Intellectual Property (IP) is part and parcel of business, yet it abounds with misconceptions. For example, it’s not generally appreciated that protecting IP starts by understanding how to choose effective names, address questions of brand architecture, such as after a merger, as well as to know how the various IP rights protect key aspects of Read More »

By Shireen Smith
 | February 2, 2023
Do You Know The Best Way to Protect Your Intellectual Property?

Match Group successfully challenged the Muslim dating app, Muzmatch’s, trade mark registrations in the EU and the U.K. And in the latest development of the dispute the High Court ruled that Muzmatch has unfairly benefited from Match Group’s reputation and investment in its brand and was riding on Match Group’s coattails for undeserved gain. The Read More »

By Shireen Smith
 | June 15, 2022
How to Decide If A Name Is Too Risky For Your Business

Most people assume intellectual property is primarily a distress purchase. This is one of the many misconceptions about IP that I’ve noticed since starting my business in 2004. It frustrates me that people turn to me when they’re copied, assuming this is the kind of work I’m engaged in doing, when they’ve never consulted me Read More »

By Shireen Smith
 | June 7, 2022
Central Role of IP and Marketing in Business Design

It’s well known that the failure rate of small businesses is extremely high. Entrepreneur.com rates people’s chances of surviving in business beyond 5 years at 50/50, while the chances of failure after 10 years are 70%. I wanted to explore this to find out what people attribute this low success rate to, and to compile Read More »

By Shireen Smith
 | May 10, 2022
Thirteen Reasons Why Businesses Fail

Though many important decisions people make when creating a new brand identity are intellectual property decisions, IP lawyers are rarely involved in the naming and brand creation process.  As a trademark lawyer, I began to ask myself why?. I had written books to explain the central role of IP in branding, Legally Branded and Intellectual Read More »

By Shireen Smith
 | May 3, 2022
Should Lawyers Offer A Brand Creation Service?

Understanding the legal rules around names is important because they’re the single most valuable intellectual property asset a successful business builds. ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ One person who clearly didn’t understand this was Mr Gu who set up a Chinese takeaway in Barrow-in-Furness in 2009 using the name China Tang. Read More »

By Shireen Smith
 | March 23, 2022
The Role of Brand Names in Business

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