Design Rights

Impact of the end of the Brexit Transition Period on Tribunal Proceedings The Brexit transition period ended on 31 December 2020 and the UK IPO has issued a new practice note covering some new aspects of UK IPO trade mark and registered design practice in relation to tribunal proceedings such as cancellation actions or oppositions…. Read more »

Trade mark rights IN THE RED! Automotive team member, Rachel Havard considers the CJEU’s recent judgement on genuine use of Ferrari’s TESTAROSSA trade mark.   The concept of “use it or lose it” We all probably need a bit of nostalgia in our lives, more than we ever did, and brand names/trade marks play a… Read more »

Automotive team member, Rachel Havard considers the rise of the Ineos Grenadier and Jaguar Land Rover’s attempt to register their Defender shape as a UK trade mark   Ben Fogle in The Telegraph – “It is said that for more than half the world’s population, the first car they remember having seen is a Land… Read more »

Retail team member Sarah Neil reviews the problem of online trade mark infringement and the options for combating third party copycats online You may have seen the recent story of Little Soap Co and its battle against a scammer who set up an Instagram account cloning the company’s genuine Instagram account in an effort to… Read more »

Patent Attorney Stuart Greenwood* reports on Nike’s ground-breaking and controversial range of running shoes. *Stuart has run several marathons, and is currently training for his first foray into the world of ultra-marathons. He has a keen interest in the development of Nike’s Vaporfly and Alphafly running shoes as he feels he needs all the help… Read more »

The dawn of a new era – Brexit becomes a reality   After completion of all necessary legislative stages in the UK, the EU Withdrawal Agreement has now been signed on behalf of the EU and by the UK Prime Minister.  All that remains is for the Agreement to be formally ratified by the European… Read more »

Tackling the stigma of disability in IP: exclusive interview with IP Ability co-chairs This article is a summary of the full article, by the same name, first posted by the World Trade Mark review, that can be found here.   Marianne Privett, AA Thornton’s Diversity & Inclusion Partner, and Francesca Rivers a Solicitor at Cancer… Read more »

Partner and Retail team member Ian Gill gives a short insight into defending WowWee’s rights against Chinese applicants Visit our youtube channel for more videos like this. If you are unable to view the video above, below is an accessible version: Those with young children will likely have heard of Fingerlings, but for those who have… Read more »

Trainee Trade Mark Attorney Anastasia Osipovich reports on the EUIPO’s cancellation of MasterCard’s registrations   The Cancellation Division of the EUIPO has recently declared the following two logo marks of Mastercard International Incorporated (MasterCard) invalid:             Cancellation actions against these registrations were brought by Cinkciarz.pl Sp. z o.o., a Polish… Read more »

AA Thornton is ranked as a top tier firm The Legal 500 2020 edition has now been published and we are absolutely delighted to be recommended as a top-tier firm for our trade marks practice, which was described as “strong”, “dedicated” and an “excellent team of knowledgeable and genuinely good people”. We also remain highly recommended for our patents… Read more »