designs.
Opinion services, which are currently available only for patents, allow a person or organisation involved in a dispute over alleged infringement to request from the office a non-binding opinion on the matter.
A consultation, which will seek opinions on what the service should entail, was launched today and will close on May 15.
The ITMA spring conference runs from March 19 to 20.
