A trade marks co-existence agreement regulates the use and registration of similar or identical trade marks owned by the parties, usually in order to settle an existing dispute about actual or anticipated conflicts of rights which could cause confusion between the parties' respective trade marks.

Disputes sometimes arise as a result of confusion in the marketplace (for example, where one party has received enquiries about the other party's product), and sometimes when one party, anticipating such confusion, opposes the other's trade mark application, applies for partial or full removal, or seeks cancellation of the other's parties registered trade mark. For information about trade mark oppositions and removal of a registered trade mark from the Register of Trade Marks (Register), see Practice note, Trade marks: opposition to an application and Practice note, Trade marks: amendment and cancellation: Removal of registered trade mark for non-use.

There might also be circumstances where two parties use the same trade mark for similar or identical products or services for many years without either party taking steps to prevent the other party from using it.

A trade marks co-existence agreement can also be used as a preventative measure when it is anticipated that a dispute might arise in the future. This might happen where, for example, a business is divesting itself of assets which include trade marks, or undergoing a group restructuring which will result in different businesses using similar trade marks.

For more information on intra-group reorganisations, see Practice note, Intra-group reorganisations. For an inter-company transfer of intellectual property rights, which may be used in the context of a group reorganisations, see Standard document, Intra-group assignment of intellectual property rights.