What Is The Difference Between A Registered And An Unregistered Trademark

A registered trade mark is registered with the UK Intellectual Property Office and is displayed on the UK Intellectual Property Office’s public register. The process to register a trade mark is to first apply for the trade mark with the UK Intellectual Property Office, where it undergoes a check and examination process by the UK Intellectual Property Office. If the trade mark is successful, the owner will have trade mark protection for ten years in the UK, where it can then be renewed. However, if a registered trade mark is not used, it can be removed.

If someone infringes a registered trade mark (uses a mark that is too similar or the same as a registered trade mark), the owner of the registered trade mark has the right to take legal action, as they have the exclusive right to use, licence or sell the trade mark.

An unregistered trade mark is one that is not registered with the UK Intellectual Property Office. In the UK, an unregistered trade mark may still be recognised and protected, although it is much more complicated to prove that an unregistered trade mark should be legally protected in the same way that a registered trade mark is. For an unregistered trade mark to be recognised, it must have a history of use. Other evidence will look at business proceeds, external evidence of awareness of the trade mark’s reputation, and how the trade mark has been used in the past.

Legal protections for unregistered trade marks can be found in the common law tort of passing off. This requires the owner to prove that there is goodwill associated with the trade mark, that there has been a misrepresentation by the infringer leading to confusion, and that the owner has suffered damage as a result.

In summary, it is much more straightforward for owners of a registered trade mark to enforce trade mark rights than it is for the owner of an unregistered trade mark. Either way, it is illegal to use another owner’s trade mark, whether that trade mark is registered or not, as your own.