by OUR BUSINESS STAFF
He may be blissfully aware of his recently acquired bounty, but King Charles is now technically the owner of assets seized from the failed Avocet group of companies, Not Just Sheep & Rugby can reveal.
The compulsory dissolution of Avocet IP Ltd in May of this year after management repeatedly failed to abide by company regulations marked the death of the business which previously held the portfolio of patent applications, designed to make hundreds of shareholders extremely wealthy.
It meant that once Avocet IP had been killed off via compulsory strike off "all property and rights vested in or held in trust for the company are deemed to be bona vacantia [Latin for 'vacant goods'] and will belong to the Crown".
The Treasury Solicitor who collects assets from doomed firms may have been unaware that Avocet IP directors, including Martin Frost and Dr Bob Jennings were in possession of at least three registered trademarks, two involving the use of the word 'AVOCET' and a third titled 'COW PALACE'. So, these can now be assigned to His Majesty, or to any other section of the Crown estates to use as they wish!
Those who invested in the Avocet projects - based on agricultural production and 'ground breaking' fuel additives - will be familiar with plans to keep herds of cattle in so-called cow palaces on farms in Berwickshire.
An application to register 'Cow Palace' as a unique trademark was filed with the patents office in January 2018, and the protection for the phrase was secured in May of that year. The 'title' was transferred from Avocet Infinite, as it then was, to Avocet IP Ltd. in July 2018.
It meant the company had exclusive use of Cow Palace under four separate classes of the Intellectual Property regulations. These cover (Class 29) processed food in relation to meat and other farm products; (Class 31) animal feed and fodder; (Class 42) research and development services including environmentally friendly forms of energy and power; and (Class 44) agricultural services relating to environmental conservation.
The trademark register shows the exclusive use of COW PALACE by Avocet IP or its successors will remain intact until January 19th, 2028, giving the Crown ample time to put the trademark to good use.
Unfortunately, one of the 'AVOCET' marks, applied for in 2014, expired in May 2024. But the second registered in 2017 runs until a renewable date of February 19th, 2027.
A check on the files at the United States Patent and Trademark Office [USPTO] revealed that Avocet IP was also the holder of a registered mark 'AVOCET' covering its designation for chemical products for use as additives for fuel.
However, invalidation was pronounced by the director of USPTO on January 6th, 2023 "after the holder failed to comply with the statutory requirements regarding the filing of an affidavit of continued use or excusable non-use".
Par for the course for Avocet, some would say.
For the record, Avocet IP also enjoys ownership of two European trademarks, both bearing the word 'AVOCET'. The fuel additives version will expire on November 3rd 2024 while the agricultural variety is due to lose its status on August 11th 2027.
Perhaps someone should notify Buckingham Palace?
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