Blog Archive
- Posted by Jane Coyle on January 30, 2014 / Posted in Trade MarksThe Spirits Drinks Verification SchemeThe idea of this scheme is to provide a safeguard for the reputation and authenticity of UK spirit drinks with a geographical indication. Ultimately this scheme, launched by Liberal Democrat Chief Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander, has been constructed in order to protect consumers from ‘fake’ bottles of whisky. If producers are seeking to sell within the European Union then it is imperative that they sign up to the scheme. You may ask yourself the question as to how necessary such [...]Read more
- Posted by Jane Coyle on January 24, 2014 / Posted in Trade MarksBlack and White Trade MarksSomething which occurs quite regularly is a trade mark owner registering their trade mark in black and white but then going on to use that same trade mark in a particular colour or in a number of colours. The question which is asked here is how would this affect those trade mark owners’ rights? Recently, the UKIPO have issued guidance on the relevance of such use with regard to trade mark opposition proceedings. The Court of Appeal in Specsavers v Asda (C-252/12) proposed a number of [...]Read more
- Posted by Jane Coyle on January 24, 2014 / Posted in Trade MarksBEWARE OF THE RENEWAL REMINDERSIn recent months, relevant authorities have been alerted to the fact that unsolicited organisations are sending out reminders about the renewal of IP rights. What this ultimately means is that patent, designs and trade mark owners are all being sent these reminders a long time in advance of the renewal deadline and are being quoted extremely inflated prices. One example which has been given is that one reminder recently quoted £963 for the renewal of a UK patent when in fact the official [...]Read more
- Posted by Jane Coyle on January 20, 2014 / Posted in Trade MarksScrabble Trade Mark DisputeZynga, the makers of the popular game ‘Farmville’ have been in a dispute with Scrabble owned by Mattel; over the use of a name similar to their trade mark. Zynga is the creator of the infringing game, named ‘Scramble’ with an almost identical game play, as that by the name of Scrabble. The High Court have ruled that the name ‘Scramble’ is not sufficiently similar to confuse the general public but the font used by them is clearly made to try and cover up that [...]Read more
- Posted by Jane Coyle on January 20, 2014 / Posted in Trade MarksStar wars 1313 free to good homeDisney, the new owner of Lucas Arts has allowed the trade mark ‘Star Wars 1313’ to expire without applying for an extension request or giving a statement of use to the US Patent and Trade Mark Office. The trade mark was the title of the game intended to be released in the future, but was shelved by the company after developments of other games took precedent. Disney has now closed Lucas Arts in favour of developing games with Electronic Art. Although no work has been given on the [...]Read more
- Posted by Jane Coyle on January 20, 2014 / Posted in Trade MarksWilliam and Kate image rightsIn a move often associated with celebrities, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have set up companies, with the intention of protecting their trademark rights. The companies will sell officially endorsed products but more importantly allow the couple to enforce their trademark rights against anyone purporting to harm their image. Kensington Palace stressed that the companies will not be your average company but merely lay dormant until illegal infringement occurs. In reality however it is [...]Read more
- Posted by Jane Coyle on January 17, 2014 / Posted in Trade MarksThe Company Names TribunalFirst and foremost, the tribunal deals with claims made under sections 69 (1) (a) and (b) of the Companies Act 2006. It was established on 1 st October 2008 in order to provide brand owners with a cost effective method of enforcing their trade marks against the registration of similar company names. Since the introduction of the CNT it has proven to be a useful tool against so called “opportunistic” company name registrations, although there are some limitations to what it [...]Read more
- Posted by Jane Coyle on January 10, 2014 / Posted in Trade MarksThe risk attached to securing registration of word trade marks by the inclusion of figurative elements has yet again been emphasised by the Board of Appeal.This issue was highlighted by Mr Justice Arnold decision in Starbucks (UK) Ltd v British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc [2012] EWHC when he warned of the dangers attached to using “figleaf” marks. This case concerned the claimants (PCCW) who had a registered Community Trade Mark (CTM) for the word “now”. The CTM was the word “now” with lines emanating from the “o” to create a star shape effect. The trade mark was registered for several [...]Read more
- Posted by Jane Coyle on January 09, 2014 / Posted in Trade MarksThe importance of Trade Marks in NigeriaIn 2001 the world started talking about the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – as potential powerhouses of the world economy. Economist Jim O’Neill was the man who identified the acronym and it was this same man who has now identified what is being called the MINT countries – Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey – as emerging economic giants. This article shall focus on the attention surrounding Nigeria as of late and how important Intellectual [...]Read more
- Posted by Jane Coyle on January 06, 2014 / Posted in Trade Marks‘Princess in Business’ – Trade Mark the character of your companyFemale entrepreneurs are setting up shop everywhere and it is important not to overlook the necessity of registering a trade mark for your business name or logo. The ambition of every new business is to develop the brand into an established house hold name and the most important asset of your business will most likely be the name of your company. What’s in a name? The name represents where the goods/services originate from and provides the standard expected from this brand. [...]Read more