Trademarks & Domain Names

Undertaking a regular trademark audit ensures your brand portfolio remains relevant and robust in a rapidly changing market. Find out why and where to start.

The UKIPO recently handed down a favourable decision for the car giant Tesla which successfully invalidated a UK trademark registration for TESLA CHICKEN & PIZZA held by a small fast food shop.

Use of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) is on the rise, with 2023 marking a record year for the UDRP complaint procedure. Marion Mercadier examines the data and explains what the dispute resolution policy is and when to use it. 

It cannot have escaped your attention that the Summer Olympic Games will start this 26 July in Paris, followed by the Paralympic Games on 28 August 2024. We’ve recapped the main IP dos and don’ts below to help you prepare your branding strategy for this important global event.

The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) has published its comprehensive annual review of online counterfeiting on marketplaces, with sites ranked in order of ‘notorious counterfeiting and piracy’. Marc-Emmanuel Mellet summarises its key findings. 

After new case law from the EU courts stopped being binding on UK courts at the end of the Brexit Transition Period, it was only a matter of time before divergent rulings began to emerge. Luke Portnow discusses a recent ruling on trademark acquiescence and what it means for trademark enforcement strategies in the UK. 

After registered protection is obtained, how can an IP right holder further develop and strengthen a brand? One way is by developing a family of marks.

The EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD) have published their annual report on seizures of counterfeit goods in the European Union. Here, we summarise some of its key findings.

While slogans are a widely used advertising and branding tool, they are not easy to protect as trademarks in the EU due to their often-laudatory nature, as Perrine Waendendries explains. 

With sponsorship of major events, such as this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games, costly and highly competitive, many companies seek other ways to grab the public’s attention. But ‘ambush marketing’ can pose risks as well as opportunities, as Maxime Schoots discovers. 

As sports lovers worldwide eagerly await the launch of the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics in Paris this July and August, a complex game of IP protection is unfolding behind the scenes, as Frouke Hekker discovers.  

As the excitement builds for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, companies across the globe are eager to share their enthusiasm and support for the world's largest sporting event. But, is it possible to do that legally if you are not an official sponsor of the Games?