Yesterday EU directive 2015/2436 came into force resulting in the OHIM rebranding to the EUIPO and ‘Community’ trademarks being renamed EU trademarks. Aside from cosmetic tinkering the directive also introduced changes to both procedural and substantive law relating to the newly named EU trademark. Fee Changes Of most interest to trademark applicants and owners will…
As reported on our blog in May 2014, Magmatic (manufacturer of the Trunki suitcase) lost its High Court appeal in its infringement action against PMS. Trunki subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court and on 9 March 2016 Lord Neuberger issued the court’s judgment. The Supreme Court upheld the ruling of the Court of Appeal that…
Whether you’re firm is just starting out, you are a growing company or you own a large multi-national, you’re hopefully acutely aware of the role your employees must play in protecting your IP. The question is: are they? A recent survey carried out by data control specialists Clearswift found that an alarming number of employees…
Have you seen that Christmas TV ad with the moon and the telescope? No, not the John Lewis advert, the Aldi parody that’s also hitting the headlines. While the creative ‘budget’ take on the most-talked about advert of the season is not judged to be a breach of copyright due to the ‘fair dealing’ exception…
What makes a toy a roaring success? Along with being creative and appealing enough to make it onto thousands upon thousands of letters to Santa, it will also need good patent protection. If you have a toy or other product that you want to make it onto the must-have list, you need to ensure that…
Whether you’re actively considering taking your business to the next level through franchising or you’re just getting started on launching your idea, it pays to be aware of the potential implications of franchising. Since the ability to successfully run a franchise scheme depends on having effective protection of your IP in place, we always advise…
The humble KitKat is making media headlines thanks to some magical melting moments brought about by a Japanese café. The eatery in question is slotting chocolate fingers of all flavours within the folds of warm patisserie (full details here). This innovation is surely to be commended by fans of the globally popular snack but aside…
Have you heard the one about the social media platform that started taking down jokes? No, really! In case you missed it, Twitter has started to remove jokes that are reported as plagiarised from others in an attempt to protect the copyright of comedy. So, as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival comes to a close, we…
Social media and food photos go together like jam and bread, tea and scones or an ice cream on a hot summer’s day. Some of the most successful accounts on Instagram are those of food bloggers who share snaps of their own creations and meals they’re enjoying at restaurants and even Facebook feeds see a…
The popularity of easy-to-use craft selling platforms such as Etsy and Folksy means the number of kitchen table businesses continues to grow. Unfortunately, many of these new small businesses are typically run by solo crafters don’t have a great deal of intellectual property knowhow. According to recent figures released by Etsy, the firm responded to…
