Under the current Trademark Act, a third party is not able to file a trademark application which is identical with or similar to the prior-registered trademark within one year from the extinguishment date of the prior-registered trademark. This is because consumers still have the memory of the prior-registered trademark, which would cause confusion over the source of goods.

Under the amended Trademark Act, this regulation is deleted to enable a third party to file a trademark application, even within one year from the extinguishment date of the prior-registered trademark.

(Effective from September 1, 2016)