Own your trademark, so you can license it
Our client, a fashion designer, had not registered her name as a trademark, She was approached with requests to licence her designs.
We immediately registered her name as a trademark for a wide range of goods and services including cosmetics, accessories, books, and videos. This protected her right to use her name to endorse her desired products and services. We extended the registrations to a number of other key markets such as the USA, Japan, and Europe too so as to protect her trademark outside the UK too.
Protect your name in other markets
“Fashionbrand”, was based in the UK and had a strong online business selling fashion goods from its website. It had no trademark registration anywhere despite having traded for 8 years.
Then one day a few customers began calling to ask about the new shop in New York. Fashionbrand hadn’t set up any physical shops let alone in New York. When the, company investigated it discovered that one of its customers had opened the shop using the Fashionbrand name. The shop was selling similar items to those the company offered online. Taking Action >>
Make sure you are not infringing on another business’ rights
Our client was a partnership of two individuals. They had been trading for many months and business was good. They had a memorable and distinctive name. Unfortunately, they became aware of X Ltd offering similar services under the same name, because they received enquiries from people who thought they were in fact X Ltd.
Soon, X Ltd became aware of the partners and sent them a letter claiming passing off and trademark infringement. The partners had little option but to change their business name. They were clearly in the wrong. They had to, write off a stock, wave goodbye to their marketing investment in their domain name.What went wrong? >>
Choose a name that is not descriptive
A newly established business was looking to protect their brand name with a trademark registration. It was clear from the outset that the name was too descriptive to trademark and would not be a good vehicle for capturing brand value, as competitors could freely use the same name and customers might well be confused as to who was whom.
Needless to say they were disappointed and initially were reluctant to find a more distinctive name. The Solution >>
Toy Company
“Toyco” makes toys for children. One of its most popular products is a package of inexpensive toys invented by the company, and arranged carefully in very distinctive packaging. It had been on the market for over 10 years, and sold particularly well at Easter. Toyco discovered that it was being copied by a competitor using a visually similar product. Toyco had not secured any design registrations.
The competitor was using packaging, and a similar name too. Tackling Unfair Trade Practices >>
Logo infringement
Our client had applied to register its own trademark, a Pegasus. Unfortunately, it did not think to carry out any searches. A competitor had already registered an EU trademark for a similar Pegasus symbol. The Intellectual Property Office warned our client that the owner of the other trademark would be notified unless the application was withdrawn or suitably amended.
We were able to suggest some changes to our client’s classifications, and overcame the Registry’s objections. With our help, the client’s application proceeded to registration without opposition. Realising that they had spent more than necessary the first time round, our client instructed us to handle their next registration.