Certain features of the Trademarks Act 2000

Abstract

There is no doubt that the Trademarks Act 2000 was a most welcome addendum to our statute book. It has provided the owners of trademarks with new channels for protecting their intellectual property and extended the scope of protection afforded to service marks. This latter category was previously afforded no protection whatsoever under our law. The mechanisms formerly obtaining, based primarily on the Industrial Property (Protection) Ordinance 1899, had become outdated and out of touch with the realities of the modem world where some trademarks have acquired tremendous commercial magnetism coupled with an immense financial value. The roots of the Trademarks Act 2000 are to be found in a number of different sources. Pre-eminent amongst these are the United Kingdom Trademarks Act 1994, EC Directive 84/104/EEC on the approximation of the laws of member states relating to trademarks, the Paris Convention for Protection of Industrial Property 1883 and the TRIPS Agreement of 1995. Stating that the provisions of the 1994 United Kingdom Act were incorporated into our law lock, stock and barrel is hardly an exaggeration; indeed few differences will emerge upon a comparison of the two. Such a state of affairs should be welcome as the learned judgements of the courts of the United Kingdom will undoubtedly serve as a thorough guideline as to the manner in which the provisions of our new law are to be interpreted.