Applying for a UK Green Dot® licence gives your company the following safeguards: -
English law recommends that any business using a trademark should register their interest via the Patent Office to gain enhanced trademark protection. The Patent Office registers intellectual property rights, such as trademarks, on a central register. The Green Dot® is a registered trademark both nationally and internationally under the Madrid Protocol. This gives added benefits, such as being able to defend the mark against unauthorised use by way of an infringement proceeding. A number of events could lead to the unauthorised use of the trademark, for example using the mark in deviation of its meaning or in a misleading way. It is illegal to use the Green Dot® trademark if you are not formally registered to do so!
Licensing the Green Dot® trademark protects the consumer from misrepresentations of its meaning. The Green Dot® is not a recycling symbol, and must not be intended for that purpose. Licensing the Green Dot's® activities ensures that the Green Dot® will not be used to 'deceive' the consumer.
If you import or export to or from countries using the Green Dot®, you are able to continue using the Green Dot® legally with minimum disruption, rather than having to produce separate packaging especially for the UK market. For more information about European use of the Green Dot® please click here
The registration and licensing of the Green Dot® trademark offers protection from future legislative changes in the UK (for example if the UK were to implement a similar interpretation of the packaging and packaging waste directive as its European counterparts).
|