Insights

Pandemic panic has driven acute increase in demand for goods, services and information online. We set out the IP implications for brand owners.

We regularly receive messages from our clients about unsolicited correspondence from companies presenting themselves as IP protection agents. Please do not make any payments to such companies.

Bankruptcies among high street chains in the UK are becoming an all too familiar sight with household names, such as Thomas Cook and Mothercare going under in 2019, and many companies anticipating financial difficulties as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, and the recession that is predicted to follow.

Websites that provide a platform for third parties to sell products now represent some of the world’s most successful businesses. But, the fast-moving nature of e-commerce means that issues around trademark infringement are only now being addressed.

Mexico has become the latest country to deposit its instrument of accession to the International Design system, following Israel, Samoa and Vietnam last year. The growth of the system is only good news for businesses operating internationally.

The full impact of COVID-19 on businesses, individuals and world economies is still unknown, but where some see challenges, others see opportunities or chances to help, as Novagraaf's Vanessa Harrow explains.

Although not impossible, seeking trademark protection for slogans in the European Union can prove difficult. What can be learned from those slogans that have achieved success?

From Led Zeppelin to Katy Perry, it seems that hardly a few weeks go by without another music IP case hitting the headlines. But, does this mark an increase in actual ‘copying’, or is it just a indication of the high amounts of money at stake once a pop group or pop song becomes successful?

The Unified Patent Court Agreement received a further blow this month after Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court declared the Act establishing the system null and void on constitutional grounds.