Weekly Trademark Update – Jan 2022 (2 of 3)

Have you checked out our Members Directory yet? It’s our new area allowing you to interact with other subscribers of Equinox!

To add your firm to the library, head over to the ‘My Company’ section under your profile icon.

From here you can fill out as much information as you would like to show to our subscribers.  Once you’re happy to be added, just click the toggle ‘Show profile in public directory’!

NB: Only users with admin permission level are able to access the ‘My Company’ profile section. If you have any queries or problems, please get in touch via email to ip-services@workanyware.co.uk.

“As part of our continuing efforts to protect the integrity of the U.S. trademark register, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has established an administrative process to investigate improper trademark-related submissions. Under this process, when a submission appears to violate the Trademark Rules of Practice or the USPTO website’s Terms of Use, the USPTO will issue administrative orders that may result in sanctions being imposed. Sanctions may include:

• Striking submissions
• Precluding parties from appearing before the USPTO
• Terminating USPTO.gov accounts
• Terminating proceedings

We’ve posted a Federal Register Notice announcing that documents associated with the sanctions process for a particular application or registration, including any administrative orders, will appear in the electronic file record and will be viewable by the public in the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval system.

You may submit comments regarding this process to TMFRNotices@uspto.gov. The comment period is open through February 4, 2022.

The USPTO has dedicated extensive resources to fight trademark fraud. Read our recent blog on our comprehensive efforts to protect trademark owners, applicants, and the U.S. trademark register.”

“In 2022, small and medium-sized companies will continue to have the opportunity to receive financial support in order to make use of their intellectual property and to develop control over it. The support is granted by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

You can get financial support for trademark and design application fees, international patent application fees and the IP pre-diagnostic service (IP Scan).

The amount of the support depends on the applications your company has made and the services it has ordered. The compensated share of the fees also varies according to the object the support is granted for (50–90%). A single company can get up to €2,250 in financial support during the year.

You can apply for the support from 10 January 2022 to 16 December 2022.

Further information on the EUIPO website.“

“On December 27, 2021, a draft project of amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus was distributed for the nationwide discussions.

The full text of the amendments project can be found here.

Position of Belarusian citizens concerning the amendments project, along with their probable suggestions and remarks can be addressed to the National Center of Legal Information of the Republic of Belarus.

Please click hereto get the application form.

The received materials will be thoroughly summarized, systematized and processed by the National Center of Legal Information.”

“In response to the latest version of Nice Classification NCL (11-2022), TIPO has amended its own list of Names of Designated Goods and Services for Trademark Registration, effective January 1, 2022. The changes include 45 revisions and 556 additions. As for amends done to class/subclass names or notes, there are 4 additions, 18 revisions, and 8 removals.

Those using the electronic trademark application system after January 1, 2022, are advised to download the updated list featuring all incorporated changes. Individuals who fill out applications with names of goods and services not found on the system’s current list will not qualify for the NT$300 application fee waiver.”

“1. The Office of the United Arab Emirates has notified the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in accordance with Rules 20bis(6)(b), 27bis(6) and 27ter(2)(b) of the Regulations under the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks.

2. According to the said notification:

• the recording of licenses in the International Register shall have no effect in the United Arab Emirates. Consequently, a license relating to an international registration shall be recorded in the Register of the Office of the United Arab Emirates in order to have effect in that Contracting Party. The formalities required for such recording must be completed directly with the Office of the United Arab Emirates; and,
• the Office of the United Arab Emirates will not present to the International Bureau of WIPO requests for the division of an international registration nor requests for the merger of international registrations resulting from division because the law of the United Arab Emirates does not provide for the division of registrations of a mark nor for the merger of registrations of a mark. ”