Forum menu
As in the title if i register something here does it cover worldwide or do you have to register in different countries.
Iain
I could tell you, but as a copyright lawyer will charge in excess of 250 quid per hour, and will send my bill where?
Do i not get the first hour free like most decent lawyers 😀
Apparently not. 😥
And I think the answer is no, different countries will have different laws. I know Spain has a slightly different angle to the UK and China has its own set of laws. But I'm no lawyer. Worth having a look through Google then talking to a lawyer directly.
copyright law is different in every country so i'd doubt it would.
There is something called the Berne agreement that tries to align the different laws or at least allow you to use UK law in certain countries.
Copyright and trademark are pretty different in so much as one is free and the other costs. Trademarks are specific to country. Might be worth having a look here for starters.[url= http://www.ipo.gov.uk/tm.htm ][/url]
[i]not legal advice - but from someone who has done it! Seek professional advice before making important decisions[/i]
[b]Trademarks[/b]
There is no mechanism for "filing" a registered trademark (R) worldwide. You do get many of the rights of a trademark without registering it in most countries though (it is generally recommended that an unregistered trademark is denoted (TM) to emphasize your view of its protected status). There are various reasons why you may wish registered status though (best to talk to a Trade Mark specialist though (but beware they'll be hoping to make their cut on the filing fees!)) - trade mark attorneys are usually also patent attorneys (although some "IP" lawyers are registered to do this).
Although there is no worldwide mechanism there is an option to file across Europe (a community trade mark).
[b]Copyright[/b]
Copyright varies from country to country, so there may be some "odd" countries where the following does not apply - but in 'normal' countries you are likely to trade with - it doesn't need registered to gain protection (copyright is automatically gained whenever any "artistic work" is created) and there is generally no official copyright register (unlike patents, design and trademarks). Copyright generally exists even if it is not asserted, but it is normally recommended that you mark it along the lines of (c) Your Name, 2011 - to emphasise to third parties to keep their hands off!
Be aware there are a few places offering copyright registries, IMHO these are basically a scam! If you can prove that you created the work and when then you don't need a registry - if for some reason this would be difficult (e.g. something which is never "published" by a third party then you could give a copy to your lawyer or put it in a sealed envelope and post it to yourself (don't open the envelope - the post mark creates the proof of existence) - but that is a rather elaborate exercise and saving a copy in googledocs is probably a modern equivalent! In my experience whilst patent attorneys understand copyright they don't usually make any money from it and so you need to speak to an IP lawyer if you've got specific needs.
I don't bill for the first half-hour discussion with a new client ... well, not usually. I don't want that to be read as an offer to the whole world. Poly has told you the basics, and the only thing I'd say is that [b]all [/b]solicitors are entitled to file trade mark applications. Let me know if you'd like a chat (without obligation). You can also visit my website www.ipsojure.co.uk where there's lots of information, probably more than you could possibly need!
When registering a trademark you can choose which countries that you want to register it for. If you only want to do UK for now you can add countries later. Best to do them all to start with as you may not be granted the trademark for a country and therefore want to adjust your mark.
You do not need to register copyright. In fact you can't.
Contrary to what is written above TM has no meaning. If your mark is registered use the R, if it is not you have no protection.
Interesting first post ipsojure, thanks.
I'd get some professional legal advice before relying on that! It goes against what I've always been told (by multiple professionals). Your "rights" in an unregistered mark will differ from country to country but are certainly protected in the UK (as anyone infringing your mark may be "passing off") and in the US - those rights may be less than a registered mark and harder to enforce but there is protection.Contrary to what is written above TM has no meaning. If your mark is registered use the R, if it is not you have no protection.
The (TM) may not(?) have any special legal meaning and even if you don't use it then you still have protection against passing off etc. The point is with one very simple symbol it is a way of conveying quickly and succinctly that you consider this to be a mark which represents your business and that someone duplicating your mark without consent is likely to be inviting a legal dispute. Without adding TM it may not be obvious that your "phrase/word" is being presented as a mark that represents your business.
IPSOJURE - thanks for clarifying that all sols, are allowed to file TM apps. I guess most won't unless they are in the IP area? Just like you could do conveyancing work but probably don't if iP is your specialism.
Whether you use either TM or the encircled R doesn't make any difference to whether you're protected, although it could make a difference to whether you could claim damages and it's useful notice to the world that you have rights. Take care not to claim you have a registration (by using R) if you don't because that might be a criminal offence. In UK, US and other common law countries (our former colonies, basically) you can protect an unregistered trade mark with a passing off action (in US, it's called infringement but here "infringement" only applies to registered trade marks), but suing for passing off is fantastically expensive and if you can you'd be better off registering the trade mark.
In other countries - the civil law world - generally there's no such thing as an unregistered trade mark: it's the act of registering that creates the trade mark. Unfair competition laws often give protection that's similar to passing off.
Why am I on a mountain bike forum lecturing you guys about trade marks, I wonder? Anyone still interested? It's defo more interesting than conveyancing, poly!