04 Dec 2020
As the UK prepares to depart from the EU, it will introduce shortly a national regime for the protection of geographical indicators. Against this background, it is interesting to read how the scope of registered collective marks was interpreted widely by the High Court so as to defeat a UK trade mark application that had incorporated the entirety of an earlier collective mark as only one of its elements. The decision demonstrates how, despite being subject to the general rules pertaining to trade marks, collective marks can be useful and powerful assets. It also serves as a reminder of the approach to be adopted when assessing the extent to be which collective marks might share visual, aural and/or conceptual similarity with other marks.
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