Spot the Difference – Procurisk

Thursday, June 28th, 2012

As of 18th June 2012 Procurisk™ became Procurisk®. Prior to that we were not allowed to use the ® symbol after the Trademark “Procurisk”. We could only legitimately use the ™ symbol. That is because under UK law it is an offence under Section 95 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 to use the symbol until after registration has been approved and recorded on the official register. Other jurisdictions have similar laws.

We are now in possession of a Certificate of Registration from the Office of Harmonization in the Internal Market and we have been issued with a Community Trade Mark (CTM) for “Procurisk”. So why did we go to the trouble and expense of registering the Procurisk® trademark?

The intellectual and financial investment in developing the Procurisk® Software is substantial. We wanted to protect this investment by ensuring that the name is exclusively ours in the markets that we operate. The registration has also to be specific about the type of good or service that it covers. To this end Goods and Services are grouped into different classifications and you have to apply for registration in all relevant classifications. Otherwise we would not have the name “Polo” claimed by multiple parties including Volkswagen (Car), Ralph Lauren ( Clothing, Cosmetics) and Nestle (Confectionery). They are all in
different classification.

However, what would happen if two companies wanting to use a name not only within the same classification but for the exact same product? Well, that is just what has happened in the case of Budweiser. The above photograph might not be unusual for our UK or EIRE readers as two companies claim and use the name . They are Anheuser Busch (USA) Budejovicky Budvar (Czech Republic). These two have engaged in battle for a number of years.

However the bottle on the left is marketed in North America as “Czechvar” and the bottle on the right is marketed in the Czech Republic as “Bud” and strangely enough Anheuser Busch are marketing “Czechvar” on behalf of Budejovicky Budvar. That’s business for you!

So as for Procurisk®, we don’t want to be in that position, so that’s why we took steps to protect the name.