Protecting your trade marks against other people

The Trade Marks Registry is not responsible for policing the Register of Trade Marks and cannot advise you on either of the actions shown on this page. If you suspect passing off or infringement of your mark, we recommend that you consult your local Trading Standards Office or Trading Standards Central, an official trading standards "one-stop shop" for consumer protection information, and/or seek appropriate professional help.

Passing off unregistered trade marks

Passing off is the use of an unregistered mark such that the third party using the mark passes off, or represents, the goods or services as their own.

You can take common-law action to prevent passing off, but there are a number of factors that you must consider before you can prove passing off. As the owner of an unregistered mark, you must be able to prove that:

• you trade in the goods or services to which the particular mark applies;
  
• the public associate your mark with the goods you produce or the services you provide;
  
• you have a reputation in those goods or services and therefore goodwill is attached to the name;
  
• there is a likelihood of deception;
  
• you have suffered, or are likely to suffer, substantial damages to your goodwill as a result of the third party passing off your mark.

It can be very difficult and expensive to prove passing off, so it would be to your advantage to register your mark. If your mark is registered, the "passing off" would constitute infringement, for which you can take legal action.

Infringement of registered trade marks

Infringement is the unlawful use of a registered trade mark. It occurs when

• a third party uses a sign identical with, or similar to, a registered mark in respect of identical or similar goods or services;
  
• the public is likely to be confused by the similar mark.