Insights

The General Court of the EU has annulled an earlier ruling that found Louis Vuitton’s ‘Damier Azur’ trademark pattern to be invalid. But, the Court did not yet answer the all-important question of whe...

Businesses that manufacture and export their branded products out of China are advised to protect their trademarks in the country following a recent ruling by the Chinese Supreme Court.

In 2018, the General Court of the EU ruled that ‘Perfect Bar' was too descriptive and thus insufficiently distinctive to be registered as a trademark, but the brand owner wouldn’t take no for an answe...

​​​​​​​The US Supreme Court has agreed with the holiday booking site’s argument that its Booking.com brand name is not a generic term.

Within nine months of the publication of the grant of a European Patent (EP), any person may file an opposition at the European Patent Office (EPO). It’s important to consider carefully the scope of a...

In Brompton Bicycles, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) ruled that products that are shaped in such a way as to obtain a technical result are eligible for copyright protection. Casper Hemelrijk ou...

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed new challenges to companies and their legal advisers, including that of obtaining the necessary signatures for the execution of documents. In response, the Law Commissi...

​​​​​​​We often see opportunistic trademark applications during significant world events, but the Black Lives Matter movement has also thrown a light on racist and racially insensitive branding forcin...

The UK has recently released a Draft UK-EU Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement which is intended to form the basis for discussions with the EU. We outline the implications for unregistered Community de...

The R&D process requires considerable investment in both time and money but, in the rush to market, it can be difficult for teams to identify those innovations that are of most value for protection as...

As a general rule, businesses cannot register generic terms as trademarks when they are directly related to the goods or services being offered. What does that mean for domain names, such as Booking.c...

As of 22 May, France’s PACTE law introduced new requirements to examine inventive step. Eric Enderlin outlines the changes and their implications for patent holders.

​​​​​​​This year's World Gin Day falls on Saturday 13 June with virtual events planned around the world. Vanessa Harrow explores the IP that accompanies our favourite tipple.

The Comité Champagne has successfully challenged the attempt by Czech company Breadway to trademark the term ‘Champagnola’ for use on baked goods, as Manon Brodin explains.

Suite à un jugement du tribunal de district de Lay Hay, Nestlé devra changer le nom de son "Incredible Burger" après que le tribunal ait jugé que la marque était trop similaire à "Impossible Burger". ...

A recent case examined whether a rights holder could enforce a trademark within the registration grace period, even if the right is subsequently revoked for non-use. We set out the ruling and explain ...

On 28 May 2020, our experts set out best practices on how to approach trademark portfolio management decisions and effectively avoid issues that could lead to enforcement risks and greater costs down ...

In Gömböc, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has provided some welcome guidance on trademarking designs in the EU.

COVID-19 has changed the ways in which trademark professionals manage routine tasks. While technology has enabled many of us to rapidly transition to working from home, obtaining necessary signatures ...

The management of patents claiming technology that is essential to an industry standard is an important, but challenging area of patent law.