You may have read about the High Court ruling that Portsmouth FC must submit a statement of affairs next week, in advance of a hearing of the case brought by HMRC for winding-up the organisation. This is the latest, and possibly the last, chapter in the club’s recent story of financial hardship, but an earlier [...]
Posts under ‘design rights’
Logo protection through trademark, design and copyright
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 legal methods are available to protect logos here are a few examples of the different types of logos that [...]
Bottle Battle between Brooklyn Brewery and Belgians
When finding out his bottle was a possible infringement of the Westmalle Belgian ringed bottle (trademark rights in which had been assigned to the New Belgium Company in Colorado) Mr Hindy, the owner of the Brooklyn Brewery was happy to withdraw the similar bottle design his designer had come up with for the Brooklyn Local [...]
Protecting Designs – Getting it Right
During the last year several cases have highlighted the current state of flux in Registered Community Designs (RCDs). This area of law remains a frequently overlooked and underrated intellectual property right). RCDs can potentially offer organisations with a very effective tool when faced with infringing copycat designs. Key to relying on RCDs to attack copycat [...]
Unjustified Threats
One challenging aspect of advising small businesses is the vagueness of the law. It is difficult to give the clear, black and white answers business people need. One client recently asked me what letters we would be able to send out to enforce her design or trade mark rights if she registered them. She even [...]
