Blog Archive
- Posted by Anna Orchard on April 27, 2020 / Posted in Trade MarksShort summary on why a trademark registration may be refused with examples of refused marks.The purpose of a Trade Mark is to distinguish goods or services between traders and make them identifiable as originating from a particular source. Trade mark legislation lays down a number of rules and conditions that must be satisfied before a trade mark may be registered. In order to prevent an owner from unfairly obtaining a monopoly a Trade Mark will be refused registration in the following circumstances: The mark is descriptive of goods or services. The mark consists [...]Read more
- Posted by Anna Orchard on April 27, 2020 / Posted in Trade MarksPlanning on registering a trade mark? The following article provides you with an insight on what you must avoid to give your mark a better chance at successful registration.Planning on registering a trade mark? The following article provides you with an insight on what you must avoid to give your mark a better chance at successful registration. According to section 3(1) of the Trade Marks Act 1994, the following are not capable of registration : Marks that lack distinctiveness An example of this may be illustrated by the attempted registration of the word mark ‘Companyline’ as a CTM for insurance services back in [...]Read more
- Posted by Anna Orchard on April 27, 2020 / Posted in NewsAmazon’s world just got better and better. Will anyone be brave enough to put a brake on its ‘knotwood like’ hold on the economy.Amazon’s world just got better and better. Will anyone be brave enough to put a brake on its ‘knotwood like’ hold on the economy. Its reportedly generating squillions, pays little tax in comparison with its revenues and now its winning important cases which will increase its bottom line and make it even richer. Coty Inc. is a German company and owns brands such as Davidoff which it distributes and licenses the Word Mark DAVIDOFF. On 2 April 2020 the Court of Justice of [...]Read more
- Posted by Michael Coyle on April 25, 2020 / Posted in Trade MarksOpposition thoughts and goods and services and how smart does a consumer have to be?Part 2 – Opposition thoughts and goods and services and how smart does a consumer have to be? A lead case from the CJEU is the Canon case. Case C-39/97. The court stated “In assessing the similarity of the goods or services concerned, as the French and United Kingdom Governments and the Commission have pointed out, all the relevant factors relating to those goods or services themselves should be taken into account. Those factors include, inter alia, their nature, their [...]Read more
- Posted by Michael Coyle on April 25, 2020 / Posted in Trade Marks"I keep hearing the term Opposition ? What does it mean?"Part 1 A Client recently asked “I keep hearing the term Opposition ? What does it mean?” An Opposition When you file a Trade Mark, the examination process is undertaken by an examiner. If it is accepted that the application can function as a trade mark then the mark is advertised for a period of two months. [...]Read more
- Posted by Anna Orchard on April 21, 2020 / Posted in NewsForgetting to renew your mark can lead to a number of trade mark issues, as shown in the recent "Ben Fu" case.It takes alot of time and precision to make sure your trade mark is representative of your brand and covers the correct classes. You need to make sure that you are 100% happy with your mark before applying for a trade mark. This is because, once your mark has been filed, this cannot be changed. When you are happy with your brand, you can file for a trade mark. Once you are accepted by the IPO, you will be on the register for 10 years. To prevent your mark being removed from the register you will [...]Read more
- Posted by Anna Orchard on April 20, 2020 / Posted in NewsAnalysing the Duke and Duchess' Trade Marks and their new trade mark filingAs you will know; the best way to protect your brand against ‘copy cats’ is to apply for a trade mark. It is well known that the former Duke and Duchess of Sussex filed for the trade mark ‘Sussex Royal’ last year (see previous articles for more background on this). As explained previously the trade mark was to cover goods and services for a charitable organisation as well as selling branded clothing. They faced many challenges when filing for this [...]Read more
- Posted by Anna Orchard on April 13, 2020 / Posted in Trade MarksA complete overview of the application process of a trade mark, allowing you to be clear of the process and know what to expect.Stage 1- Development The first stage, may be obvious for some, however you need to firstly establish your brand before you apply for a trademark. You need to be entirely happy with the branding of your mark. This is because your trademark cannot be changed once the application has been made and will be used to represent your brand in years to come. It must be unique and allow customers to identify you over competitors. A mark must be capable of graphical representation, distinctive, [...]Read more
- Posted by Anna Orchard on April 08, 2020 / Posted in NewsOver the past few months there has been a trade mark battle between a German arm of beauty company- Coty (who owns Davidoff) and Amazon.Over the past few months there has been a trade mark battle between a German arm of beauty company- Coty (who owns Davidoff) and Amazon. They were trying to stop Amazon selling unlicensed Davidoff perfumes online and claimed they are breaching trade mark rights. Their trade mark rights were breached when they were seen to stock “its Davidoff perfume for third party sellers”. Coty owns brand rights in the EU. However the European Court of Justice (ECJ) noted that Amazon, [...]Read more
- Posted by Anna Orchard on April 01, 2020 / Posted in NewsConfusion between Angola and the WHO on Pharmaceutical Trade MarksThe Angolan system is very similar to that of the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO). An examiner from the IAPI examines the trade marks to see if they will pass. Once they have passed this stage this goes onto the Industrial Property Bulletin. Despite their vigorous examination procedure, there has been noted some complaints, showing incorrect regulation in a number of applications. These applications have shown to violate the INN rules as set out by the WHO. In order to [...]Read more