{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/trade-marks-act-1994/section-21A",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/trade-marks-act-1994/section-21A.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/1994/26",
  "legislation_title": "Trade Marks Act 1994",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/trade-marks-act-1994",
  "path": "section/21A",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "21A",
  "heading": "Actionable threats",
  "text": "(1) Subject to subsections (2) to (6), a threat of infringement proceedings made by any person is actionable by any person aggrieved by the threat.\n(2) A threat of infringement proceedings is not actionable if the infringement is alleged to consist of—\n(a) applying, or causing another person to apply, a sign to goods or their packaging,\n(b) importing, for disposal, goods to which, or to the packaging of which, a sign has been applied, or\n(c) supplying services under a sign.\n(3) A threat of infringement proceedings is not actionable if the infringement is alleged to consist of an act which, if done, would constitute an infringement of a kind mentioned in subsection (2)(a), (b) or (c).\n(4) A threat of infringement proceedings is not actionable if the threat—\n(a) is made to a person who has done, or intends to do, an act mentioned in subsection (2)(a) or (b) in relation to goods or their packaging, and\n(b) is a threat of proceedings for an infringement alleged to consist of doing anything else in relation to those goods or their packaging.\n(5) A threat of infringement proceedings is not actionable if the threat—\n(a) is made to a person who has done, or intends to do, an act mentioned in subsection (2)(c) in relation to services, and\n(b) is a threat of proceedings for an infringement alleged to consist of doing anything else in relation to those services.\n(6) A threat of infringement proceedings which is not an express threat is not actionable if it is contained in a permitted communication.\n(7) In sections 21C and 21D “an actionable threat” means a threat of infringement proceedings that is actionable in accordance with this section.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Ss. 21-21F and cross-heading substituted for s. 21 (1.10.2017) by Intellectual Property (Unjustified Threats) Act 2017 (c. 14), ss. 2(2), 8; S.I. 2017/771, reg. 2(1)(b) (with reg. 3)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1994/26/section/21A",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T09:33:52.874943+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}