Design Rights

AA Thornton Partners Ian and Vanessa are mentioned in the 2019 edition of the World Trademark Review We are thrilled to announce that Partner Ian Gill and Consulting Attorney Vanessa Lawrence, have been, once again, recommended in the 2019 edition of the World Trademark Review (WTR) 1000: The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals, in the “prosecution and strategy” category…. Read more »

The Importance of Intellectual Property   Associate Attorney, Christopher Burnett, recently wrote an article ‘The Importance of Intellectual Property’ for East Anglia in Business Magazine, and the full magazine can be read  here.. Chris’s article identifies different IP rights, what they protect and how they are obtained in order to then commercialise them. Below is… Read more »

EU Trade Marks and Community Designs – Deal, no deal, or no Brexit at all?   What is the current situation? Considerable doubt remains about how, when or even if the UK will leave the EU.  However, if the UK leaves without a deal then the outcome in relation to IP should be essentially the… Read more »

  The Legal 500 2019 edition has now been published and we are delighted that the firm has once again been ranked as a leading firm for both patents and trade marks, and that our level of service was recognised, once again, as “outstanding”:  “The ‘excellent’ A.A. Thornton & Co. ‘goes the extra mile to provide outstanding customer service’ and has… Read more »

“If your hair is done properly and you’re wearing good shoes, you can get away with anything.” – Iris Apfel   Introduction Not according to the EUIPO in the recent decision in Opposition No. B002757717 of J. Choo Limited v Liangliang Ren, when the Opposition Division handed down a decision to reject the mark:  … Read more »

Brexit: Considerations for European Union Trade Marks and Registered Community Designs What is the current situation? The UK is to leave the EU (“Brexit”) on 29 March 2019.  When Brexit becomes fully effective, EU unitary trade mark registrations (“EUTMs”) and registered Community designs (“RCDs”) will cease to have effect in the UK, but will continue… Read more »

Is it true that if you don’t use it you lose it?   In nearly all territories, trade mark proprietors will come across issues of trade mark use at some point in the life of a trade mark. In countries such as the USA, use of a trade mark is a central theme in the… Read more »

Careers in Ideas launch event Associate Patent Attorney Chris Burnett reflects on the launch of Careers In Ideas, and the work ahead to raise awareness of IP with students. “On 10 April 2018, a crowd of over 100 IP professionals, careers experts and students gathered at the Royal Society of Medicine for the launch of… Read more »

Each year on the 26th April, we celebrate World Intellectual Property Day, to remind ourselves how intellectual property rights (patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyright) encourage innovation and creativity. This year’s World Intellectual Property Day campaign celebrates the brilliance, ingenuity, curiosity and courage of the women who are driving change in our world and shaping our… Read more »

The UK is to leave the EU (“Brexit”) in March 2019, but a transitional (“implementation”) period is expected to apply until at least 31 December 2020, in which existing IP rights obtained under EU law and therefore affected by Brexit will continue to have effect in the UK. When Brexit becomes fully effective, EU unitary… Read more »