It has become clear to us that collective and certification trade marks are not commonly understood. You may find when filing a trade mark that these options appear when choosing your chosen application route. But what do these really mean?
It is noted that a certification mark, as defined by section 50(1) of The Trade Marks Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act) as:
“A certification mark is a mark indicating that the goods and services in connection with which it is used are certified by the proprietor of the mark in respect of origin, material, mode of manufacture of goods or performance of services, quality, accuracy or other characteristics.”
In short, the trade mark will not be used by the proprietor but rather by the authorised users who note that the goods and services have a particular characteristic. As a result, use can be authorised to anyone who can demonstrate use of said goods.
On the other hand, a collective trade mark can be defined as the following (noted in Section 49(1) of the Act):
“A collective mark is a mark distinguishing the goods or services of members of the association which is the proprietor of the mark from those of other undertakings.”
This type of mark is simply used as an indication to the relevant goods/services from a set sole owner.
If you have any questions in relation to the above definitions or have a trade mark question, please do not hesitate to contact the Trademarkroom team today.
