Trademarks & Domain Names

Conflicting older trademark registrations may not necessarily block the registration of your chosen brand name. Noé Himmelreich explains how an in-use verification search can help you to assess legal and commercial risk.

You have a fantastic idea for your company and launch it with a beautiful and striking brand name and/or logo, but did you remember to check that your chosen name is available first?

Which variations of use are authorised for figurative trademarks, especially ones registered in black and white? A recent EUIPO ruling has helped to illustrate what constitutes a “permissible variation”, as Marianne Tissot explains. 

Patents, trademarks, designs and other forms of intellectual property (IP) play a key role in the success of all modern businesses.

The first successful application under the UK Geographical Indication (GI) scheme has recently been granted to Welsh Whisky. Protection for this product has been brought about by the surge in its popularity and the expansion of the industry in recent years.

Intellectual property (IP) can be complicated, so it’s little wonder that it’s not well understood by the public at large. Take our quiz to see if you can identify which of these commonly held beliefs about trademark protection, registration and branding are true.

With many interrelated legal and commercial risks to negotiate and overcome, establishing an efficient and effective brand development strategy is easier said than done. Watch our recent webinar for practical insights on how to mitigate and manage legal and commercial challenges in a cost-effective and commercially focused way. 

IP rights provide an invaluable means for protecting the heart and soul of a brand. That's why identifying what trademarks to protect and proactively maintaining those rights is so crucial to the brand development process.

Does the use of a trademark in a connected sector constitute genuine use of that mark? What if that mark is used in differing forms? Florence Chapin outlines a recent EU General Court ruling that provides some answers.

Which court has competency when trademark infringement takes place online? A recent CJEU ruling considered this question in the context of a dispute over meta tag and Google Ads trademark infringement. Volha Parfenchyk outlines its implications.

Discover why blockchain and IP are such hot topics, and why you should timestamp your IP rights using blockchain technology.

The Second Board of Appeal of the European IP Office (EUIPO) recently issued a decision confirming the refusal to register an emoji trademark representing ‘I Love You’. The EUIPO had refused to register the pictogram on the basis that it was unable to fulfil the essential function of a trademark, namely to indicate the origin of the products and/or services of a company.