There’s more to St Andrew than golf!
He’s not just about golf and he’s not just the patron saint of Scotland. St Andrew is also the patron saint of Greece, Russia, Italy’s Amalfi and Barbados. And if…
Trade mark ‘scout’ wars – girls vs. boys
The Girl Scouts of America are suing the Boy Scouts of America, Arguing that the Boys’ recent rebranding (from Boys Scouts to Scouts) has caused consumer confusion, mistaken enrolment and…
European trade mark law is going through the motions …
Earlier this year, we reported on olfactory marks (i.e. trade marks for smells). We reported that these types of trade marks were becoming more accessible to brand owners thanks to…
MARVELlous IP rights …
Marvel (Marvel Comics and Marvel Entertainment, LLC) has been around in some form for almost 80 years (Marvel began life as Timely Publications in 1939, by the 1950s it was…
Trade mark battles – RITZ vs RIZE
Intercontinental Great Brands LLC (formerly known as Kraft Foods Holdings) (IGB) is the manufacturer of the popular “Ritz” crackers and the owner of the Ritz trade mark portfolio. Earlier this…
Breaking Bud is knee deep in “Breaking Bad” trade mark infringement
Earlier this month, Sony sued Knee Deep Brewing arguing that the brewer intentionally imitated the “Breaking Bad” logo and other design elements in order to benefit unfairly from the popular…
Blurring the lines between inspiration, imitation and infringement of copyright
Earlier this month, a US appeals court upheld an earlier finding by a trial court in the US that Robin Thicke’s song “Blurred Lines” infringed on the copyright in Marvin…
PLANE PAL and FLY TOT – airplane pillow design dispute
The PLANE PAL product and the FLY TOT product Samantha Cardone designed and developed the Plane Pal inflatable cushion with a view to helping children sleep better on planes. Winnie…
Chinese courts give Lego a leg-up in IP disputes
Play well! “LEGO” is a line of plastic interlocking bricks and toys manufactured by the Lego Group (a privately held company based in Denmark). The Lego Group began manufacturing Lego…
Three stripes trade mark wars: ADIDAS vs. ELEAGUE
Global sportswear manufacturer Adidas has recently filed an opposition against Turner Broadcasting System’s (TBS) ELEAGUE three stripes logo (comparison picture above). ELEAGUE is a professional esports league that began broadcasting…
Is Cheerios yellow a thing?
Is Cheerios yellow a thing? No, not according to the US trademark court office. General Mills, the manufacturer of the ‘Cheerios’ American cereal brand, had spent two years pursuing trade…
Spotify is getting sued for copyright infringement … again
Spotify is getting sued in two separate lawsuits for copyright infringement. A Nashville-based publisher and a songwriter claim that the streaming service did not obtain the necessary licenses to stream…
Likelihood of Konfusion?
Australian tennis player Thanasi Kokkinakis is in the middle of a trade mark dispute with Kellogg’s over his right to make commercial use of his nickname “Special K”. The breakfast…
‘Poké’ trade mark wars
Gotta catch ‘em all Nintendo owns a number of trade marks with the “Poké” prefix, some of which have been registered for almost 20 years. These include a variety of…
Plain packaging and trade marks
It began down under … In 2012, Australia became the first country in the world to introduce legislation requiring plain packaging for cigarettes. Since then, several countries have followed suit…
Kylie who? We all love the idea of a celebrity trade mark dispute of titanic proportions – a veritable clash of the Kylies
We all love the idea of a celebrity trade mark dispute of titanic proportions – a veritable clash of the Kylies. The reality of what has gone down in the…
Irishman Conor McGregor’s trade mark battles to secure registration of name and nickname – “The Notorious”
Conor McGregor’s trade mark battles This ‘notorious’ Irishman is the reigning UFC Lightweight Champion and former UFC Featherweight Champion. His most recent battles are in the trade marks arena where…
‘Pay’ trade mark wars – Paypal and Paytm
‘Pay’ trade mark wars – Paypal and Paytm. Earlier this month, PayPal opposed a trade mark application for the “Paytm” logo in India. PayPal filed its opposition citing the visual…
Are Carlsberg’s new beer patents controversial? Probably …
This year, the European Patent Office (EPO) granted three new patents to Carlsberg (EP2384110, EP2373154 and EP2575433) relating, broadly, to the harvest of kernels from barley plants, the process for…
May the Force be with you (if you have a licence to use the Force …)
The Star Wars brand was born in 1977 with the release of the first film in the series: simply, “Star Wars”. It’s almost 40 years later and if you’re not…
Playtime is over: EU court rules hyperlinks infringe copyright
Earlier this month, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) confirmed that hyperlinking to creative works protected by copyright (i.e. protected works) can constitute infringement where such works…
Specsavers: UK Intellectual Property Office approves “SHOULD’VE” trade mark application
Earlier this month, the UK Intellectual Property Office published a trade mark application made on behalf of Specsavers B.V. for the word “SHOULD’VE” / “SHOULDVE”. The company has had trade…
The Real McCoy
In 2013, McDonald’s won a case in the EU Intellectual Property Office (then the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market) challenging the “MacCoffee” trade mark used by Future Enterprises…
Apple secures a new design patent for their Apple Watch
Apple has secured a new design patent from the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) for the Apple Watch to protect its design from being copied. The design patent was…