Amendments To The "Trade-Marks Regulations"

Originally published in Blakes Bulletin on Intellectual Property, December 2007

Amendments to the Trade-marks Regulations came into force on October 1, 2007 and apply to all trade-mark applications advertised in the Trade-marks Journal on or after October 1, 2007. As a result, such oppositions to applications advertised on or before October 1, 2007 will be treated differently than those advertised after October 1. The amendments are explained in a practice notice dated September 26, 2007. The amendments affect opposition proceedings, with a particular emphasis on the deadlines applicable at various steps therein. In theory, the amendments reflect an effort to streamline the opposition process, reduce costs to parties and to reduce the ability of the parties to extend deadlines for lengthy periods of time.