Prior to filing a new Trade Mark Application or commencing use of a Trade Mark, Albright Patents strongly recommend that searches of relevant Trade Mark Registers are conducted for potentially conflicting Trade Marks.

1. Albright Patents will prepare and file an Application at the UK Trade Mark Registry on your behalf. This Application includes a specification of goods/services and the payment of requisite official filing fees.

2. Official filing receipt is issued approximately 2-4 weeks later. Albright Patents will check that the Application details have been captured accurately by the Registry and report the same to you.

3. An examination report is issued approximately 8-10 weeks after payment of the requisite official filing fees. The Application is examined on relative grounds (i.e. conflict with earlier Trade Mark Applications/Registrations) and absolute grounds (i.e. is the Trade Mark descriptive, non-distinctive or customary in the relevant trade).

Albright Patents will review any Examination objections raised and advise you how best to proceed, for example, the filing of written arguments or specification amendment.  Under the new procedure introduced on 1 October 2007, there is only one opportunity to respond to the Examination report. Failure to overcome objections relating to conflicts with earlier marks will lead to notification of UK propietors of earlier conflicting marks, and notification of CTM proprietors of earlier conflicting marks that have "opted into notification".  Notification increases the risk of opposition being raised, as discussed below.

4. If no Examination objection is raised, or any objection is overcome or not, the Application is published in the Trade Marks Journal for a period of three months. During this time, third parties can file opposition on the basis of inter alia prior registered or unregistered rights. In addition to checking that the publication details of your Application are correct, Albright Patents will monitor whether any opposition is filed. In the event that opposition is received, we will advise you on available courses of action, strategy and associated costs.

5. If no opposition is raised or any opposition fails, registration will be granted. In a straightforward Application, the registration procedure takes around 8-10 months. Albright Patents will monitor receipt of your Registration Certificate and forward the same to you.

6. The Registration will remain in force indefinitely, subject to the Trade Mark being used in relation to the goods/services for which it is registered and the timely payment of renewal fees at ten yearly intervals. Albright Patents will diary the renewal deadline for your registration in order that we can try and contact you in advance for instructions about renewal and/or any change of proprietor details.

Searching

Pre-Application Trade Mark searches are optional but highly recommended. It is important to ascertain at the outset whether your proposed Trade Mark might infringe existing third party rights in the UK. Albright Patents offer two principal types of UK Trade Mark Register searches: -

• Identical Trade Mark Search - Approximately £150 plus VAT
• Full UK Trade Mark Clearance Search, designed to locate both identical and similar Trade Mark Applications/Registrations with effect in the UK - Typically £475 plus VAT.

In addition to searches of the Trade Mark Registers, we urge Clients to undertake their own investigation into use of similar Trade Marks in an "unregistered" capacity, for example, on the Internet, Yellow Pages and at Companies House.

Filing Fees

Approximately £450 plus VAT for the first Class of goods/services and an additional £100 plus VAT for each Class after the first

Prosecution Fees (Examination/Publication/Registration)

In a straightforward case, encountering no serious objections or opposition, additional prosecution costs should not exceed around £500 plus VAT for the first Class and an additional £100 plus VAT for each Class after the first.

The above costs include both Albright Patents' fees and the UK Trade Mark Registry's official fees (at today's rates).