Any creative endeavour is in theory capable of being tokenised or “NFT’d”. Record prices are being reached for the sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). But what are NFTs? How are they created? Why are they so valuable? What does the buyer own? What rights do they confer? And why should IP lawyers care? Click here … Continue reading
In one of the most – if not the most – hotly anticipated and significant trade mark cases of the year, the EU Advocate General, Evgeni Tanchev, on 16 October 2019, handed down his Opinion in the Sky v Skykick case, following a reference by the English High Court to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). … Continue reading
Latest guidance from the UK Government on implications of ‘no-deal’ Brexit for IP rights holders On September 24, 2018, the UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) published a further series of technical notices on how intellectual property (IP) rights holders might be affected if the United Kingdom (UK) leaves the European Union (EU) in March 2019 … Continue reading
The Rio 2016 Olympics are upon us and will undoubtedly capture the attention, excitement and imagination of the public in the UK and globally. It is no surprise then that some businesses may seek to capitalise on the opportunity to promote their brands, products and services through advertising that references the Olympics, Team GB and … Continue reading
On 26 February 2015, the UK Government published its response to the Law Commission’s proposed reforms to the groundless threats of intellectual property right infringement provisions by largely accepting the Law Commission’s proposed reforms, subject to certain qualifications. See UK Gov’t Response. Background The law of groundless threats is aimed at providing redress to recipients … Continue reading
The English High Court has confirmed that use of a combination of words and a background logo can be sufficient to support use of the logo alone even where that logo is not particularly distinctive. Specsavers appealed against a High Court decision that Specsavers’ trade mark or ‘wordless mark’, be revoked for non-use. The appeal … Continue reading
On July 10, 2014 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) handed down its judgment following a reference from the German Bundespatentgericht in the Apple Inc. v Deutsches Patent-und Markenamt registry proceedings. Decision In a landmark ruling, the CJEU held that a three-dimensional representation of the layout of a retail store by means … Continue reading
The English Court of Appeal has sided with Nestlé in the latest instalment of the on-going branding war between Cadbury and Nestlé over Cadbury’s attempts to register a shade of purple in relation to chocolate based products, on grounds of lack of “clarity, precision, self-containment, durability and objectivity” of the mark as applied for. The … Continue reading
by Farah Mukaddam (United Kingdom) On 18 July 2013, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) gave a ruling on a reference in the case of Specsavers International Healthcare Ltd and others v Asda Stores Ltd from the Court of Appeal of England & Wales on use of trade mark combinations and colours. … Continue reading