Piotr Pawel Sliwinski
26 January 2024 • 3 min read
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My previous entries discussed the government fees associated with obtaining trademark
registration in Poland and the European Union. Today it's time for the third extremely
important market for Polish entrepreneurs, i.e. Great Britain.
Until recently, the United Kingdom was one of the European Union member states.
Registering a trademark at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)
automatically solved the problem of protecting our brand on its territory. Unfortunately, this is
a thing of the past. In line with the will of voters expressed in the 2016 referendum, the UK
left the EU and is currently not linked to the common market in any way. Inevitably, marks
submitted and registered at EUIPO are no longer automatically protected in the territory of
this country. Therefore, if we want our brand to be safe, it is necessary to submit a separate
notification.
It is worth noting here that even though the United Kingdom has decided to leave the
European Union, it still remains a very important economic partner of Poland. The export of
Polish goods and services to the UK exceeds PLN 60 billion annually. After Germany, the
Czech Republic and France, the UK is the main recipient of Polish exports. Moreover, in
trade with this country, Poland systematically records a very large surplus, because the value
of our imports is almost three times lower. Among the goods sent from Poland to the UK,
food items occupy a prominent place, which seems to be related, on the one hand, to the fact
that this country is not self-sufficient in food, and, on the other hand, to the large Polish
community.
Estimates vary greatly, but it can be safely assumed that Poles currently constitute at least
1% of the United Kingdom's population, which in absolute numbers translates into almost
700,000 people. Since both countries are located quite close to each other, and
communication between them is easy, fast and cheap, many of our compatriots maintain
constant contact with their homeland and, as a result, know the brands present on the Polish
market.
British trademark law is similar to Polish and European law. The process of obtaining
protection is therefore quite quick and without excessive formalities. One of its undoubted
advantages is the fact that the official fee is paid only once, at the trademark application
stage. Therefore, there are no separate fees for publication and protection after granting the
protection right in Poland.
As for the fees themselves, they are not excessive. The basic fee, covering a trademark
application in one class, is £170. Each additional class means you have to shell out an extra
£50. These amounts are slightly higher than in Poland, but do not differ dramatically from the
fees charged by the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland. It is also important to remember
the differences in the sizes of the two markets. After all, approximately 30 million more
people live in the United Kingdom than in Poland.
Registering a trademark in the UK is, above all, an investment in the safety of our brand. In
this way, we eliminate the risk that our trademark will be copied by unfair competitors who,
for example, noticed the popularity of our goods among Polish consumers and decided to
take advantage of Poles living on the islands.Of course, British law has mechanisms that
allow for the recovery of rights to misappropriated trademarks by their rightful owners.
However, such emergency actions are always much more costly and time-consuming than
registering a trademark.
Therefore, it is better to save yourself unnecessary trouble and unnecessary expenses and
simply register your mark in the United Kingdom early enough. The standard procedure in
this regard usually takes no longer than 4 months. Having a registered mark also opens up a
number of business opportunities for us, such as licensing external partners to use our
brand.
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