- Retention of Original Filing and Priority Date
When a trademark is restored, it keeps its original filing and registration dates, meaning the owner’s rights are deemed to have continued uninterrupted. This is critical because trademark rights are largely based on priority — “first come, first served.” Restoration therefore protects the owner against intervening filings by third parties that might otherwise block a new application or create conflicts.
- Preservation of Legal and Commercial Continuity
A restored mark maintains the same registration number, ownership, and chain of title. This ensures that there is no break in protection and that the brand’s goodwill and reputation remain linked to a single continuous registration. Businesses often invest heavily in advertising, labelling, and packaging under a particular registration, and restoration helps preserve this established commercial identity without interruption.
- Avoidance of New Examination and Potential Refusal
Restoration does not involve re-examination on substantive grounds such as distinctiveness or conflicts with existing marks. The mark is simply reinstated on payment of the prescribed renewal and restoration fees (and, in some jurisdictions, an affidavit explaining the lapse). By contrast, a new application must undergo fresh examination, which could lead to refusal or opposition if the mark has become descriptive, non-distinctive, or identical/similar to a later filed mark.
- Protection Against Intervening Marks
Because restoration “revives” the old registration, it generally takes effect as if the mark had never been removed. This means that any marks filed during the lapse period cannot easily be used to oppose or invalidate the restored registration. If a new application were filed, however, those intervening filings would have to be cleared or opposed, which could be costly and uncertain.
- Cost and Time Efficiency
Restoration is typically quicker and cheaper than a new filing. There is no need to go through publication, opposition, or substantive examination again. Only the restoration and renewal fees are payable, which can be a fraction of the cost of prosecuting a new application through to registration.
- Maintenance of International Rights and Linkages
For marks that form the basis of foreign or Madrid Protocol filings, restoration is advantageous because it preserves the integrity of the original South African (or home) registration. A fresh filing would have a new filing date and might not support earlier foreign claims or priority rights linked to the original registration.