BACKLOG
Storage dispute stalls processing of trademarks
People have been waiting for up to 18 months for their trademarks to be processed
The trademarks division of the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission is struggling with a backlog that will be cleared only by the end of 2017, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies has revealed. The problem dates back to a contested contract for the off-site storage of the commission’s production files as well as hiccups in the handover of the contract from one service provider to another. None of the commission’s operational divisions was able to obtain files from storage between June 2016 and January 2017. In a written reply to a parliamentary question, Davis said people had been waiting for up to 18 months for their trademarks to be processed. The legal dispute arose after the commission’s contract with storage provider Metrofile came to an end in June 2016. A new service provider (Docufile, now named Iron Mountain) was appointed for a five-year term to take over the off-site storage of all production files. However, Metrofile took the commission to court over the awar...
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