At first glance, franchising offers clear advantages: for those expanding their business, it can be a smart way to grow, while for potential franchisees, it seems like an accessible path to success, leveraging an established brand and reputation. However, careful...
Should you discover that a competitor has been using your trademark without your permission, it is imperative to act efficiently and speedily. Should you fail to do so, your brand could experience reputational or financial damage. You can take several courses of...
If you are considering registering your business trade mark, you need to be aware of the correct use of trade marks online and offline. There are certain guidelines that must be followed by anyone who is establishing their trade mark and here, we take a look and those...
Trade mark confusion represents a major problem in the marketplace. A trade mark is a key element which stands your business apart from its competitors. Therefore, it’s important to carry out checks to ensure that there are no marks already in existence that would be...
If you believe that an unauthorised third party is using your registered trade mark to sell or promote their goods and services and is potentially harming your pre-existing reputation in the marketplace, you need to know when you should begin infringement proceedings...
There are three primary types of trade mark infringement in the UK that are cited in 1994’s Trade Marks Act. Violation of any of these can result in a penalty for the unauthorised third party. Acts which are considered to be a violation include: Fixing the sign onto...
If you’re considering bringing a trade mark infringement claim in respect of your already registered trade mark with a pre-existing reputation, you will need to know whether you are eligible to make the claim. Here, we take a closer look at who is eligible to bring...
Can I enforce my EUTM (or my registered Community Design) in the United Kingdom after the UK leaves the EU on 29 March 2019? UK traders as well as others who do business in the UK need to be aware that they could face a serious gap in protection if the UK should leave...
Conducting trade mark searches is an essential part of the process of choosing and protecting new brands. It is fair to say that it is also frequently the most frustrating part of the brand protection process for clients given the possibility that a proposed brand...
The recent news reports that Jaguar Cars has filed a trade mark infringement claim against luxury watch maker Christopher Ward is yet another warning to brand owners of the dangers of launching a new brand name without first carrying out the necessary trade mark...
The news that the new whiskey-brand EU trademark application of former Ultimate Fighting Champion, Conor McGregor, called “PROPER NO. TWELVE” has been published by the EU Trademarks Office following the withdrawal of his original brand name NOTORIOUS, is a reminder to...
Should MacDonald’s fast food restaurants be entitled to object to any brand featuring “Mac” or even “Mc “by other food traders? MacDonald's certainly thinks so which is why it has opposed a European Trade Mark (EUTM ) of the word SUPERMAC’S by Irish fast food chain...
Trade mark infringement can be a serious matter which needs to be addressed as soon as it is discovered. Companies, or individuals, who infringe a trade mark do not often understand the legal implications of copying or using a mark without permission. On the other...
Trade mark infringement is far more common than most business owners would expect. Brands that start developing a good reputation in the marketplace are often copied or imitated by other companies trying to capitalise on their growing goodwill. In this post, we will...
One of the more common questions that we get asked is about trade mark registration and infringement on Amazon, the popular online marketplace. As one of the most visited websites in the world and the biggest e-commerce site, Amazon offers various methods of reporting...
A common question that we get asked is how should a trade mark be used once you have obtained registration. Luckily, there are guidelines available for this, and I’ll summarise them in this post. Imagine a customer looking to buy a new pair of sunglasses. She finds...
Brand owners are often not familiar with the meaning of symbols in relation to their trade marks. The two most commonly-used trade mark symbols, are the letters “TM” in superscript - ™- and the letter R in a circle - “®” - although there are other symbols too, such as...
The upcoming European Union (EU) referendum is, as expected, dominating the news. The financial markets have been reacted badly to a strong possibility of a British exit, or Brexit, from the EU. There are a lot of questions that have been raised over various matters...
During the recent announcement of Jose Mourinho being signed as the manager of Manchester United, it was revealed that his name is a trade mark owned by Chelsea. This was reported to be a stumbling block which delayed the signing. This raises the question on whether a...
While Apple Inc lost its trade mark case in China, Facebook has made headway by winning their trade mark case for its own brand name. A Chinese vegetable oil and potato chips maker called Zhongshan Pearl River registered ‘face book’ in 2014, but the courts in China...
Registering a brand name can mean two different things. It can be either incorporating your company or registering your trade mark, which would be your brand. The latter is the more common understanding of the sentence ‘registering your brand’. How do you register...
Apple Inc, the tech giant, recently lost a court battle over the use of the word ‘iPhone’ on leather goods in China. A local company called Xintong Tiandi will continue to have the legal right to use ‘iPhone’ on leather goods. As expected, Apple wasn’t happy with the...
Building a brand takes a lot of work. After all the effort and hard labour you’ve put into creating your distinctive brand, it’s not pleasant to find out someone is using or manipulating the materials you’ve created. If you’ve registered a trade mark and someone is...
Filing a trade mark registration can be an expensive process, so it is unsurprising that many people question whether they should try to reduce costs by filing the application themselves, rather than employing a trade mark attorney. However, it is important to weigh...
Attention business owners and entrepreneurs! As of March 23rd 2016, there’s a few changes being made to EU trade mark registration. If you’ve registered a trade mark in the EU or you were planning on doing so, you might need to take notice of a few changes....
As a growing number of people start their own businesses, they have to understand the basics of various matters which will affect their business. One area that needs to be understood by entrepreneurs is intellectual property (IP). In this post, we'll be defining the...
For many people there can be some confusion surrounding the terms trade mark and domain name, and this blog hopefully clarifies both terms as well as encourage startups and existing businesses to use companies with expertise in these areas. Will a trademark give you...
If you are thinking about expanding your business to other countries, or run an online business that can be accessed by people all over the world, then you may want to think about protecting your brand with international trade marks. If your business isn’t protected,...
This is a continuation of the the first part of 5 Useful Tips For Registering A Trade Mark In The UK. Read on for tips on how to register your trade mark in the UK. 3 - Prior searches Once you have a unique and distinctive mark, and prepared a list of goods and...
The process of registering a trade mark can be complicated, which is why we highly recommend that you use a trade mark attorney or a specialist solicitor to register your trade mark. Saying that, we also understand that some people are on a tight budget and therefore...
So you’ve registered your trade mark in the UK, and you’ve also applied for a Community Trade Mark to protect your business in the EU, but now you want to think about worldwide expansion. How do you go about getting a trade mark registered everywhere else? What is an...
The process of registering a trade mark is different across the pond in the United States. Trade marks in the US are divided by categories, which are ranked by distinctiveness. This system allows the United States Patents and Trademarks Office (USPTO) to evaluate...
What is a Trade Mark? Briefly, a trade mark is a sign which can distinguish your goods/services from those of other traders. This can include: for example, words, logos, colours or a combination. Very often companies use their trade mark as a marketing tool, not only...
You can search the OHIM trade mark database on our website to find out if your trade mark is available. There are over 7 million registered trade marks in the OHIM database, which is the European registry of trade marks. Save time and money by searching our fast and...
From the 23rd of March, there have been changes to the EU trade mark registration process. This post has been updated to reflect those changes. Trade mark registration is territorial in the sense that you must generally register your brand on a country-by-country...
Trade marks registration can be a complicated process. This is why the entire process can take between 4 to 5 months. There is no guarantee that the trade mark will be registered, but if clear guide lines are followed and a trade mark attorney is involved, your trade...
From the 23rd of March, there have been changes to the EU trade mark registration process. This post has been updated to reflect those changes. The European Union (EU) provides business owners an opportunity to register a trade mark in all the member states of the EU...
Trade marks were invented for commercial purposes. They help protect a brand so that no one else can financially benefit from them. Some brands have become so successful that they are used by people without realising that they are trade marks. There is an upside and a...
It's hardly easy being a startup. There's lots of competition and resources can be limited. But shouldn’t you be looking ahead and registering your trade mark? When you're a startup, much of your time can be spent fine-tuning your product and perfecting your pricing....
Facts Fitbug and Fitbit are two companies trading in digital fitness. Fitbug, a UK based company, started to trade in 2004 while Fitbit, a California based company, was founded in 2007. Since then, they have both been developing a series of wearable digital fitness...
The slogan “JE SUIS CHARLIE” has swept the globe fuelled by supporters of freedom of expression following the Charlie Hebdo magazine terrorist attack in Paris on 7th January 2015. Sadly opportunists are already trying to exploit this for commercial gain and attempts...
You can’t register a trade mark which is too descriptive. According to UK and EU law, descriptive marks are “trade marks which consist exclusively of signs or indications, which may serve, in trade, to designate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value,...
