As a result of a notice issued at the UK IPO today, 25th January 2023 HGF is strongly advising overseas holders of International registrations that designate the UK to appoint a UK-based address for service at the earliest opportunity.
The notice advises of a change that the UKIPO has just made to its practice for handling attacks on UK designations of IRs. From now on, any cancellation or rectification action against a granted UK designation will lead the UKIPO to alert the WIPO representative (or the holder directly if it has no WIPO representative) by post only.
The alert from the UKIPO will require the holder to file an address for service in the UK within one month of issuance of the alert and to confirm the intention to defend. There is therefore a risk that the alert may not be safely received by the IR holder by post.
How does this affect me
This notice reinforces the importance of having a UK-based address for service in place for UK designations at the earliest opportunity to minimise the risk that important, time-sensitive notices from the UKIPO are not actioned by the holder and lead to loss of rights.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
