Registering a trade mark in the UK is relatively straight forward, but there can be a few hurdles for the unwary.
So, in this article, I’m going to share some tips to ensure your application progresses as smoothly as possible.
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Category Archives: Trade Mark
Clients often ask whether they “need” to trade mark their brand. However, there’s usually a different question that they really want to know the answer to.
The question (or questions) they really want answered are:
“Is it worth spending my time, effort and money registering a trade mark? If I do, what are the benefits to my business and if I don’t, what are the risks?”
So, in this article, I’m going to try to answer these questions for you.
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This dispute hit the headlines back in 2018 and is a classic example of a situation I have come across many times – a start up business using similar branding to a famous competitor and then being threatened with trade mark infringement.
The start-up feels like they’re being bullied into a rebrand and the famous brand feels the backlash and negative PR from being accused of throwing their weight around.
So, who’s in the right and who’s in the wrong and what lessons can be learnt from a situation like this?
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This was a great example of how, with a little bit of knowledge, a small business can stand up for their rights and not be bullied into rebranding.
In this case study, I’m going to explain how Supermac’s achieved this against the might of McDonald’s and how the fast food giant ended up losing one of their “Big Mac” trade marks in the process.
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There’s no doubt that registering a trade mark is the best way to protect your brand and yet a surprising number of entrepreneurs and business owners don’t do it.
But why?
Often, it’s a timing issue. They know that protecting their brand is important but they don’t get around to it because they believe the risks of infringement are low. However, as I explained in my Trade Mark Essentials article, the risks are now much higher than they used to be.
And, they’re growing.
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Registering a trade mark is the best way to protect your brand. But, you can’t just make an application and then forget about it. If you do, you could lose the protection that your trade mark gives. So, in this article, I’m going to explain how this can happen and how you can avoid this happening to you.
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What is a trade mark and what do they do?
A trade mark is a legal right that protects your brand. It’s one of a range of intellectual property rights along with patents, copyright and registered designs.
Often, people use the names of the different intellectual property rights interchangeably. For example, sometimes they will say that they want to copyright their logo or patent their business name, and whilst this isn’t actually correct, generally we know what they mean.
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When it comes to brand protection, clients often ask me, “What can I register as a trade mark?”
They know they can protect a name or a logo, but there’s often many more elements to their brand than that. When we form a strategy for protecting their brand, we look at all the elements that distinguishes their business, products and services from those of their competitors. So, in this blog we’re going to look at each of the opportunities you have to stand out from the crowd when it comes to brand protection. Read More
