What is a trademark ”watching service”?
In most jurisdictions, when a new trademark application is accepted for registration, it is published for opposition purposes. A “watching service” refers to a regular search through all the latest published trademark applications.
The watching service looks for marks (visually or phonetically) that are the same or similar to your registered trademark and are being used for a same or similar goods/services company. If it is found that a similar mark to your own is being used, an alert is sent out to you in a form of a report. With LOVEN, we can extend this service by monitoring any similar new company names and domain names of your choice, and alert you accordingly.
Why are they important for my business?
The trademark offices in many countries consider that you are responsible to monitor publications for conflicting applications and object to their registration, therefore many offices do not check previous applications and registrations before approving a new trademark application for registration.
Our watching service provides you with the opportunity to take action against competing trademarks well before they are registered. Filing a successful opposition against a new trademark application will prevent it from reaching registration. Since there are strict deadlines to file an opposition following publication, you need to be alerted as soon as possible.
What happens if I take no action against a conflicting application?
If you allow trademarks that are too similar to your own to be used and registered by your competitors in the marketplace, your customers can be confused into buying your competitors’ goods or services instead of your own. Protecting your trademarks from dilution in this way safeguards the value of your assets.
What are the costs?
We charge a fixed annual fee per trademark watched, no matter how many reports you receive during that year.
We offer a number of specially tailored worldwide watching services and packages if you wish to cover multiple jurisdictions. Please contact us for current charges and we can also tailor a package to suit your needs.