Insights

Announcement last week that the UK ‘will not be seeking involvement’ in the Unified Patent Court and Unitary Patent system is the latest blow for the much delayed EU patent, as Robert Balsters explain...

France’s new PACTE law has set out to modernise utility certificates by increasing their term of protection and adding new provisions to allow applicants to transform utility certificate applications ...

Celebrities are advised to protect their names as trademarks if they are to take action against unauthorised use by third parties, as Megan Taylor explains.

As Liverpool Football Club recently discovered, there are barriers to registering the name of a town, city or other geographical place name as a trademark.

A recent judgement by the Court of Justice of the EU has considered whether failing to specify goods and services clearly and precisely in trademark applications is a sign that the applicant acted in ...

Service offering customers the opportunity to pay to name a star, in return for a certificate, found to be misleading for the purposes of trademark registration, as Louise van de Mortel explains.

Will the PACTE law, which seeks to tighten up the way in which patents are issued in France, result in stronger French patents or a gradual abandonment of its measures?

Controlling use of your brand online can be a daunting task. That’s why clever planning, time-saving tools and automated enforcement procedures are critical to success.

Find out how Novagraaf assisted the University of Bordeaux and University Medical Centre of Bordeaux’s IP management organisation, SATT Aquitaine Science Transfer, to protect a new breakthrough treatm...

Si la défense de vos marques est un aspect essentiel de la stratégie de protection de vos actifs immatériels, une approche trop agressive peut souvent faire plus de mal que de bien, comme l'a récemmen...

While “natural wine” is growing in popularity with consumers, there is currently no official label, legal definition or regulation to describe what makes a wine “natural”, says Manon Brodin.

Holders of Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) international applications will soon be able to apply for protection of their invention in Italy without going through the European Patent system.

EPO ruling on CRISPR gene-editing patent is only the latest example of priority arrangements made according to US practice causing problems for European Patent applications, as Dr Oliver Harris explai...

Trademark law allows brand owners to take action against a trademark applied for ‘in bad faith’. But, what is meant by ‘bad faith’, and what is the process for bringing such a claim?

While every business is different, certain recommendations apply to the proactive management of a trademark portfolio no matter your industry or business goals. We set out a 10-point strategic plan fo...

The question of whether plant variety denominations can be protected under Article 7(1)(m) of the European Trade Mark Regulation was addressed by the EU General Court for the first time in the dispute...

Thomas Cook, the oldest brand name in world tourism, looks set to survive the travel group’s collapse, after Chinese conglomerate Fosun buys its trademarks, websites and social media accounts from liq...

Registration of thebrexitparty.com by anti-Brexit campaign group ‘Led by Donkeys’ has been the cause of anger and embarrassment for Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage. The domain name is not proving eas...

The average consumer may think that the bottles of their favourite wines come in standard shapes that are free to all producers to use. However, bottle shapes can be protected as trademarks, so long a...

Of course every business should undertake trademark clearance searching before launching a brand, but not every small or start-up business understands why – until they receive a cease and desist lette...