3.10 Blank space conditions

Where there is a blank space within a mark, the applicant may request the entry of a blank space condition²⁵ clarifying how the mark will be used in trade. However, entry of a blank space condition on the register will not necessarily overcome an objection to registration on absolute or relative grounds.²⁶

Tookey Q.C. set out three main reasons for blank space conditions in Re TIME Trade Mark [1961] RPC 381 at 385, which can be summarised as follows:

1. The Commissioner must know what is being registered.
2. The registered proprietor of a mark should not be able to represent as being a registered trade mark, a mark that contains matter which the Commissioner has had no opportunity of considering in accordance with the requirements of the Act.
3. Regard must be had to the extent that matter added to a blank space in the representation of a trade mark may affect the identity and therefore the distinctiveness of the mark sought to be registered.

Footnotes