Jersey trade mark reforms: what do they mean for UK trade mark owners?

Recent changes to Jersey's trade mark regime have prompted questions about whether the territorial scope of UK trade mark registrations is changing.

Under the previous regime governed by the Trade Marks (Jersey) Law 2000, trade mark protection in Jersey depends on either extension of existing UK registrations or automatic coverage from International Registrations (IRs) made via the Madrid Protocol that designate the UK.

The new Trade Marks (Jersey) Law create a primary trade mark registration which removes the requirement for a UK base registration and enables parties to obtain trade mark protection in Jersey directly.

A new approach to Jersey protection

Previously Madrid Protocol registrations designating the UK automatically extended to Jersey. The new law changes this and protection will now require direct designation.

To ease the transition, automatic arrangements have been introduced for many existing international registrations:

• where an IR designated the UK before 1 August 2026 and UK protection had been granted by that date, WIPO will automatically record a corresponding Jersey designation. No action is required from rights holders in those circumstances; or

• where the UK refusal period has not yet expired. WIPO will only record the Jersey designation once the UK issues a statement of grant of protection.

Does this affect UK national trade marks?

If already hold a UK trade mark registration and a Jersey confirmatory registration, the Jersey registration will carry over to the new register and remain valid. However, the Jersey registration will now need to be renewed separately.

If you hold a UK trade mark registration (non-WIPO) but no Jersey confirmatory registration, you have no registered protection in place for Jersey.

Why does this matter?

For many businesses, the reforms will have little practical impact. If Jersey is not a target market, a UK national trade mark strategy may remain entirely unchanged.

However, businesses with operations, customers or enforcement interests in Jersey should reassess their filing and portfolio management strategies. Jersey can no longer be treated as an ancillary part of UK protection. Instead, it should be considered as a separate territory requiring its own protection strategy.