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Michael Jordan retired from basketball in 2003. That’s 16 years ago. However, thanks to the ‘Jordan’ brand operated by Nike, he still earns around $100 million a year. Football legend David Beckham left the sport in 2013, but somehow, I don’t think he is relying on a British government pension. He is raking in around $75 million per annum, thanks mainly to deals with H&M and Adidas.

In the trademark world, as indeed in life in general, everything is interconnected and small changes in one area can lead to knock on effects in another. The business world is global and for many companies, expanding their customer base across regions is a necessary goal for commercial success. It’s critical to understand the potential implications of changes to the trademark process in key regions for your business around the world.

1919 was an interesting year in terms of the world stage. In France, the Treaty of Versailles brought about the end of WW1, ushering in a new stability. The oldest existing airline, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, was established. The British House of Commons elected their first female member, Lady Astor, who was born in the US.

Across Intellectual Property Offices (IPOs) globally, different regulations, systems and practices mean that at least a passing familiarity with that region is helpful in terms of successful trademark registration. In the EU, for example, it is a requirement that the representative who files the application to register a trademark has an EU address. That representative does not have to be a trademark attorney although if your application encounters difficulty, one will be required to manage certain issues.

Amongst those new to the trademark world, a familiar theme emerges. Queries are raised about the basics of trademarks, the necessity of registration and the value (or otherwise) of consulting with a trademark attorney. Client education is a consistent hot topic amongst lawyers in almost every practice area but none are required to ‘prove’ their value to quite the same extent or with such dreary regularity as trademark attorneys.

The trademark application process can be a long one - and certainly much longer than people applying for the first time (or the first time in a new region) might realise. There are some common factors that will impact your time frame to successful registration and an examination of these might help you to identify areas where you can speed up the process....although the average time will be largely dictated by the region in which you are applying. There are some common factors that will impact your time frame to successful registration and an examination of these might help you to identify areas where you can speed up the process!