Examination on relative grounds – the primary difference between an application for a trademark in the UK and a Community Trade Mark (CTM) – is set to disappear following a consultation process by the UK Trade Marks registry.
Thanks to the consultation paper circulated in February 2006, which set out five options for changes to the ‘relative grounds’ examination process, the option most favoured by respondents was for the search for conflicting marks by the UK Registry to be used for information purposes only, rather than as a basis for provisionally refusing an application, as is currently the case.
