Parties relying on EUTMs for protection of trade marks in Jersey should urgently review their registered rights.

Protection of Trade Marks in Jersey

The Government of Jersey has released a statement to explain the position, both past and present, on registered trade mark protection in Jersey.

The statement clarifies that EU Trade Mark registrations do not provide protection in Jersey, and indeed that they have not since April 2009 (from October 2000 – April 2009, EUTMs did extend to Jersey under the CTM Regulation, which was amended in April 2009).

The statement has come as a surprise to many trade mark owners and legal practitioners in Jersey, since it runs contrary to the previously accepted interpretation of the legal position.

There are further complications in relation to UK and EU designations of International Registrations; UK designations do extend to Jersey and always have, whilst EU designations do not extend to Jersey and never have.

Implications

To secure registered trade mark protection in Jersey, an application must be made to extend the protection of a UK trade mark registration (this includes Brexit ‘clone’ registrations) to Jersey.  This can be done at any time after the UK registration issues and the Jersey registration will expire at the same as the UK trade mark.  Alternatively, Jersey can be protected by a UK designation of an international registration.

If Jersey is a territory of interest, please contact the Greaves Brewster trade mark team for further advice on your position in light of these developments.

This article is for guidance only and should not be taken as formal advice.