News & opinion

The quality of evidence of use submitted can make or break a trademark cancellation defence, no matter how big the brand, as fast-food giant McDonald’s recently found to its cost.

As a business, your trademark is what distinguishes your goods and/or services from those of your competitors, making it one of your most important assets. Trecina Surti sets out tips on choosing an effective name.

The Trade Marks Regulations 2018 came into force on 14 January 2019. Vanessa Harrow examines the key changes being introduced to UK law.

The application for trademark registration of the sign ‘H2O+’ was refused by the EUIPO, as decided by the EU General Court on November 27, 2018. The EU General Court concluded that the sign applied for lacks distinctive character and is therefore not suitable as a trademark.

In the spirit of the holidays, Claire Jones examines Christmas-themed IP issues and sets out requirements to consider in order to avoid them.

Novagraaf’s Timo Buijs examines the function of colours in trademark law and the possibility to register colours and combinations of colours as trademarks, based on a recent CJEU ruling.

A number of important amendments were introduced to Benelux Trademark Law in 2018 and there are more to come in early 2019. A summary of the recent and expected changes is set out below.

A recent General Court decision has confirmed that a 3D trademark can consist of the shape of goods or their packaging. Claire Jones outlines the ruling.

Slogans, catch-phrases and other types of taglines can help companies to build brand identity; however, applications to protect them as trademarks are not always successful, as evidenced by a recent decision by the EUIPO’s First Board of Appeal.

Choosing a new company or brand name can breathe new life into an enterprise; on the other hand, not all consumers embrace change. Trademark Attorney Claire Jones sets out points to consider when assessing whether a rebrand is right for you.

With Halloween almost upon us, we’ve rounded up some ‘spooky’ and ‘sweet’ case law updates to get us in the mood for tomo

Alcoholic drinks and energy drinks found not to be sufficiently similar in dispute over ‘FLÜGEL’ (wings) trademark.