Blog & News

Help, I’ve Just Received A Cease And Desist Letter!

As intellectual property experts, we spend much of our time either sending or responding to cease and desist letters. These letters are the first step in intellectual property (IP) claims.…

How to protect a TV format

Game show formats and reality TV shows like Love Island and Big Brother have been extremely popular not only in the UK, but also internationally. Format rights are therefore important…

Help! I’ve received a Notice of Threatened Opposition, what do I do now?

Well, let’s start by explaining what a Notice of Threatened Opposition actually is… essentially it’s a form (called a TM7A if you’re interested) that potential opponents of a trade mark…

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…

BriffaWay – Lord Scrumptious

Although I was not aware at the time my first exposure to the business pitch was probably that in the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968). There is a part…

It’s National Pie Week and Play-Doh have applied to trade mark their smell!

The toy manufacturers Hasbro are seeking a US trade mark for the smell of Play-Doh, their specimen is none other than a container of Play-Doh. At present, within the UK and…

Search Engines Team Up with Film and Music Associations in the Fight against Piracy

Once upon a time you could only listen to the music on the CDs that you brought along for your car trip or on the radio and you could only…

BriffaWay – Teenager

While browsing greeting cards in a shop recently I was amused by a card which advised ‘Hire a teenager now – while they still know everything’. Later that same day…

The Threats They Are A-Changin’ – the murky ground of dispute resolution

As legal advisors, we often have to tread the murky ground of dispute resolution.  Frequently, clients contact us, having fired the first shot against a potential infringer and have unwittingly…

The data police are coming – new stringent data protection laws will take effect in 2018 – are you ready?

The new, more stringent data protection laws will take effect in 2018. There will be a new set of principles with a greater emphasis on transparency in how you collect…

Scam Artists vs. Trade Marks and Domain Names

As another month goes by, the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office releases another warning about a new scam involving intellectual property rights. The latest scam involves individuals and business owners…

Briffa Celebrates – The Meringue Girls – two friends and thousands of meringue ‘kisses’

We really love everything about the Meringue Girls – the girl power bakers who have taken the world of meringue by storm since starting out in 2012. The girls, Alex…

Briffa Celebrates – The City of London Distillery and Gin Bar

Briffa Celebrates – The City of London Distillery and Bar Catching your eye as soon as you turn into Bride Lane from Fleet Street the distinctive dark green door of…

Victory for Farfetch in Trade Mark Squatting Battle

In China, it is notoriously difficult to deal with trade mark squatting whereby someone registers another business’ trade marks in bad faith. Once the squatter owns the trade mark registration, they…

BriffaWay – Physics

Both of my older sons studied physics at university. One was mostly concerned with all things massive and astro and now spends his working life in an aluminium tube high…

You say TOSCANO, I say TOSCORO, let’s call the whole thing a protected geographical indication

Catchy title I hear you say, well yes, protected geographical indications are catchy, so catchy that they can be a complete block to your trade mark application, even if the…

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…

Facebook, the power of the non-disclosure (confidentiality) agreement

A US court has held, that Facebook obtained virtual reality software from ZeniMax, after they acquired Oculus back in 2014. It was held, that Palmer Luckey, co-founder of Oculus breached…

Trade Marks and Alcoholic Drinks: Is there a Likelihood of Confusion between ‘Pitu’ and ‘Litu’?

Have you ever been out and considered the wine list, ordered a drink in a bar or restaurant or bought a drink in a shop and thought: ‘I wonder if…

Briffa Way – “Better Meet Margaret” before you hit IP obstacles!

My favourite TV lawyer has to be Bob Odenkirk who plays Jimmy McGill in Breaking Bad prequel ‘Better Call Saul’. In his own series we find out that he is…

The importance of being earnest… in protecting your trade marks with the UKIPO

The United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) recently released its “Fast Facts 2017” booklet summarising the economic impact intellectual property rights have had, and the increased prevalence of UK businesses…

Briffa Celebrates – Music Industries Association (MIA) – The trade body for the UK musical instrument industry

#BriffaCelebrates – Music Industries Association (MIA) – “CREATING AND ENCOURAGING MUSIC MAKING”     Briffa have been working with the Music Industries Association for 10 years and we think they are…

Contracts, contract, contracts – what do they do and why do we need them?

Let’s say that you and I are friends, we’ve known each other for ages, we trust each other and recently we’ve decided to work together on a business venture. Maybe…

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…

Briffa Art Party

Thank you to all our guests, old friends and new for making our Briffa Art Party such a success. We hope you had a great night and look forward to…

Briffa Celebrates – Kat Maconie

Margaret Briffa celebrates Kat Maconie, followed by a photoshoot with Duncan Raban, his surf board and red carpet! I am delighted to publish another in our video series #BriffaCelebrates with…

Bagel Frenzy!

Briffa Art Party – bagel frenzy! With the annual Briffa Art Party almost upon us, Margaret and Adrienne take to the streets in a frenzy to order and prepare 250…