Colours form some of the world’s most recognisable and valuable trademarks, but the bar for registration is high. Even after registration and long-standing use, they can still be at risk of attack, as illustrated by the latest setback to Cadbury in its battle to protect its iconic shade of purple.
Marketing teams and their legal advisers naturally differ in their approach to brand name creation. The former often preferring product names that their more risk-averse legal colleagues consider too ‘descriptive’ from a trademark perspective. How do you find the right balance?
So much of Brexit is up in the air, including the date when the UK’s exit from the EU will even occur. We summarise what we know so far, and how businesses should prepare.
We previously covered the need for businesses to establish a clear and consistent strategy for registering and renewing domain names. For UK businesses with .eu domain name registrations, 29 March 2019 (‘Brexit day’) adds a further deadline.
In 2018, Chinese telecoms company Huawei filed an EU trademark application for the word mark ‘Freebuds’ covering headsets and earphones. EUIPO refused the application due to its lack of distinctive character. That ruling has recently been upheld by EUIPO’s Board of Appeal. Frouke Hekker outlines the decision.
Although the CJEU recently ruled that the flavour of a cheese spread is not eligible for copyright protection, advances in the technology used to electronically describe odours and flavours could overcome legal obstacles to their protection in the future, say Chantal Koller and François Grange.
Rockstar Games, the makers of the 2018 hit action-adventure game Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2) is battling to overcome a trademark challenge by Pinkerton Detective Agency.
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.
Domain name management usually sits outside the IP department with marketing and/or IT teams. Those departments may have been schooled in the need to consult the IP team as part of the domain name registration strategy, but what about decisions as to ongoing maintenance, gaps in protection or decisions to lapse registered domains?