A man from London is attempting to trademark the word “Bitcoin” in the United Kingdom.
In an application produced to the UK’s patent workplace on 5th November, Marvin Dennis of Leyton, East London, is searching for to trademark the term used by Satoshi Nakamoto to describe his cryptocurrency.
Published by the Trade Marks Journal on 4th December, the application for the trademark is due to be granted on 6th February 2014 if unopposed. The trademark regards the use of the term with relation to “chocolates and confectionary”, so wouldn’t have a direct impact on bitcoin’s use in the regions of computing or finance.
This is not the very first time someone has attempted to trademark bitcoin. In 2011, an American lawyer sought to claim the trademark the word in the US and France.
France, like the United Kingdom, adheres to a principle of initial-mover, which indicates that the first to claim gains ownership of the trademark, as opposed to a principle of first-use, which signifies that you may possibly have trademark protection by virtue of obtaining employed that special word or symbol, even if you didn’t explicitly register it.
Following a huge backlash, Michael Pascazi dropped his US application but then renewed his efforts in France. Mt. Gox mounted a challenge to that claim, successfully defeating his trademark application by claiming it for themselves, saying in a press release:
“The Pascazis’ stated intention is to profit from these trademarks, which would hamper bitcoin enthusiasts, companies and the community as a complete on a global basis in the totally free use and promotion of bitcoin. [Mt.Gox] will oppose this and any other “greed primarily based” trademark application, in order to prevent self-serving attempts to profit from bitcoin by way of spurious legal suits, and keep the term ‘bitcoin’ free for all.”
It’s unclear no matter whether Marvin Dennis owns any sort of chocolate or confectionary business. No business is listed in the trademark application, as would be the case if a company have been applying for the trademark.
Additionally, there is nearly no internet trail for Mr Dennis. A series of web domains registered to his name and address are inactive, ending on GoDaddy.com pages.
CoinDesk has been unable to find any social media accounts that can be definitively linked to him and he does not appear to be linked with any companies. An attempt was created to reach Mr Dennis at an e mail address linked with his domains.
Below UK law, trademark applications need to be created to the Patent Workplace at a price of £170 if the application is produced on-line.
In this case, Mr Dennis seems to have hired the Trade Marks Bureau to act as representatives for the trademark application. They did not respond to a request for comment.
When reviewed, applications are advertised in the Trade Marks Journal for two months to let for objections to be produced. Objections are not a legal process, but merely submitting proof that should be regarded prior to granting a trademark. Men and women can also take legal action to oppose a trade mark application.
Coins image by means of Casascius
View London Man Attempts to Trademark Bitcoin on CoinDesk.
London Man Attempts to Trademark Bitcoin
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