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Friday, July 07, 2006
Perpetual protection
By Clint Fabiosa & Andrew Ong
I.Protect
What is the term for trademark protection, and how does one prevent loss of rights over a trademark?
Trademark protection may be virtually perpetual through the continuous renewal of trademark registration every five years. This means that as long as trademark owners and those who succeed them continue to renew their registration, the law will continue to protect their ownership of the mark.
However, contrary to most beliefs, the successful registration or renewal of a trademark is not the last step in safeguarding a mark. The possibility of persons losing their trademark rights because of abandonment or of the mark becoming generic will ever be present. Thus, the Philippine Trademark Law has required several post-registration requirements to ensure that continued effectiveness of the registration is assured, and the legal possibility of losing trademark rights because of abandonment and the mark becoming generic is addressed.
Among the post-registration requirements are: (a) submission of affidavits of actual use in the Philippines; (b) submission of proof of use; (c) timely renewal upon the expiration of the term; and (d) proper use of the mark to prevent it from becoming generic.
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