A Christmas present from Briffa – 5 top tips for the perfect brand name. Choosing the ideal brand name is no mean feat. For it to be truly valuable to your business, it needs to be registered as a trade mark, but this is easier said than done. Here are our 5 top tips for…
DetailsPhotograph by Jelena Ivanović | EXIT Photo Team Duran Duran Sued by Publisher for Reclaiming Song Rights. As is typical in publishing agreements, Duran Duran’s deal with Gloucester Place Music Limited (part of EMI) included a worldwide assignment of rights in their songs for the duration of copyright and any extensions and renewals. Duran Duran…
Details‘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 similarity between the PayPal logo and the Paytm logo (both logos incorporate similar light blue and dark blue elements). It argued that the Paytm logo…
DetailsSale of “grey” goods in the UK is a criminal offence under the Trade Marks Act 1994 Grey market goods/parallel imports are genuinely manufactured goods by the trade mark owner, for a particular jurisdiction, that are subsequently imported into a jurisdiction not authorised by the brand owner. In this instance the “grey” branded goods in…
DetailsHow Not to Have a Counterfeit and Criminal Christmas ‘Tis the season of counterfeiting. Intellectual property crime is rife at Christmas. You purchase a product for half the price of the genuine article but get all the benefits of the real thing, right? This isn’t always the case. Counterfeit products may have inherent dangers, from…
DetailsKit Kat Barred from Keeping its Four-Finger Bar Trade Mark Are you #TeamNestlé or #TeamCadbury, as once again the two confectioners battled it out in the courts over trade marks? Previous battles have included, in 2013, where the Court of Appeal (England and Wales) held that Cadbury could not trade mark its colour purple and,…
DetailsBriffa Advises Santa Claus Briffa are pleased that Father Christmas has once again been to see us to discuss his IP portfolio and general legal position. At our meeting we found a number of issues. We are grateful that he is willing to waive confidentiality to allow us to disclose the details and even more…
DetailsChristmas Surfing Party! I can’t help feelings of delight as soon as I see see decorations going up in shop windows along Upper Street. As the days get shorter, our little world starts sparkling and the magic begins. This year we opened the celebrations in our work community with a Mistletoe Party for all at…
Details#BriffaCelebrates – Lazy Oaf Lazy Oaf is one of our favourite clients who is anything but lazy or oafish. Launched more than 15 years ago by Gemma Shiel, Lazy Oaf makes colourful clothes and accessories decorated with playful graphic prints. We were pleased to catch up at a meeting this morning. It’s been quite a…
Details#BriffaCelebrates – Howies Are you both active and fashionable? If so you will know Howies the adventure brand dedicated to making you look good while cycling or running. Born in Wales in 2006 and still based in picturesque Carmarthen on the River Towy, Howies celebrated its 21st Birthday this summer. It’s been quite a journey…
DetailsBeing a sci-fi fan the recent election of Donald Trump immediately called to mind the famous lines on topic written by Douglas Adams in ‘A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Adams wrote ‘It is a well known fact that people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it.…
DetailsArtificial Intelligence is very quickly going to change the world as we know it and the music industry is no exception. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the UK record labels’ association, has released a new report looking into how AI is currently being used and how it will impact the music industry. The full report…
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