Is there a duty on the public to check with the Registrar of Trade Marks to ascertain whether a trade mark has been registered?
What happens if say I start a business using a business name that happens to coincide with a registered trade mark, say "ABC" and "ABC" has been registered as a trade mark?
Yes.
ReplyDeleteThe registry will not simply register any marks without conducting a search. This is to avoid the problem you've mentioned.
A search has to be conducted with the Registry of Intellectual Property division of the Ministry of Trade and Consumer Affaris, prior to registration.
This is quite similar to starting up a company where you have to conduct a company name search before the name can be registered.