Sometimes big companies register trademarks that they do not use or intend to use. The logic is that by doing that, they can enhance the protection their brand has. Is it allowed? What are the risks? Can it be done? What are defensive registrations? Defensive...
It is generally not possible to get exclusive rights to a descriptive name. If the trademark is descriptive, it is not distinctive and cannot be registered (unless it has acquired distinctiveness through use). What are descriptive names? Descriptive names are names...
Messi turns EU's top judges into giggling fanboys Lionel Messi has just won an important case in the Court of Justice of the European Union. By accepting Messi’s appeal, the judges ignored well established legal principles, rolled out a red carpet and confirmed that...
The list of goods and services you submit in your trademark application defines the extent of your rights. We get a large number of clients that have done a national trademark application themselves but want help in protecting their trademark in the EU. Almost without...
Your trademarks are your commercial identity, that’s how your clients can distinguish your products and services from everybody else’s. When creating a brand, there are several ways to reduce trademarking costs. Here’s 6 of them. 1. Focus only on one brand Building...
Trademark laws and processes are surprisingly similar in most most countries. That being said, there are also many differences between different countries. Here’s three things how US and EU trademarks differ. 1. The importance of use The main difference between EU and...
EU companies can compete globally only by creating high value products and services, strong brands and innovations. This means that many EU based startups operate in intellectual property intensive environment. Here are some 5 intellectual property considerations for...
One of the most important things to decide when protecting a trademark is deciding what type of trademark to protect. While there are various types of trademarks, word trademarks and logos make up over 99% of all applications. So, the question is, how to choose between them.
There are two ways of getting a European wide trademark. Applying it directly at European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) or making an application for international trademark registration that covers also the European Union. If accepted, the registration covers all EU member states.
There are however some important differences depending which route you take.