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We take a look at Specsavers, their iconic advertising campaign ‘Should’ve gone to Specsavers’ has now become a household catchphrase, and Specsavers were keen to protect their asset. On the 18th July, they filed their application with the UK IPO and less than a month later the application had been examined and published.
However there has been some controversy over the decision. The UK IPO usually shy away from protecting common words, but in this case not only did they approve the words, but allowed it to cover a wide range of goods - not just optical products, but paper and printed matter.
Now, once a trademark has been published, there is a 2 month period where third parties can oppose the decision. At the time of writing there have been 6 Notices of Threatened Opposition, and while it is relatively cheap to file an opposition, there are legal implications. It will be interesting to see if the oppositions are successful, or if Specsavers retain the trademark and (potentially) open the floodgates to protecting a wider range of common words.
For help with your trademark application or any issues you might be facing please contact Downing IP on 01494 422626 for any Intellectual Property requirements you might have.
