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?
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.
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?
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.
When budgets are tight, IP expenditure will naturally come under scrutiny, with patent annuity payments often one of the first areas to be identified for cuts.
With Halloween almost upon us, we’ve rounded up some ‘spooky’ and ‘sweet’ case law updates to get us in the mood for tomo
The number of countries and regions joining the international system for trademark registration on the basis of the Madrid Agreement and its Protocol, continues to grow. Malawi is the latest country to deposit an instrument of accession
A US court ruled this month that ‘ugg’ is not a generic term to describe the popular slouchy sheepskin boots, clearing the way for the brand owner, Deckers Outdoor Corporation, to pursue its trademark and design infringement actions against a rival manufacturer.
As e-cigarette use grows, so do the dangers of trademark infringement for well-known brands, as Trademark Attorney Claire Jones explains.
Novagraaf’s Anca Draganescu-Pinawin provides a brief introduction to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and explains how to develop and execute a data management strategy that is compliant with the regulation.
It is crucial to act promptly when submitting objections (or oppositions) to challenge potentially conflicting trademark applications. But, what is the opposition procedure – and how can brand owners make best use of it to protect their trademarks? Vanessa Harrow outlines the process.