Zombie trade marks: a refleshing update

Zombie trade marks take shape in many spooky forms. They are the abandoned, historic brands: the trade marks of businesses which are no longer actively trading. To the untrained eye, they can appear lifeless, but look a little closer, and there may still be a soul lurking behind the eyes.

Does an overly-wide trade mark specification indicate bad faith?

TRUMP TV ON APPEAL TO HIGH COURTUKIPO decision number O-409-18Trade mark application no. 3193965 TRUMP TV in the name of Trump International Limited and opposition

Changes to the EPO Guidelines

A revised set of Guidelines for Examination comes into force on 1 November 2018 and the revisions provide an insight into the changes at the EPO over the last year.

New Guidelines for Examination in the EPO

Examination of patent applications at the European Patent Office (EPO) should conform with the Guidelines for Examination in the EPO, which are updated annually. The much anticipated and updated November 2018 edition, valid from 01 November 2018, is available here: Guidelines for Examination.

Building your brand

A business’ brand is the foundation on which the business is built – it’s how customers find their way back. It’s important. It’s capable of being sold, licensed, franchised or stolen. Investing a few hundred pounds in registration in the territories in which it is to be used enables the first three. Failure to register assists the fourth.

Class 16 and trade mark applications

Experimental data – how much is enough?

It is not unusual for an inventor or applicant to ask “how much experimental data do I need to file a patent application?” Interestingly, the European Patent Office does not require that a patent application contains any experimental data or results.

Debranding, rebranding and mark usage in the course of trade

This case considers the question of whether the debranding (removal of a trade mark from goods) and the rebranding (replacing the mark with another) is use in the course of trade and protected by EU trade mark law.

Have a break, Nestlé!

The European Court of Justice (ECJ, the highest EU court) decided that Nestlé (owner of the KitKat brand), has not shown the below shape has acquired distinctiveness in the European Union, for the purpose of keeping its trade mark registration

What fees are payable in the IPEC in relation to key stages of proceedings?

Every case in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) will differ for many reasons, including subject matter, complexity, and value. For that reason, it is always difficult to exactly predict the fees that a party will incur in the IPEC for each key stage. Nevertheless, some helpful guidance in estimating the fees payable can be found in the Part 45 of the Civil Procedure Rule (CPR).

Counterfeiting and deterring fakes

Counterfeiting used to be about fake money. Today, almost anything with value is a target. Essentially, if there is money to be made from a product, there will likely be a counterfeiter running off copies. Copying is not the problem.