At last, just when you thought trade mark law was going pear shaped and it was going to become more problematical explaining to a business what sort of trade marks they could register without fear of opposition, the Court of Justice of the European Communities has decided that the two images shown below are different…
DetailsSince 1996, the owner of Babybel, Fromageries Bel have had a trade mark registered for its prominent 3D round wax coating with the colour red for its cheese products. This month, the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) issued a ruling invalidating the trade mark covering the red coating for Babybel cheese products. This trade mark…
DetailsFollowing on from our previous blog, the European Parliament has voted through the final draft of the European Union Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (the Directive). Having been mired in controversy for some time, the latest version passes with sixteen votes in favour and nine against. It is worth noting that the…
DetailsWe all know technology is constantly changing and evolving at a rapid speed. Currently, the latest craze is smartwatches (not sure for how long though!). There are a number of ways we can protect Intellectual Property rights in technological products/ advancements. The most obvious being a patent. However, a topical case here is based on…
DetailsWe previously wrote about the long-running copyright dispute concerning ‘Blurred Lines’ and ‘Got To Give It Up’ which culminated in Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams being ordered by a California Court to pay $5m (appox. £4m) to the Estate of Marvin Gaye. We commented at the time that the Blurred Lines judgment made it very…
DetailsJust when you have made a resolution to concentrate on the major issues of the day, something comes along to distract your attention. Yes we are still talking about trade mark and brand issues but today its about a trade mark action brought by adult party brand Butlers in the Buff (BITB). According to the…
DetailsWe see the question asked time and time again: “what information is considered to be personal data?”. And rightfully so. Having a clear understanding of information which is (and is not) “personal data” could be the difference between you being able to exploit that information to bring value to your business, and it not being…
DetailsLast year energy drink giant Monster Energy unsuccessfully opposed an application by a pop-up pizzeria to trade mark its name “Monsta Pizza”. See our earlier blog: Monsta Pizza wins TM case against Monster Energy. Monsta Pizza celebrated its win by posting on twitter on 21 August 2018: “WE Won! HOOZAH! Our name is ours ……
DetailsThe draft European Union Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (the Directive) is designed to better equip copyright owners to protect and enforce their rights against new types of threats posed by the internet. The EU’s view, shared by the Directive’s supporters, was that existing copyright laws are not designed to deal with…
DetailsIn December 2017 Popstar Taylor Swift launched her app The Swift Life to accompany her sixth album Reputation, allowing fans to interact with her and other fans in their own social community. She was then faced with a lawsuit from businessman Patrick Lloyd Yves Benot, the owner of a New York computer company called SwiftLife…
DetailsWe know, we know. It’s not easy settling on the right brand name for your business. You need a brand that: i) lets consumers know something about the goods and services that you offer; and ii) sets you apart from your competitors. However, it is the first requirement that we see many businesses struggle with,…
DetailsThe international super model and global influencer Gigi Hadid is being sued for copyright infringement as a result of an image she posted on her Instagram feed … of herself! Hadid, for those of you not so au fait with the “Instafamous” has 45 million followers on Instagram and is part of the current breed…
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