Trade Marks

Litigation by STEALTH not permitted by Court of Appeal Introduction It is not uncommon for trade mark owners to purchase old, and unused, trade mark registrations as part of their commercial IP strategy, but what happens when a party acquires a right during the course of litigation and deliberately conceals the fact it has done… Read more »

Even if your name is as famous as Ronaldinho, the UK IPO cannot raise ex officio bad faith objections This article was written by Sarah for the IPKat legal blog. Mr Geoffrey Hobbs QC, sitting as the Appointed Person, assessed the legal competence of the UK IPO to raise bad faith as a ground of… Read more »

Concrete and its devastating impact on the environment When people consider what is the most consumed product on earth, few would consider concrete. In fact, concrete is the second most consumed product on Earth, second to water1. It is used as the foundation for most of our modern building infrastructure – houses, tower blocks, roads… Read more »

Making Walking Greener with Intellectual Property The recent pandemic has changed the daily commute for many from a time consuming journey to the office using a car, train and / or bike into a slipper-clad wander from kitchen to study (or makeshift bedroom office).  Hopefully those that can will continue to use their feet to… Read more »

A.A. Thornton & Co conversion to AA Thornton IP LLP We are delighted to share that, on 1 April 2022, A.A. Thornton & Co (“the Partnership”) converted from a partnership, under the Partnership Act 1890, to AA Thornton IP LLP (“the LLP”).   What this means for us Limited liability partnerships are a favoured structure amongst… Read more »

What do Six Nations Rugby Union referees have in common with the UK IPO Appointed Person? There is huge pressure on referees to make the right decisions in big sports matches, and the Television Match Official (TMO) in Rugby Union has been cited as an example of how technology can help with this process. The… Read more »

Re-design the system – the UK IPO consults on the future of UK design protection First a quick quiz to see whether you should read this article.   Question 1 Can you explain the differences between registered designs, UK unregistered design rights, Community unregistered design rights, supplementary unregistered design right and artistic copyright? A: Yes… Read more »

Absolutely Not Registrable As a Trade Mark Attorney, one of the questions I am asked on an almost daily basis is whether new marks are registrable. As UK IPO practice is forever evolving, it can be helpful to conduct regular reviews of the kinds of marks being refused by the UK IPO. We take a… Read more »

Prosecuting green patents around the world The UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO) launched the Green Channel in 2009. The Green Channel is a scheme which allows applicants to request accelerated prosecution of patent applications directed to an invention which has an environmental benefit. Since the launch of the green channel in the UK, a… Read more »

Monster trade mark appeal runs out of energy In joined cases T-758/20 and T-759/20, the General Court revoked EU trade mark registrations for the marks MONSTER and MONSTER ENERGY after Monster Energy Co failed to demonstrate that evidence of use of the mark on one product spanned two classes of goods. The cases concerned non-use… Read more »