Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to ensure the legitimacy of Trade Mark Applications by made by foreign based applicants to the UK Intellectual Property Office.

The Intellectual Property Office carries out formality checks on all applications, whether domestic or foreign based. They also conduct robust examination of all Trade Mark applications to ensure each Trade Mark meets the requirements under UK law before it is accepted.

Under UK Trade Mark law, third parties can also challenge Trade Mark applications and registrations on various grounds if they believe there are issues.