Trademarks

Keeping your good name safe around the world

Today more than ever a business’s unique identity, reputation, and br /and provide tangible return on investment and a critical competitive advantage.

We offer our clients a full range of trade mark services:

• Developing, selection, clearance and executing prosecution strategies not only to protect a client’s products, but also to analyze those of its competitors to help ensure that the client realizes value from its intellectual property assets;
• Advise on whether a trade mark can be registered;
• Prosecution and maintenance;
• Counseling, including portfolio management;
• International trade mark protection;
• Preparing and negotiating licenses, assessing the licensing value of competitors’ trade marks, and guiding the client in the decision to license;
• Civil litigation at both the trial and appellate levels, including infringement and dilution cases, counterfeiting, gray-market goods, false advertising, and cyber squatting;
• Industrial Property Office litigation, including oppositions and cancellation proceedings;
• Advise on domain name issues and trade mark registration

A trade mark is an item of property that can be extremely valuable to its owner. It is the principal means of product recognition. It facilitates repeat purchases by satisfied customers.

Trade marks may be registered to protect the goodwill associated with a mark. The mark must not conflict with any existing traders and should not be descriptive of the product or service. To be registrable a trade mark must be capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one party from those of other parties.

As trade mark attorney, it is our role to advise and assist our clients along each step of the way from the selection of a suitable mark, to its clearance for registration and use and its protection in the markets of present and potential future interest. We also offer considerable expertise in the subsequent exploitation and enforcement of trade mark rights, ensuring that our clients are able to maintain a commercial advantage over their competitors.

Exclusive rights to use a trade mark are obtained by registration. The effects of registration commence on the date on which the application is filed, and last for ten years. Once registered, a trade mark can usually be kept in force for as long as is required, subject only to the payment of renewal fees to keep the registration in force.

Search

We can also advise on selecting a trade mark for your product or service. This work typically involves conducting a clearance search for the trade mark you are considering adopting or purchasing. The search will determine whether anyone else is using the same or a similar mark. We will give you an opinion as to whether you have the right to use your proposed trade mark, and what risks might be encountered in going forward with your proposed trade mark.

National Trade Mark

A registration of a trade mark is to be requested by filing an application at the Czech Industrial Property Office. After filing with the Office, the application is examined for legal conformity and a report on prior registered marks which are deemed to be similar is prepared. However, the same or similar prior trade marks are no obstacle to registration.

International Trade Mark

An international trade mark may be registered on the basis of a national trade mark at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) through the original registration office for a plurality of countries, having the same effects in each of these countries as a national trade mark.

EU Trade Mark

EU Trade Mark is a unitary mark which covers the whole of the European union. Applications for EU trade marks may be filed with the European union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). After an examination for conformity with the law these are first published for possible opposition and ultimately, when all requirements for registration are met, registered. After filing of a single application, this protection automatically extends to all member countries of the European Union. Any party can apply for a EU Trade Mark.

You can establish national rights by using and seeking to register a mark or you can reserve it nationwide by filing an International application stating that you intend to use the mark.

Our international presence and our network of associate law firms around the globe allow us to move swiftly to protect our clients’ marks anywhere on the Earth.

There are a number of ways in which trade marts can be protected, please contact us.