TCP: Totally Can’t Purchase — A shortage with long trade mark shadows

For a product that smells like a Victorian infirmary, TCP Antiseptic Liquid has developed a very modern problem: you can’t reliably buy it. Major retailers’ own listings have been flagging it as temporarily unavailable/“stock coming soon”, with “notify me” buttons doing a lot of emotional heavy lifting.

The press coverage (and plenty of consumer chatter) points to a familiar culprit in 2025: manufacturing and ingredient supply issues, with the brand’s owner saying it inherited “legacy manufacturing issues” and has been working to fix them, but without a firm return date. Regrettably, as shortages do, it has reportedly encouraged opportunistic resale at eye-watering prices.

So far, so supply-chain. But through a trade mark lens, shortages create three recurring risk clusters: use, control, and counterfeits.

1) “Use” isn’t just a philosophical concept 

Trade marks are commercial tools, not museum exhibits. If a brand disappears from shelves for long enough, a trade mark owner can find themselves fielding questions about genuine use and whether the mark is still being used for the goods as registered. In the UK, the usual non-use vulnerability only bites after a sustained period (classically five years), so a short-term shortage won’t automatically translate into a cancellation risk. Still, prolonged supply disruption can create uncomfortable evidential gaps: fewer dated pack shots, fewer invoices, fewer UK sales, fewer “in the wild” examples, exactly the material you want tidy and available if challenged.

A practical mitigation is to curate evidence of ongoing commercial activity even during disruption: UK-directed advertising, distributor communications, retailer listings, consumer service records, and documented steps to restore supply (all carefully dated).

2) Control of channels: the grey market loves a vacuum

When “official” supply dries up, alternative supply blossoms: cross-border sourcing, repackaging, and a surge of marketplace listings. Some of that may be lawful parallel trade; some may breach quality controls, labelling rules, or trade mark conditions; some may be outright infringing. Even legitimate stock can become a brand owner’s headache if it arrives without compliant packaging or with compromised traceability.

This is where trade mark management stops being abstract and becomes operational: platform monitoring, rapid takedown playbooks, authorised-seller policies, and clear guidance to retailers on how to describe availability without implying endorsement of third-party listings.

3) Counterfeits: shortages are a counterfeit recruiter

Shortages are an invitation to unscrupulous actors because consumer intent is high and verification standards drop. Online pharmacies and retailers showing “out of stock” status can unintentionally funnel desperate buyers to unvetted sources.

The trade mark response is not just litigation theatre. It’s preventative enforcement: recordal with marketplace brand-protection portals, image-based listing sweeps, test purchases, and where appropriate, border measures to intercept suspicious consignments. Your trade mark is the hook that lets you act fast.

A more practical takeaway

Shortages are rarely permanent, but the legal and commercial consequences can linger if not actively managed. For trade mark owners, the key is to treat a supply disruption as a period requiring heightened brand stewardship, not inactivity.

That means maintaining a clear evidential record of ongoing UK use even if sales volumes dip, closely monitoring distribution channels to ensure products reaching consumers remain compliant and authorised, and taking proactive steps to detect and remove infringing or suspicious listings.

In short, while you may not be able to control when stock returns to shelves, you can, and should, control how your trade mark is used, perceived, and protected in the interim.