2.3 Registration

Section 203(1)(a) states that the Trade Marks Act 1953 continues in force and applies in respect of applications for the registration of a trade mark⁶ that were received before the commencement of the Trade Marks Act 2002 “until the trade mark is registered”. Section 35(3) of the Interpretation Act 1999 states that “a period of time described … as continuing … until a specified day, act, or event includes that day or the day of the act or event”. Where an application to register a trade mark that was received before the commencement of the Trade Marks Act 2002 reaches the point of registration, its registration will therefore occur under the Trade Marks Act 1953.

Section 29(1) of the Trade Marks Act 1953 states that the registration of a trade mark under that Act “shall be for a period of 7 years”. It follows that all trade mark applications that were received before the commencement of the Trade Marks Act 2002, but that are registered after the commencement of the Trade Marks Act 2002, have an initial registration period of 7 years as they are registered under the Trade Marks Act 1953.⁷

^Footnotes

⁶ Other than applications for the registration of defensive trade marks; see section 203(2) of the Trade Marks Act 2002.

⁷ Section 57(2) of the Trade Marks Act 2002 stipulates that section 57(1) of that Act does not apply to a trade mark “first registered under the Trade Marks Act 1953”.