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Defamation Law Part 2: Successful Strategies to Deal With Online Defamation

February 28, 2009

Although it is difficult to get a successful result in an online defamation issue, it can be done by carefully establishing who is making the comment, and where they are based.  Other important considerations are how...

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The Impact of the Social Web

March 6, 2009

The Social Media Influence 2009 Conference which I attended on Tuesday was quite enlightening.  Interestingly I was the only lawyer present.  There was a speaker on the law –  Struan Robertson  who is a...

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Registering Shapes and Three-Dimensional Trademarks

March 6, 2009

A trademark conveys the image, personality and the origin of the products to a customer. Through this information, the consumer will make an economic decision to purchase. Thus, trademarks are crucial in developing a company’s...

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European Trade Mark Registration Fees set to be reduced by 40%

March 6, 2009

OHIM, the European Office for trade marks and design registration, has announced that it will slash fees by 40%. This price change could take place in a matter of weeks.

At the moment the price of filing for a CTM online is...

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UGG!

March 7, 2009

Having just purchased a pair of UGG boots from a website UGGBOOTSFORALL.COM.AU for my daughter’s birthday, I am surprised to hear they are not the genuine article.

If I had been less busy, I might have delved more deeply before...

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UK Intellectual Property Office – Fee Reduction

March 10, 2009

We recently blogged here about OHIM’s plans to reduce its fees for trade mark applications, and it seems the UK IPO are following suit with a plan to reduce trade mark application fees by 15%. The...

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Twitter Logo available through Istock

March 16, 2009

The value of a logo has no bearing to the amount your designer charges you.  Nike’s $35 “swoosh” design is one example, and now another example is Twitter’s bird logo.

Twitter reportedly only paid $6 for...

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The Story of UGGs or How Not to Handle a Global Brand

March 17, 2009

One of the more difficult aspects of trademark protection to explain to clients is that a trademark is only territorial in nature and not in fact international. This means that each trademark that is registered in each additional...

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Logo Protection Through Trademark, Design and Copyright

March 18, 2009

We often receive enquiries from clients wanting to register their logos.  Few know what registration they want or what protection is available, so it seems worth looking at this question in this blog.

Before explaining what...

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Data Protection Non Compliance

March 24, 2009

It was interesting to read this report in Out-law that a quarter of Government’s databases are probably illegal.  This follows a report by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust (JRRT) into UK’s public...

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News on OHIM Fee Reduction

March 26, 2009

The EU Registry recently announced a fee reduction from €1,600 for an online application and registration in 3 classes to €900. A draft Regulation is currently being prepared for adoption by the...

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Funding for Intellectual Property

March 29, 2009

Generally it is easier for inventors or others who have a patentable invention to find sources of funding than it is to find funding purely for intellectual property protection.  However, that being said there are also grants...

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