Why file a trade mark application just now?

As mentioned previously, trade mark application fees in the EC and the UK are set to fall this year - CTM fees by some 40 per cent, in May, and UK ones by a smaller amount in about October (following a consultation, which presumably will be based on the question "would you prefer to pay less?").

I have recently advised a client to rethink a filing programme taking in a number of jurisdictions including the European Community. If priority can be claimed from an earlier application elsewhere, there seems little point in filing a CTM application now and paying significantly more for it. Of course, other factors might well be involved, but other things being equal there are strong arguments for leaving the CTM until later in the priority period.