Blog & News

To License or To Assign? Which Should You Opt For?

When dealing with intellectual property rights under UK law, agreements and negotiations would often make use of keywords that carry distinct legal and commercial consequences. Two important terms are assignment,…

UK Registered Designs and Amazon Takedowns: What Does It Mean for Your Business

What is a UK registered design and how does it drive Amazon competitor take downs A UK registered design protects the appearance of a product. This includes the shape, contours,…

Misrepresentation and Likelihood of Confusion: Two Different Tests

Whilst the tests for ‘Misrepresentation’ and ‘Confusion’ are distinguished from one another, clients often use the terms interchangeably when they find a competitors branding looks too close to theirs. Under…

Can a political party borrow IKEA’s brand for a campaign poster?

A recent Court of Justice of the EU ruling in Inter IKEA Systems (C-298/23) tackles a question that comes up more often than you’d think: can a famous trade mark…

Does Geoblocking Your Own Country Still Count as Trade Mark Use?

Both parties in this new CJEU reference from Austria run a cooperage business. The claimant, Fassbinderei Klaus Pauscha GmbH, owns the Austrian marks PAUSCHA and KLAUS PAUSCHA for wooden barrels…

Can Temu Really Hide Behind Its Sellers When It Comes to Copyright?

Back in 2023, SHEIN issued proceedings against Temu, still a newcomer to the UK market at the time, alleging that Temu had infringed its copyright by using SHEIN’s product photographs…

The Creative Content Exchange: how creative SMEs can prepare to license content for AI

For photographers, designers, publishers, musicians, and other creative businesses, digital content may be valuable to artificial intelligence developers as training or testing material. Yet smaller rights holders often lack the…

Copyright Protects Your Choices, Not Your Subject: Lessons from the Underwater Dog Case

The recent German case concerning the photograph of a dog underwater has raised eyebrows regarding how much of a photograph can copyright really protect. The case concerned a photograph of…

Anatomy of a Confidentiality Agreement – Essential Clauses You Need

Confidentiality agreements, or non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), are essentially types of contracts that allow the parties to discuss certain matters openly, without fear of either party leaving the conversation and sharing…

What Evidence Do You Need to Win an IP Infringement Case?

Winning an IP infringement case rarely comes down to one knockout document. Courts and tribunals build a picture from several strands of evidence. IP infringement occurs when products, creations or…

Jersey Trade Mark System

From 1 August 2026, Jersey becomes its own independent designation under the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO) Madrid System for international trade mark registration. This is a procedural change that…

Copyright Infringement: When Should You Send a Legal Notice?

Discovering that your original work, whether a photograph, article, design, musical composition or software code, has been used without your permission can be both frustrating and damaging, particularly where it…

Intellectual Property Due Diligence Checklist for Business Acquisitions

If you are thinking of purchasing a company or considering a merger, it is vital that you are conducting appropriate due diligence of the target company’s IP position, particularly if…

Ten Years On: Has UK IP Law Really Left the EU?

When the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016, many expected sweeping change for intellectual property law. A decade on, the real story is continuity, not revolution. Trade Marks…

A Confidentiality Agreement Lawyer’s Essential Clauses You Need

Confidentiality agreements, or non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), are essentially types of contracts that allow the parties to discuss certain matters openly, without fear of either party leaving the conversation and sharing…

What To Do If You Receive a Trade Mark Opposition Notice

What is a trade mark opposition notice? When you apply to register a trade mark in the UK, your application is examined by the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) and…

Can Someone Stop Me From Using My Business Name? Help from a Lawyer

Choosing a business name can feel like a creative act and can be quite daunting, but it also carries legal consequences. Already established businesses or individuals can take various legal…

Received an opposition notice to your trade mark application? Here’s what to do next

Brand building takes time. So, when a letter arrives informing you that someone is challenging your trade mark application, the instinct is often to feel blindsided. But opposition notices are…

Count Binface: the IP dispute you weren’t aware of

The recent political news has been dominated by the decision of Nigel Farage to resign his seat as an MP and trigger a by-election in Clacton and re-stand, only to…

A Stitch Too Far? Does Upcycling Fashion New Products or Unravel a Brand’s Reputation?

The rise of the circular economy is gradually altering the fashion industry. More and more consumers are looking beyond fast fashion and traditional high street shopping, and are instead tailoring…

Protecting Your Brand in the Age of Global E-Commerce: Where to Start

Launching a small business online is easier now than ever before. A Shopify or Etsy store, an Amazon listing, or a TikTok Shop account can put your products in front…

The Hidden IP Risks in Influencer and Creator Partnerships

Influencer marketing is one of the most powerful ways to grow a brand, as a well-chosen creator partnership can put your products in front of the right audience, build trust…

Trade Mark Disputes: Why Likelihood of Confusion Isn’t Always Obvious

Likelihood of confusion is a key factor when looking at trade mark infringement cases. Practically, when looking at two similar brand names, you might think it obvious that consumers might…

What does a shark and a bull have in common?

The title of this blog post might sound like the start of a joke, however, the recent decision by the UKIPO to block the registration of “GymBull” on grounds of…