Abeyance

Where an application is awaiting the outcome of opposition proceedings for a prior application, or cancellation/revocation/invalidity proceedings in respect of a prior registration, the applicant must notify the Commissioner of patents, trade marks and designs before the expiry of the deadline set in the Compliance Report.

Upon verification of the facts, the Commissioner will place the application in abeyance pending the outcome of the proceedings.

To request abeyance of an application:

1. You will need to be logged on as a registered user of the website. Read more
2. Select Maintain a Trade Mark from the left hand menu of your Inbox. The Request Trade Mark Change page will display.
3. Click Select cases(s) for Abeyance from the Abeyance section to Search Trade Mark Case(s). Search for the trade marks. Once you have identified the correct cases tick the check box to select. Then click the Select button. The Request Abeyance on a trade mark will display.
4. Enter your Client Reference. Then, indicate why your mark is dependent on the other mark, either by entering details in the File Note field, or by uploading a document describing your case.
5. Select Submit.
6. You will return to the Request Trade Mark Change screen and a confirmation Info box will appear. Click OK to close the box.