Games developer Prizm Labs has been sued by Sony Interactive Entertainment over the latter’s “PlayTable”, a tablet-like games console that its designers claim will allow players to interact with various boardgames displayed on the screen using physical items such as...

Fashion giant Gucci has suffered a serious blow in its near-decade-long battle against an Italian shoe manufacturer. Gucci shoes have long been known for incorporating a distinctive “horsebit”-style metal chain across their uppers. So distinctive is this feature, that...

In a move that could point to possible future directions for the technology giant, Amazon has announced its “Amazon Intellectual Property Accelerator” service, “a new program that helps brands more quickly obtain intellectual property (IP) rights and brand protection...

The UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) been accused of being out-of-step after it denied an application to trademark the name “Queers & Co” on the grounds that its use of the word “queer” was “contrary to accepted moral values within the UK” and “offensive”....

Beyonce’s ongoing efforts to trademark the name of her daughter Blue Ivy have met with raised eyebrows after the singer claimed, in response to an objection by a small business, that her 7-year-old is a “cultural icon”. Wendy Morales, who established the “Blue Ivy”...

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has rejected Liverpool Football Club’s controversial application to trademark the word “Liverpool” for the purposes of “football products and services”. Liverpool FC had insisted that it needed the trademark in order to prevent...

In the face of mounting anger from indigenous Māori groups and a threat by the Māori Council to boycott New Zealand’s national airline altogether, Air New Zealand has announced that it has withdrawn its controversial application to trademark the logo of its in-flight...

In August, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) introduced a controversial new requirement, whereby trademark applications made by foreign applicants resident in the United States would only be able to apply to register once they first proved their status as...

Japanese videogame giant Nintendo has launched proceedings against website RomUniverse, an online source of unauthorized videogame ROMs, including for many popular Nintendo games. ROM files are essentially illegal copies of games, which can be played on modified game...

Ohio State University baffled many when it recently attempted to trademark the word “The”, insisting that the full name of the institution, founded in 1870, is “The Ohio State University” and, as such, it was entitled to trademark the word “The” in order to license...

Pop superstar Ariana Grande has commenced proceedings against American fashion retailer Forever 21, alleging trademark infringement as well as a violation of her privacy, and copyright infringement. Grande’s lawsuit alleges that when she declined to feature in a...

Former US President and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama have been accused of “deplorable behavior” after they applied to cancel the trademark of an e-book publisher. In April, the Obamas had their application to trademark their own company name, Higher Ground...

The owner of a Florida beauty salon has attracted the unwelcome attention of Uber after releasing her own appointment-booking app, “BeauBer”. The name of Carolina Vengoechea’s app is a portmanteau of the two services she offers at her salon, namely “beautician” and...

Singapore has become the first country in the world to enable applicants to file for a trademark registration via an app on their smartphone. “IPOS Go” was built and released by IPOS – the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore. According to IPOS, the new app...

Welsh Brewer Boss Brewing applied last year to register two of its beers, “Boss Black” and “Boss Boss”, a process that usually costs in the region of £300. However, clothing giant Hugo Boss objected, insisting that the small Welsh firm “cease and desist” selling the...

Hard rock band Guns N’ Roses have agreed to settle a trademark infringement lawsuit brought against brewery Oskar Blues, which had been selling a beer called “Guns ‘N’ Rosé”. The federal lawsuit was filed in May 2019. The brewery had earlier sought to trademark the...

The Court of Appeals in the US has reaffirmed the right of The Gatorade Company to use the slogan “Gatorade The Sports Fuel Company” in the latest installment of a long-running dispute. SportFuel, a Chicago-based lifestyle and nutrition consultancy which owns a number...

American fast food giant McDonald’s has suffered a fresh blow to its “Mc” trademark, losing its exclusive claim to the use of the prefix on a number of its products and services. Irish company Supermac’s, which operates over one hundred food outlets in the Republic of...

Claridge’s Hotel of Mayfair has won its trademark case against Claridge Candles after successfully arguing that the independent candle manufacturer had been trading off the hotel's name and reputation. The hotel had argued that the candle and oil diffuser company had...

Red Bull’s latest appeal against the European Central Court’s decision to invalidate its “blue and silver” trademarks has ended in failure. The soft drinks giant registered two trademarks, the first in 2005 and the second in 2011, covering the use of the colors blue...

The Legal Services Board (LSB) has today published its revised internal governance rules (IGR) and new accompanying statutory guidance, setting out the requirements for the approved regulators of legal services to ensure the separation of regulatory and representative...

In a rather rare application, Scottish glass producer Glencairn sought to prevent the Leeds team at IP law specialist Virtuoso Legal from acting for Glencairn’s opponent, Canadian-based Product Specialities Inc.  The basis for the case was that the Virtuoso Legal...

Amazon today announced the expansion of Transparency, its product serialization service, to France, Germany, Italy, Spain, U.K., India, and Canada. When brands use Transparency to apply unique codes to their products, customers, brands, Amazon, and other participants...

Trademark professionals have completed over 2 million AI-powered trademark searches in 7 years through TrademarkNow’s platform. The amount of searches is growing rapidly every month, as evidenced by an increasing number of companies implementing intellectual property...

With all the public battles that Facebook has been confronted with recently, it’s no surprise that Which? managed to, very easily, work its way through the company’s ad monitoring process. What is shocking is how long the advert managed to stay active and unnoticed –...

JetBlue Airways has filed an infringement suit against Walmart for the name Jetblack. According to court filings, JetBlue claimed that Walmart tried to capitalize on the goodwill associated with the airline’s trademark name. JetBlue state that Walmart's mark causes...

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned a federal law on Monday that bars registration of “immoral” or “scandalous” trademarks on the grounds that it violates the First Amendment. Justice Elena Kagan led a six-justice majority to invalidate the provision of the 1946 Lanham...

The General Court of EU today confirmed the invalidity of the adidas EU trademark. The court stated that adidas has failed to prove that their mark, which consists of three parallel stripes applied in any direction, has acquired, throughout the territory of the EU,...

Counterfeiting is far from a victimless crime. We’ve suspected for a long time that counterfeit goods have been used to fund organized crime, terrorist organizations and large-scale crime syndicates. French authorities found that the Charlie Hebdo attackers financed...

Iron Maiden’s holding company have launched a $2 million trademark suit against the makers of video game Ion Maiden. The lawsuit, filed at the Central District of California court on 28th May, accuses creators 3D Realms Entertainment of using an “incredibly blatant"...

marcus evans Summits is proud to announce Eileen Simon, General Counsel - Global Businesses at Mastercard as a Keynote speaker at the European Corporate Counsel Summit taking place from the 16-17 June, 2019 at the Fairmont Le Montreux Palace, Montreux, Switzerland....

Following the enactment of the 2018 Farm Bill, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) released a new Trademark Examination Guide for marks covering cannabis and cannabis-related goods and services. Specifically, the Examination Guide addresses the...

International Trademark Association (INTA) members should help stop the propagation of counterfeits, according to association president David Lossignol. This comes after INTA released a report which showed up to 79% of 18-23-year-olds surveyed had purchased...

A new study published by the International Trademark Association (INTA) showed 79 percent of 18-23-year-olds surveyed bought a fake version of a branded product in the year prior to the study, and only 48 percent believed it was morally wrong to buy a counterfeit....

More than 11,100 brand owners, trademark practitioners, and other intellectual property (IP) professionals from 150+ countries are gathering today through May 22 in Boston, Massachusetts for the 2019 Annual Meeting of the International Trademark Association (INTA) to...

Almost one-quarter of brands have had their domain targeted by cybercriminals, according to the latest global research report released by MarkMonitor. The report also highlighted that 62% of brands reported that cybercrime impacted their business in the last year....

Samsung has been hit with an infringement suit just days after it unveiled its latest Galaxy Watch. Watchmaker Swatch Group - responsible for Tissot, Omega, Rado and Swatch brands - filed a complaint against Samsung Electronics and its American arm, claiming the...

Hong Kong-based toy manufacturer Luen Fat Metal and Plastic Manufactory Co. has successfully brought a claim against the owners of the well-known Trespass outdoor clothing brand, Jacobs & Turner Ltd, for trademark infringement over their range of toys bearing the...

A new report commissioned by Red Points ‘Faking it’, the Barcelona-based company shows that sex toys are popular among consumers’ gift considerations for Valentine’s day. Nearly 2 out of 3 adults surveyed (66% of shoppers) in the U.S said they would consider buying a...

A social-media developer is suing reality show celebrity Kim Kardashian West and her company, Kimsaprincess Inc., over a series of emojis and images. In a suit filed Tuesday in the federal court in Oklahoma City, the developer alleges he and a team collaborated with...

Anaqua today announced that the business will receive a significant equity investment from Astorg, a  European private equity firm. As part of this transaction, Astorg will become the controlling shareholder of Anaqua, replacing Insight Venture Partners and Bessemer...

Christian Louboutin secured a victory in its long-running red sole case against Dutch footwear brand Van Haren. Van Haren launched a collection of high-heeled shoes complete with red soles in 2012. Paris-based Louboutin, who own the lacquered Chinese red sole,...

Confectionery giant Cadbury has given up its claim to the trademark on the color purple, having used the colour since 1914. The company lost the trademark to this particular shade at the Court of Appeal last year after a case launched by Nestle which claimed trademark...

Lawyers have told the Electronic Frontier Foundation that, for the second time in a month, their legal claims were sent in error. Lawyers representing British fashion company ASOS sent a email to an EFF attorney, apologizing for the recent cease-and-desist letter over...

The Chinese government has granted preliminary approval of another five trademarks for Ivanka Trump’s company this month. Four trademarks, including child care centres, sunglasses and wedding dresses, were approved on Sunday, with a fifth for brokerage, charitable...

Rihanna has sued her father for suggesting that a business venture he set up in 2017 is associated with her Fenty brand. The international popstar - real name Robyn Rihanna Fenty- filed a lawsuit in the Los Angeles federal court on Tuesday accusing father Ronald Fenty...

McDonald’s has lost its European trademark rights for its Big Mac burger after a legal battle with Irish chain Supermac’s ended last week. Supermac’s brought a case against McDonald's to the EU Intellectual Property Office two years ago, accusing the fast-food chain...

The US Supreme Court agreed to a hearing for a case brought by a clothing line named "Fuct" whose registration was refused by the government on grounds of vulgarity. The street-wear brand, founded in 1990 by Los Angeles-based designer Erik Brunetti, was initially...

Costco was ordered to pay $25 million dollars for using the Tiffany & Co. name for selling unauthorized branded Tiffany diamond engagement rings. The New York-based jewellery company has been in and out of court with the multinational retail corporation since...

Vans and its parent company are suing British retailer Primark for allegedly copying the designs of two of its iconic skateboard trainers. The lawsuit, filed in a New York federal court earlier this month, cites trademark infringement, unfair competition and false...

Pocket lighter maker BIC Corporation filed a Section 337 infringement complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) seeking to stop the importation of infringing pocket lighters. BIC also filed a complaint in the Eastern District of New York with...

Amazon is being sued for allegedly copying one of Williams-Sonoma's protected chair designs. Williams-Sonoma filled a trademark and design patent infringement lawsuit in a federal court in California against the American e-commerce giant. With its “cutout back, and...

New research findings by Red Points, the Barcelona-based IP detection and enforcement company, shows that 1 in 3 shoppers would stop buying an electronic brand if they found fakes online. Furthermore, 15% of respondents said they would switch to a competitor or...

Counterfeiters are capitalising on Christmas; this is according to new research by brand protection company MarkMonitor. One in three (30%) consumers has inadvertently bought a fake product, with 68% of the counterfeit items being bought as Christmas presents. The...

A new report out today reveals that more than six out of ten customs seizures of counterfeit or pirated goods are of small parcels sent through postal or courier services. The research, carried out by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the...

The European Union Intellectual Property Office has denied an appeal by famous golf course St Andrews to register their name as a trademark. St Andrews links wanted the name of the Scottish coastal town to be protected in order to stop other companies around the world...

Cadbury today lost their appeal to trademark the color purple. The case concerns Cadbury’s registered UK trademark for the color purple, which states  “The mark consists of the color purple (Pantone 2685C) as shown on the form of application, applied to the whole...

Background There already is a “MINI” car on the market and it’s popular, so why not link it to our new “Mini” series of electronic scooters? And so they did. Chinese manufacturer Ninebot (Tianjin) Tech Co., Ltd. (“Ninebot”), which acquired U.S. scooter company Segway...

Red Bull's attempt to oppose the trademark registration for a beverage company called "Big Horn" over their logo has failed with the EUIPO.Citing brand protection, Red Bull argued that the logos were too similar, as both feature bulls and a yellow background, but Big...

Close to one in 10 UK consumers (9%) who have bought a counterfeit product online in the past year have been injured as a result of purchasing the item, according to an independent report by online brand protection company, Incopro. Of those consumers who have been...

IP experts from Latin America and Europe have arrived in Mexico City to take part in three events organised by IP Key LA, an international cooperation project in the field of IP under the direction of the European Commission, and executed by the European Union...

EU trademarks and designs will continue being valid in UK post Brexit under the draft withdrawal agreement. Article 54 of the withdrawal agreement confirms owners of EU trademarks - even those registered or granted in the 21-month transition period - will ‘without any...

Remembrance Sunday, which falls on 11 November 2018, is a day for the nation to commemorate the contribution of men and women who have sacrificed themselves for our freedom, wearing a remembrance poppy to show support and appreciation. But unfortunately – like a lot...

Based on a study of data in the Darts-ip case database, the aim of this report is to discuss rejections based on grounds of immorality in different jurisdictions around the world. The data within this report covers Europe, USA, Russia, Japan, China, Australia and...

The majority of companies will change their brand protection strategies to cover new cybersecurity and fraud threats in the next year, according to new research by MarkMonitor, the world leader in enterprise brand protection. In addition, 72% said that brand...

Car manufacturer BMW successfully challenged coffee retailer Tchibo’s use of the term “MINI” for coffee machines and coffee cups (Decision of the District Court of Frankfurt/Main of August 18, 2018, docket number 2-03 O 288/17). Competing on the market for...

Procter & Gamble Co. have lost a dispute on their claim that Solav's skincare trademark application of a stylized drawing of a woman’s face and brand name was similar to their trademark for Olay skincare. London company Nelovy Healthcare Ltd applied last year to...

The estate of the deceased musician Prince has reportedly filed a claim to trademark a particular shade of purple, which could bar media producers from using it. The posthumous foundation of Prince, Paisley Park Enterprises Inc, filed a trademark application for “Love...

Clarivate Analytics today announced the acquisition of Australian AI-technology company TrademarkVision - a company composed of over 30 professionals. It joins Boston-based company CompuMark, the trademark clearance and protection partner for 9 out of 10 of the...

Alibaba won a preliminary injunction against Alibabacoin Foundation for trademark infringement. The Fortune 500 company opened a trademark infringement case against the cryptocurrency company for brand confusion. The injunction stops ABBC from using any materials...

Japanese watchmaker Orient wants Galaxy smartwatch sales banned. Samsung changed the name for its smartwatches from 'Gear', to 'Galaxy', and prompted Orient to seek an injunction against Samsung, saying that it trademarked the “Galaxy” monikers for watches in 1984....

The Chartered Institute of Trademark Attorneys (CITMA) has warned of massive financial impacts for UK attorneys if Brexit strips them of their right to represent clients at the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). Along with a number of organisations, CITMA gave...

Clothing company Freedom United is suing Rihanna, Puma and Fenty co. for supposed deliberate infringement of their trademark "FU". The pop-star and her associates are accused of engaging in trademark infringement and unfair competition among other things, as Fenty...

More than a quarter (26%) of UK consumers have been fooled into buying a counterfeit product while shopping online in the last 12 months, according to an independent report released by online brand protection providers, Incopro. The report, titled ‘Counterfeit...

BOSTON, MA, October 16, 2018 - Anaqua, Inc., a leading provider of Intellectual Property (IP) management software and services, today announced that Western Digital has selected the ANAQUA platform to provide comprehensive management of its trademark portfolio....

Colin Kaepernick has filed to trademark his Image. Kaepernick's company - Inked Flash- filed on October 5 to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a black and white image of his face and hair in several categories, like clothing, toys, candy and mugs. The filing...

Korean cosmetics label The Face Shop lost a trademark infringement battle with Paris-based Louis Vuitton. The low-price label took on the luxury giant when Vuitton stated that the cosmetics brand's products used its designs after the company signed an arrangement with...

Alfred Dunhill announced it has won a major victory in a long-running trademark battle in China. In a ground-breaking decision handed down on 10 October, the luxury brand has been awarded RMB 10 million (USD 1.47 million) after the Foshan Intermediate People’s Court,...

Netherlands-based company PrevDent was taken to the US District Court by Colgate-Palmolive yesterday over alleged trademark infringement. Colgate accused PrevDent International and its US affiliate of infringing Colgate trademark ‘PreviDent’ - something the company...

The EU General Court reversed a trademark decision by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) that resulted in a win for German food producer Wajos. Wajos had applied to register a mark with the EUIPO in 2015 which covered a range of foodstuffs like...

Cafe and art gallery MoMaCha must change its name, logo and website after a hearing which had the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) saying it infringed on its trademark. This preliminary injunction ordered the cafe to stop “using, displaying or promoting MOMA or MOMACHA...

Counterfeit goods worth up to £50,000 were today seized in Shropshire, England, with a 28-year-old man being arrested on suspicion of possession of the counterfeit merchandise. Among the confiscated items were football shirts, hair straighteners, and 400 pairs of...

The Fijian Government is preparing to contest a United States businessman who trademarked the word “Bula”. Fiji’s Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said in a statement preparations were underway to lodge necessary documentation with the United States Patent and...

Wireless earphone company Bragi is suing OnePlus in the European Union for alleged infringement on its 'Dash' trademark. The German company claims OnePlus is creating brand confusion with the 'Dash Charge' feature found on its smartphones, claiming it sounds similar...

Over 4 000 files containing malware or potentially unwanted programmes were retrieved from more than 1 000 websites suspected of sharing illegally protected content in an EU-wide research project carried out by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)....

The widely publicised EU copyright directive has come under much scrutiny recently for the implications it could have on the tech industry and the movement of information. The directive, which aims to harmonise aspects of the European Union copyright law and move...

Virgin Enterprises yesterday accused an individual of infringing its ‘Virgin’ trademark. The claim alleged infringement from Virgin Capital Partners (the fictitious entity) along with US man Frenchie Benjamin and internet service provider Namecheap. Namecheap is the...

An earlier European Union IP Office ruling that had gone against Apple was today annulled by The EU General Court. The case overturns the 2016 decision that Apple's trademarks were not infringed upon by Apo International. Apo International - a Taiwan-based projector...

The Former Jacksonville Jaguars NFL player Dan Skuta filed notice of opposition to the team in their attempts to trademark the term "Sacksonville." Skuta claims he created the Sacksonville brand shortly after he signed as a free agent with the Jaguars in July 2015....

A court ruling gave San Diego Comic-Con a decisive victory in usage of its name. A federal judge placed an injunction Salt Lake convention using the phrase "Comic Con" and a $4 million bill in attorney and court costs. The ruling states that Salt Lake organizers...

The publisher of Wine Spectator magazine, M. Shanken Communications, has filed a lawsuit accusing California-based Weed Spectator of infringing its trademarks. The Wine Spectator lists the copying of its notable 100-point rating scale and branding as grounds for the...

China has introduced legislation to hold e-commerce platforms responsible for counterfeit goods sold on their site. China-based websites like Pinduoduo and e-commerce giant Alibaba now face fines should they fail to intervene in third-party sellers from selling fake...

Ohio State University filed a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board action last week against Oklahoma State University over the use of the block "O" logo. Ohio claims ownership of the "O" since 1898 and states Oklahoma's similar style character is likely to cause confusion...

Monster Energy Drinks are known in the industry for targetting smaller companies with similar names to stop them from proceeding with business. Usually, they do this successfully but this week the UK IPO has ruled in favor of Monsta Pizza, a Wendover-based restaurant....

Procter & Gamble is trying to own some of the increasingly popular millennial-friendly terms that are used all over social media and texting-apps. The company is attempting to attract younger shoppers by using acronyms such as LOL, NBD, FML, WTF in its latest...

Since the legalization of marijuana in many states of America, news stories on the subject seem to be increasingly common. In early August this year, MJ Munchies Inc. (owned by NightFood Holdings Inc.) received confirmation from the State of California that its...

James Cochran, star of BBC's Great British Menu, is in a bitter trademark battle with his former restaurant. Cochran left the restaurant in London earlier this year but the company who ran it, Rayeula, has continued to trade under the name, which they trademarked....

We previously reported on the case that had Beyoncé suing Mike Lin for improper use of her daughter's name. This week, the trademark board sided with Beyoncé and disallowed Mike Lin's company 42/47 from trademarking Poison Ivy Park. It was back in 2017 that an L.A....

Bob Dylan's whiskey company, Heaven's Door Spirits, is being sued by Heaven Hill Distillery of Kentucky for trademark infringement over the use of a logo that is allegedly confusingly similar. Heaven's Doors Spirits only debuted this year but was sent a...