UK

Trademark assignment recordals against UK rights have been on the rise since Brexit, as EU trademark owners are now required to manage these rights separately.

When businesses merge with or acquire other businesses, the challenge for IP professionals doesn’t stop once the deal is complete. For IP rights to be properly updated and maintained, the question of how to brand and structure the newly merged business first needs to be addressed.

On 1 June 2022, Novagraaf's Luke Portnow and Thomsen Trampedach's Markus Rouvinen provided useful take-home points and experiences on implementing smart solutions to current IP challenges in private practice and in-house.

The route to implementation of the proposed unitary patent and Unified Patent Court system has been far from easy. With it now projected to come into effect before the end of 2022, we set out the answers to some frequently asked questions in our latest white paper 'The Unitary Patent: A practical guide'.

Brands routinely find creative and innovative ways to generate new customers or retain existing ones. A notable recent example of this has been the use of sub-brands to branch out into the same or a new market without jeopardising the parent brand’s existing position. Laura Morrish discusses the trademark implications.

The legal dispute between Marks & Spencer and Aldi over their rival Colin the Caterpillar and Cuthbert the Caterpillar birthday cakes was the source of many headlines and Twitter posts in 2021. Luke Portnow explains what the supermarket chains' decision to settle out of court means for the UK's law of 'passing off' post-Brexit.

Counterfeit activity is a threat to all modern businesses, affecting their profits, their reputation and, in some cases, the safety of their consumers. This white paper sets out five steps to success when targeting the trade in fakes, and provides answers to some frequently asked questions

Download our updated trademark management white paper to find out how to build a trademark strategy that supports your business goals.

In our white paper 'Best practices in trademark auditing: a practical guide', we set out the steps to take to put a trademark auditing programme in place that will help your business to streamline and exploit its portfolio.

If a likelihood of direct confusion between two trademarks cannot be established, the courts may still be prepared to find infringement on the basis of a likelihood of indirect confusion. A decision by the England and Wales Court of Appeal over the ‘American Eagle’ trademark provides some insight into the circumstances necessary for indirect confusion to apply.

Planning is crucial to the safe transfer of an IP portfolio no matter the timescales involved. Minimise the impact on your business and resources with these five steps for recording change of ownership.

The need to file evidence of use can crop up in many cases and the requirement to show historic use can cause problems for businesses. Preparation is critical to success.