Rebecca Anderson-Smith - December 17, 2024 Court of Appeal overturns decision in POST MILK GENERATION The primary issue in this case is whether use of the word milk in the mark POST MILK GENERATION for ...
Andy King - November 27, 2024 Bad Faith or Business Strategy? Sky vs. SkyKick Sets a Precedent The long running saga of the battle between Sky Ltd (“Sky”) and SkyKick UK Ltd (“SkyKick”) is ...
Emily Sullivan - August 14, 2024 Cipla Europe NV v Glaxo Group Ltd: can a 3D trade mark be distinctive? Trade mark proceedings can often feel like never-ending stories. In this case, Glaxo Group Ltd. ...
Claire Evans - June 26, 2024 Update on Trade Mark Protection in Jersey, Guernsey, Gibraltar and the Isle of Man Some countries allow trade mark owners to extend their UK and EU trade mark protection into other ...
Joanna Smith - May 1, 2024 Our clients are at the heart of our Trade Mark business We are delighted to release our latest brochure 'Our clients are at the heart of our Trade Mark ...
Andy King - March 8, 2024 Navigating the Sonic Maze: overcoming the challenges with registering sound marks in the UK In an increasingly crowded market, businesses are recognising the value of sound marks (or ‘sonic ...
Jamie Emerick - January 24, 2024 High Court confirms EU law does not prohibit use of ‘milk’ in a trade mark for milk substitutes in the UK Last year, in December 2023, the Chancery Division of the High Court handed down its decision on ...
Emily Sullivan - January 9, 2024 Pharma trade marks: 2023 EU case law round up As we enter 2024, we reflect on the lessons we have learned in 2023. The trade mark landscape has ...
James Leach - November 16, 2023 IP Protection for software-based products- An Introduction for SMEs We are excited to launch our new software resource booklet — 'IP Protection for software-based ...
Jamie Emerick - November 15, 2023 EU General Court provides guidance on consumer perception in the pharmaceutical industry Earlier this year, in March 2023, the European Union’s General Court provided some useful ...
Kate O'Rourke - October 5, 2023 Chartered Trade Mark Attorneys – your key business ally In the past few years there has been an upsurge in the number of unqualified and unregulated ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - September 7, 2023 A badge of green credentials With consumers increasingly choosing brands that are more environmentally friendly, we have seen a ...
Kirsty Morris - September 7, 2023 Meet The Team: Kirsty Morris, IP Support Services, Patent Administrator As part of our 'meet the team' series, we talk to patent administrator, Kirsty Morris about her ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - September 1, 2023 Building an international Customs strategy for your pharma brand Counterfeit pharmaceuticals are a global problem and pose a significant threat to consumers and ...
Emily Sullivan - August 31, 2023 Understanding parallel import of pharmaceuticals in the EU – a quick guide to repackaging and relabelling of parallel imports for brand owners Parallel importing, the practice where third parties import branded goods already put on sale by ...
Maria Hall - August 29, 2023 Meet The Team: Maria Hall, Business Services, Chief M&BD Officer, Community Champion As part of our 'meet the team' series, we talk to chief marketing and business development officer ...
Karolina Fryzlewicz - August 25, 2023 Strategic Pharmaceutical Branding: when should you apply to register a trade mark if still undergoing clinical trials? Tying trade mark considerations into your drug development strategy can be a rather challenging ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - August 4, 2023 Court of Appeal confirms filing a trade mark cancellation action does not ‘stop the clock’ on acquiescence In our “Pharma trade marks: 2022 case law round up” (written towards the end of November 2022) we ...
Clare James - August 2, 2023 Meet The Team: Clare James, Business Services, Executive Assistant As part of our 'meet the team' series, we talk to Clare James, EA to the Mewburn Ellis management ...
Karolina Fryzlewicz - July 19, 2023 How to mobilize your IP rights in the fight against counterfeit goods: Customs Application for Action ‘Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’ is a motto that does not fare well with intellectual ...
Karolina Fryzlewicz - July 4, 2023 Protecting yourself against IP scammers Scamming practices, such as misleading invoices and spoofed phone calls, are unfortunately a part ...
Karolina Fryzlewicz - June 8, 2023 Katy Perry v Katie Perry: Use of famous personalities’ names in commerce Brand owners who build brands under their own name unsurprisingly attach great importance to how ...
Emily Sullivan - June 2, 2023 EUIPO vs “EMMENTALER” Trade mark courts worldwide spend a good deal of time deciding what trade marks cheese ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - May 25, 2023 Meet The Team: Rebecca Anderson-Smith, Partner, Chartered Trade Mark Attorney As part of our 'meet the team' series, we talk to partner, Rebecca Anderson-Smith about how she set ...
Andy King - May 22, 2023 Meet The Team: Andy King, Head of Trade Marks, Chartered Trade Mark Attorney As part of our 'meet the team' series, we talk to partner and Head of Trade Marks Andy King about ...
Andy King - May 15, 2023 Percy Pig ice cream renamed after M&S request A small family-run ice cream parlour based in Hertfordshire has recently renamed its 'Perky Pig ...
Kate O'Rourke - May 11, 2023 Meet The Team: Kate O'Rourke, Partner, Chartered Trade Mark Attorney As part of our 'meet the team' series, we talk to Chartered Trade Mark Attorney, Kate O’Rourke ...
Jacqueline Pang - May 4, 2023 Meet The Team: Jacqueline Pang, Partner, Chartered Trade Mark Attorney As part of our 'meet the team' series, we talked to Jacqueline Pang about ChatGPT, the use of trade ...
Jan Rether - May 2, 2023 Meet The Team: Jan Rether, Partner, Attorney at Law As part of our 'meet the team' series, we talked to Jan Rether, partner in the Munich office, about ...
Andy King - April 28, 2023 Fail to Prepare; Prepare to Fail: a discussion about representation issues at the UK IPO The UK IPO has recently introduced an important change to the rules on representation of certain ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - April 20, 2023 High Court finds Tesco Clubcard Prices logo infringes Lidl’s trade mark The High Court of England and Wales yesterday (19 April 2023) held that Tesco has been infringing ...
Karolina Fryzlewicz - April 5, 2023 When dragons come to court: why a children book’s author lost a case of copyright infringement against John Lewis “The dragon is a creature of myth, dating back to ancient times and found in cultures across the ...
Joe McAlary - March 28, 2023 Can parallel importers apply registered trade marks to previously unbranded products? Towards the back end of last year, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) gave a series ...
Emily Sullivan - March 24, 2023 Spot the difference: where UK and German laws go astray Despite the harmonisation of trade mark law in Europe over the past decades, significant ...
Karolina Fryzlewicz - February 6, 2023 Curing pharmaceutical trade mark deficiencies: EU guidance on “food supplements” and “pharmaceutical products” in Hasco TM v EUIPO Making genuine use of trade marks after registration is of fundamental importance to avoid the ...
Andy King - January 9, 2023 Form TM7 & TM7A — discrepancies between threatened and actual opponents at the UKIPO Publication of a UK trade mark application, following examination and acceptance by the UK IPO, ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - December 2, 2022 Pharma trade marks: 2022 case law round up As we enter December, and the year draws to a close, many trade mark practitioners and brand owners ...
Joe McAlary - December 2, 2022 Parallel imports of repackaged pharmaceutical products - clarification from recent CJEU rulings Recent case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has clarified how the ...
Jacqueline Murphy - November 21, 2022 Pharma Trade Marks: Exhaustion and Parallel Trade in the UK - Special Report 2022 We are excited to announce the release of our latest special report Pharma Trade Marks: Exhaustion ...
Karolina Fryzlewicz - August 25, 2022 Pattern trade marks: cross-stitch your way to trade mark registration success We live in a world filled with patterns. The natural world reveals to us many patterned ...
Kate O'Rourke - August 11, 2022 Consequences of Brexit on trademarks and designs Just over six years ago, the United Kingdom voted to exit the European Union. With most of the ...
Karolina Fryzlewicz - June 7, 2022 Owning your IP: managing early brand risks for start-ups and SMEs A start-up or a small or medium sized enterprise (SME) is like a newly planted tree in the ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - May 26, 2022 Plant-based brands: what does it take to break through? We investigate what it takes to stand out in an increasingly crowded retail space.
Karolina Fryzlewicz - May 16, 2022 Strategy: token efforts Despite being in circulation since 2014, non‑fungible tokens (NFTs) experienced a meteoric rise in ...
Karolina Fryzlewicz - April 20, 2022 A crossroad of IP rights: registering artistic works as trade marks In a dynamically growing artistic world artists are seeking to maximise protection of their ...
Urs Ferber - March 2, 2022 IP GUIdance - graphical user interface design rights While patents protect the technical aspects of products, registered design rights can be used to ...
Andy King - March 2, 2022 COVID pandemic sparks significant increase in domain name disputes The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has recently published updated statistics on ...
Emily Sullivan - February 28, 2022 Protecting film, music and game titles in Germany - 10 key questions answered Time and again, clients from the media, entertainment and, in particular, gaming sector approach us ...
Karolina Fryzlewicz - February 24, 2022 Registering personal names as trade marks: steps to consider before naming a fashion brand after yourself Brands which include personal names – the so-called eponymous brands – are now commonplace in our ...
Claire Evans - January 27, 2022 Signs of quality – EU and UK geographical indication (GI) logos A geographical indication (GI) is a form of intellectually property right that protects food, drink ...
Karolina Fryzlewicz - January 27, 2022 AI, IP and SMEs: jurisdictional clues about copyright solutions for start-ups Our world is passing through an era of explosive technological innovation. New technologies are ...
Jacqueline Pang - January 26, 2022 The Oatly trade mark and what businesses should know before choosing theirs Veganuary, the annual challenge which encourages people to try a vegan lifestyle during January, ...
Karolina Fryzlewicz - December 16, 2021 Fashion trade marks – understanding the basics Historically, traders have placed symbols on products to indicate their origin. These symbols were ...
Claire Evans - December 4, 2021 Meet the team: Claire Evans, Associate, Chartered Trade Mark Attorney Claire Evans is a chartered trade mark attorney and associate with over 10 years’ experience in IP. ...
Karolina Fryzlewicz - November 26, 2021 Warning competitors off your trade mark: how to use ™ and ® symbols Many of us, if not all, have walked past private land with a sign that reads: “Private Property. No ...
Karolina Fryzlewicz - November 23, 2021 Meet the team: Karolina Fryzlewicz, Trade Mark Technical Assistant Karolina Fryzlewicz is currently training to be a trade mark attorney having joined us in September ...
Kate O'Rourke - October 28, 2021 Brexit trade mark refilings - was 30 September 2021 really the final deadline? For most EU trade mark owners, 30 September 2021 was the final day to refile EU trade mark ...
Kate O'Rourke - October 14, 2021 Uncharted territory – your IP rights post-Brexit 30 September saw the passing of the final deadline for owners of EU trade mark and design rights to ...
David Fyfield - September 28, 2021 WHOIS the infringer - identifying the registrant of a domain name Disputes concerning domain names, linked to cybersquatting, fraud, counterfeiting, and other forms ...
John Addiss - September 20, 2021 Deadline to protect Registered Community Designs or Hague international designs imminent Owners of Registered Community Designs (RCDs) or Hague international designs designating the EU ...
Andy King - August 23, 2021 The Trademark Registry Exchange - protecting trade marks against Generic Top-Level Domains cybersquatting The Trademark Registry Exchange (or ‘TREx’) offers domain name owners a cost-effective measure for ...
Andy King - August 12, 2021 Apply for your Brexit UK trade mark re-filings now to minimise the risk of possible examination delays Owners of EU trade mark rights that were pending on 31 December 2020 have until 30 September 2021 ...
Jacqueline Murphy - July 20, 2021 WTR Global Leaders 2021 Congratulations to our former Head of Trade Marks Kate O'Rourke on being listed as a WTR Global ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - July 6, 2021 Non-traditional pharma trade marks: position marks In this final blog in our non-traditional pharma trade mark series, we will be examining position ...
Joe McAlary - July 5, 2021 Monkey business: Banksy loses another trade mark registration for bad faith A recent decision of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has seen another trade ...
Andy King - July 2, 2021 Ambush marketing: playing by the rules at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games In the year of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games (yes, it is still Tokyo 2020 and not Tokyo ...
Andy King - June 28, 2021 YouGov survey finds that nearly a quarter of businesses have been a victim of cybersquatting A recent survey conducted by Mewburn Ellis, in conjunction with YouGov, revealed that nearly a ...
Andy King - June 2, 2021 Do not pass Go - General Court affirms bad faith in Hasbro MONOPOLY trade mark case EU General Court (GC) in Case T‑663/19 confirms that refiling an identical mark for identical ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - May 27, 2021 Non-traditional pharma trade marks: sound, motion and multimedia marks Following on from our previous blog posts examining the role of shape marks and colour marks in the ...
Kate O'Rourke - May 26, 2021 Protecting your brand - trade mark or design, or both? Logos, shape marks, packaging and containers, and distinctive features or decoration. These are all ...
Kate O'Rourke - April 23, 2021 Impact of Brexit on pending EU trade mark applications Trade mark owners should be alert to the deadline of 30th September 2021 to re-file EU trade mark ...
Jacqueline Pang - April 23, 2021 What's the beef? Using meat terms to describe meat alternatives With the ‘future foods’ market set to grow exponentially over the coming years as a result of a ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - April 21, 2021 Non-traditional pharma trade marks: colours Our previous blog post, Non-traditional pharma trade marks: shapes, explored the relevance of shape ...
Andy King - April 21, 2021 Thoughts on UK IPO representation for foreign-owned UK trade mark registrations Foreign owners of UK trade mark registrations are advised to appoint a UK IPO representative, if ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - March 23, 2021 Non-traditional pharma trade marks: shapes In our previous blog post 'Naming pharmaceuticals: considerations for choosing, clearing and ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - March 22, 2021 Pharma brands: what's in a name? Pinning down a new drug name that will both catch attention and clear regulatory hurdles requires ...
Joe McAlary - February 22, 2021 HALLOUMI v BBQLOUMI – General Court rules that there is no likelihood of confusion In a long running dispute over the marks “HALLOUMI” and “BBQLOUMI”, the General Court, having had ...
Andy King - February 3, 2021 The principle of replacement in trade marks The creation, by Brexit, of many thousands of new ‘comparable’ (or ‘cloned’) UK trade mark ...
Sofia Arenal - February 3, 2021 Practical considerations for evidence at the UKIPO Since it is no longer possible to cover the UK by filing a trade mark application at the EU ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - January 29, 2021 In(sta)fringement: reporting trade mark infringement on Instagram Most readers will be familiar with Instagram, a global photo and video sharing social network which ...
Joe McAlary - January 22, 2021 The Zoom boom: Is there a downside? Forward: features discuss and celebrate the best of innovation and exploration from the scientific ...
Andy King - January 1, 2020 Webinar - What does Brexit really mean for trade marks, designs and patents? The UK formally left the EU at 11pm GMT on 31 December 2020. This webinar gives an overview of the ...
Kate O'Rourke - December 16, 2020 Brexit has happened - what you need to know about the impact on trade marks Kate O’Rourke sets out the principles for UK and EU trade mark protection which came into force ...
Richard Johnson - November 29, 2020 Deep trouble: what can happen when we can’t sleep? It has perhaps never been harder for us to get our heads down. But could new technology come to the ...
Andy King - November 24, 2020 Amazon Pharmacy trade mark battle Amazon’s latest trademark dispute stems from its efforts to launch a new pharmacy service in the ...
Kate O'Rourke - November 20, 2020 UKIPO confirms new ‘Address for Service’ rules CITMA is celebrating a major victory on Brexit in the wake of the UKIPO’s latest “address for ...
Andy King - November 6, 2020 The impact of Brexit on .EU domain names Internet domain names are crucial commercial assets for many businesses. They are communicated to ...
Kate O'Rourke - October 29, 2020 Impact of Brexit on designs – an update As of 1st January 2021, Registered Community Designs (RCDs), unregistered Community designs (UCDs) ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - October 28, 2020 Naming pharmaceuticals: considerations for choosing, clearing and registering pharmaceutical brand names There are many different types of names you might see associated with a pharmaceutical product.
Andy King - October 26, 2020 Utilising the potential of Amazon Brand Registry to protect and benefit your brand As representatives for thousands of our client’s EUTM and UK trade mark registrations, we often ...
Andy King - October 22, 2020 Three-dimensional Ferrari trade mark driven to partial cancellation EUIPO Cancellation Division partially cancels trade mark consisting of a three-dimensional ...
Kate O'Rourke - September 30, 2020 Renewal of EU trade marks post-Brexit Owners of EU Trade Marks (EUTMs) which are due to be renewed after 31st December 2020 will need to ...
Andy King - September 18, 2020 Bad Faith at the UK IPO – a review of recent cases The recent Sky v SkyKick case has put a renewed focus on the issue of “bad faith” at the UK IPO. ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - September 18, 2020 Banksy’s ‘Flower Thrower’ trade mark cancelled for bad faith A recent decision of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has seen a trade mark ...
Kate O'Rourke - September 15, 2020 Facing facts: How the rise of face coverings has brought IP risks Forward: features discuss and celebrate the best of innovation and exploration from the scientific ...
Andy King - September 11, 2020 Jaguar Land Rover unable to defend three-dimensional trade mark before the UK High Court UK High Court (HC) upholds decision of UK IPO to refuse registration of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)’s ...
Kate O'Rourke - September 1, 2020 The benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to brands and businesses Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is standard practice for most business. No matter what the ...
Jacqueline Pang - August 28, 2020 Chinese character marks at the EUIPO As Chinese companies continue to grow and expand overseas, there has been a growing appetite to ...
Karolina Fryzlewicz - August 27, 2020 General Court annuls the decision of EUIPO Board of Appeal in invalidity case involving Louis Vuitton’s well-known chequerboard print General Court (GC) in Case T-105/19 confirms EUIPO Board of Appeal (BoA) is not precluded from ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - August 5, 2020 Geographical indications: the evolving scope of evocation Under EU law, protected designations of origin (PDOs) and protected geographical indications (PGIs) ...
Andy King - July 29, 2020 ®egistration and/or use of a trade mark – an automatic defence in the UK to trade mark infringement claims? It is quite a common and perfectly reasonable assumption by some clients that by registering a ...
Kate O'Rourke - July 29, 2020 The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court - ongoing success for brand owners Since 1990 businesses seeking to defend their intellectual property (IP) rights in the UK have had ...
Sofia Arenal - July 28, 2020 Oreo vs Twins - the biscuit wars Since 2015, two major biscuit manufacturers, have been doing battle, first at the EUIPO and then on ...
Andy King - July 16, 2020 Madrid Protocol designations - the growing requirement for domestic representatives The absence of a requirement to instruct local professional representation is considered one of the ...
Jacqueline Pang - June 26, 2020 Industry makeover: how the cosmetics industry has been affected by COVID-19 The cosmetics industry has undergone a major transformation during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. ...
Andy King - June 18, 2020 Life after Skykick: where next for wide specification filings at the UK IPO and EU IPO? This article examines some of the issues around the concept of use and intention to use a trade ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - June 8, 2020 Zombie trade marks: overcoming the pitfalls of resurrecting a brand Have you ever fondly remembered a brand from your youth and wished you could get your hands on ...
Joe McAlary - May 11, 2020 Packaging – why a design registration could help protect your look The food and drink sector is a notoriously crowded and competitive market and having visually ...
Kate O'Rourke - May 6, 2020 Counterfeit contagion: fraudulent activities spread amid coronavirus (COVID-19) The COVID-19 outbreak has caused disruption to manufacturing operations on a global scale. Lockdown ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - April 30, 2020 The power of trade marks: social distancing logos during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic We are all now familiar with the social distancing guidelines set out by the World Health ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - April 27, 2020 Temporary modification of production conditions for PGIs and PDOs will help farmers struggling to deal with coronavirus (COVID-19) The coronavirus lockdowns across many European countries have brought a variety of new challenges ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - April 9, 2020 Why a "COVID-19” trade mark should be rejected The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly forced us all to adapt our lives and business practices in ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - March 19, 2020 Parallel imports of pharmaceuticals – A UK trade mark perspective The UK parallel import licensing scheme lets a medicine authorised in another EU Member State be ...
Kate O'Rourke - March 9, 2020 When the sky is not the limit: Issues facing businesses when expanding services and products Conflicting views on the legitimacy of filing trademarks with broad lists of goods and services ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - March 5, 2020 Latest in Halloumi trade mark dispute In July 2014, Bulgarian company M. J. Dairies EOOD filed a European Union trade mark application ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - March 3, 2020 What’s in a name? Enforcing trade mark rights and the own name defence Clothing and accessories brand Hugo Boss has recently found itself making headlines, and probably ...
Andy King - February 20, 2020 Sky v Skykick - status quo remains for trade mark owners Background Sky, the TV, broadcasting, media and telecommunications giant, brought infringement and ...
Andy King - December 4, 2019 Rubik’s Cube trade mark in puzzling General Court decision This article was originally published on the CITMA website. View the original article here. Ruling ...
Kate O'Rourke - December 2, 2019 The Aboriginal flag dispute in focus: who owns the right to use? The Australian government is considering whether to compulsorily acquire the rights to use the ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - November 27, 2019 General Court annuls incorrect interpreted specification of trade mark We are delighted to report that our client Alliance Pharmaceuticals Limited has been successful in ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - October 2, 2019 5 top tips to prevent trade mark ‘genericide’ Most trade mark owners will be aware that their UK or European Union trade mark registration is ...
Andy King - August 12, 2019 USPTO changes rules of representation for overseas trade mark applicants The US Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has recently changed the rules regarding the need for ...
Andy King - July 31, 2019 Cultural (mis)appropriation in trademarks: can (and should) you register culturally sensitive names? Andy King, Partner and Trademark Attorney at Mewburn Ellis, discusses the controversial issue of ...
Andy King - July 24, 2019 New European spirit drinks regulation EU 2019/787 Dydra Donath breaks down the new regulation the EU has placed on spirit drink trademarks. Article ...
Kate O'Rourke - June 21, 2019 Three-stripes and you’re out: Adidas lose trade mark battle Adidas’ famed three-stripe logo has been deemed as lacking “distinctive character”. The General ...
Andy King - May 20, 2019 Glen Buchenbach - Scotch whisky? Originally published in The Trademark Lawyer, Dydra Donath discusses the recent CJEU decision on ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - April 3, 2019 Babybel trade mark blow The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) has dealt a blow to the owners of Babybel cheese, ...
Rebecca Anderson-Smith - December 6, 2018 Significant blow to Cadbury in purple trade mark battle Cadbury has been dealt a blow by the Court of Appeal in its battle to maintain its trade mark for ...
Jacqueline Pang - July 20, 2018 Roger Federer in trade mark dispute with Nike Roger Federer recently left Nike and signed a deal with Uniqlo reportedly worth $30million per ...
