If you’re the owner of a European Patent (‘EP’) or considering applying for one, but haven’t yet been brave enough to face the prospect of getting to grips with the forthcoming European-wide patent system, then this article is for you. The story thus far on the proposed unitary patent (‘UP’) and its specialised custom-built court…
DetailsEven in this digital age we all love to get a card in the post. I know I am always thrilled and I have cards which stay up on the mantelpiece and are only taken down to make room for the next occasion. I share my love of cards with Sharon Little CEO of the…
DetailsNew opportunities. New skills. Recently I was lucky enough to have been the guest of our client Lynx Golf who were sponsors of the SEE Women’s Invitational Day. Up to now my only experience of golf was of the crazy kind, formerly confined to seaside towns but now becoming more fashionable and accessible following establishment…
DetailsIt’s not often that legislation as significant as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force. The new GDPR is an EU regulation which modernises the legal framework surrounding personal data. The content of the GDPR will likely apply to the UK even after the UK leaves the EU. From 25th May 2018, the…
DetailsAustralian 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 cereal production company has owned the right to use the “Special K” trademark in Australia for 59 years and wants to prevent Kokkinakis from using…
DetailsThe team put together a fabulous pre-election party for some friends and colleagues last night. It’s been a tough campaign marred by terrorist attacks and you would have good reason to have had enough of politics, but I still enjoy the election process. Here’s my top 6 reasons Elections train you in all night telly…
DetailsSwatch’s opposition to Apple’s IWATCH trade mark application recently reached the High Court, where John Baldwin QC had to decide whether the marks were similar and if there was a likelihood of confusion. Background In September 2014, Swatch opposed Apple’s trade mark application for “IWATCH” arguing that its earlier (figurative) trade mark for “ISWATCH” was…
DetailsMy wife loves Lord of the Rings, I can take it or leave it to be honest, the films (at the risk of sounding like a millennial, I’m not really thinking of the books) are extremely long and, at times, pretty tedious (I can already feel the anger of all you Tolkienst’s out there) but…
DetailsNestlé, have not established acquired distinctiveness for their four finger bar of chocolate. On 17 May 2017, the Court of Appeal dismissed Nestlé’s appeal to register a four finger KitKat as a trade mark in the UK. Nestlé’s application was opposed by Cadbury’s on the basis the mark lacked distinctive character, under s 3(1) (b) of…
DetailsYogiboost have been serving up delicious frozen dairy treats in Sweden since 2013. A few months into trading though they were faced with a trade mark infringement and passing off claim by Arla Food – a huge dairy product producer with billions in annual turnover. Big pockets, big problem. Arla based the claim on its…
DetailsWhile all elections have their own memorable moments, the general election of 1983 holds a particular place in labour party folklore as the party’s most traumatic defeat. Even now looking back nearly 33 years later I can’t quite believe the sheer awfulness of the campaign. Images of Michael Foot in donkey jacket riding on the…
DetailsThe Law Society Gazette reported earlier today that use of the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) is on the increase. In terms of number of cases filed, 2016 saw an increase to 339 cases compared to 202 in 2015. What makes this interesting, says the Gazette, is that this increase is in despite of a viable…
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