Trade Marks and E-commerce: Protecting Your Brand Online
In today’s increasingly digital marketplace, e-commerce has become a vital channel for businesses to reach customers and drive sales. With the rise of online retail, protecting a brand’s identity and…
Debunking Misconceptions About Registered Design Rights in the UK
Registered design rights are a valuable form of intellectual property protection that play a critical role in safeguarding the visual appearance of products. However, there are several misconceptions surrounding registered…
Understanding the Use Requirement for Maintaining a Trade Mark Registration in the UK
In today’s competitive business environment, establishing a strong market presence is crucial for success. For businesses, their trade mark serves as a symbol of their brand’s identity, and obtaining a…
Trade Mark Infringement: How to Protect Your Brand
In today’s competitive business landscape, protecting your brand is essential for maintaining its value and reputation. Trade mark infringement poses a significant threat to a brand’s identity and can undermine…
Trade Mark Renewal and Maintenance: What You Should Know
If you don’t renew your trade mark rights before the registration expires, you could lose your trade mark. Even worse, a competitor could swoop in and snap up your mark.…
How To Protect Your Business From Trade Mark Infringement
In today’s competitive business environment, establishing a strong brand is vital for success. Beyond setting you apart from competitors, a well-established brand fosters customer trust and loyalty. However, the prevalence…
The 5 Most Common Mistakes When Filing A UK Trade Mark Application
Protecting your business identity and establishing brand recognition in the UK starts with filing a trade mark application. However, the process can be complex and filled with potential pitfalls. In…
How to choose a trade mark that is right for you
Are you looking to create a new brand, but not sure how to choose the right trade mark? Choosing a trade mark for your business, product or service can be…
For trade marks, colour is the new black
Our clients often ask us whether to register their logo as a trade mark in black and white or in colour. For many years, in the UK and the EU…
Logo: is it a trade mark, is it a copyright?
Logos are one of the most popular and valuable types of trade marks obtained by businesses. In many cases, businesses outsource creation of brand identity and logos to freelance designers…
Company Names and Trade Marks
It is a common misconception that registering a company name with the Companies House provides unrestricted rights to such company name. In reality, the registered company name identifies a legal…
How can I lose my trade mark?
Obtaining registration of your trade mark is a clear milestone of success, but it is not the end of the story. Even though trade marks can technically last forever (subject…
How to choose a trade mark
One of the key steps in selecting a trade mark is developing a list of potential brand names and identifying their distinctiveness, or strength, from a trade mark perspective. Distinctiveness…
Trade mark symbols: which one can I use?
There are 2 main types of trade mark symbols – ® and TM. What does ® symbol mean? The ® symbol means that the trade mark is registered. In order…
What does a trade mark protect?
Two of the most frequently asked questions we receive are: What is a trade mark? What does a trade mark protect? Simply put, a trade mark is a sign which…
What you need to know about protecting your slogan
The most conventional trade marks, and the top priority in terms of taking the first steps to protect the brand, are the brand names and logos. Once these have been…
Fashion and IP: back to basics
What does it take to become to build a successful fashion brand and succeed as a designer? There are, no doubt, numerous factors in play, but here at Briffa we…
Non-conventional trade marks in the EU: some good news for the beauty sector
After 3 years of battle with the EUIPO, Guerlain succeeded in registering its Rouge G lipstick case as a trade mark. For quite a while, EUIPO has been sceptical about…
Does the name ‘Miley Cyrus’ ring a bell?
In 2014 Smiley Miley Inc. (Miley Cyrus’s company) applied for the EU trade mark for, perhaps unsurprisingly, ‘Miley Cyrus’ to be used on CDs, software, calendars, and clothing among other…
IP Audit For Start-Ups
Every business owns some form of intellectual property (IP). IP encompasses various forms and generally includes five areas: Trade marks protect brand names, logos, etc.; Copyright protects various original creations…
Why register a design?
When undertaking an intellectual property audit of their business, designers often overlook registered designs. However, having your products protected by registered designs has multiple advantages. UK registered design protects the…
Dior’s struggle to register its iconic bag as a trade mark
Last year, Dior filed an application to register the design of its iconic Saddle Bag – created by John Galliano in 1999 – with the US Trade Mark and Patent…
How To Register Your Trade Mark Overseas
When it comes to protecting your brand, registering a trade mark is essential. However, many clients often wonder how they can obtain a trade mark worldwide. It is important to…
Fashion Design Protection Post Brexit
Before Brexit, fashion brands could enjoy community registered and unregistered designs protection which covered the UK and the 27 EU member states. However, since 1 January 2021 these community design…