Partner Nina O'Sullivan has written about the implications of the new UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) tribunal practice notice 2/2023 for Law360.
The notice relates to service of proceedings against trademark and design registrations and applications where there is no valid UK address for service.
It follows a UKIPO decision in 2022 that proceedings could not effectively be served on a rights holder under its previous practice.
Nina looks at the key differences between the new guidance and the previous practice, as well as the resulting risks for rights holders. She notes that affected rights holders "will only have a limited time in which to respond to the preliminary letter from the UKIPO directing them to provide a valid UK address for service."
She also recommends rights holders should be "reviewing their UK portfolio and putting in place plans to ensure that they are appropriately informed in the event of proceedings being launched at the UKIPO against their rights."
Read more on Law360 (subscription required).