Trademarks are commercial signs that distinguish one product or service from another. In Apple's App Store and Google Play, different products and services are differentiated from each other primarily by their icons. Mobile app...
Insights
10 examples of suggestive brand names
As we have said before in our other blog posts, suggestive brand names are often very useful. They are registrable (can be protected as trademarks) and they indicate some valuable information about the product or service. Here are 10 examples of great suggestive...
Trademark to-do list for SMEs and startups
Trademark matters can be overwhelming for startups. According to a recent EU study, only a small minority, about 9%, of SMEs in the EU have protected any intellectual property despite it dramatically improving their performance. You can read more about that here....
Intellectual property rights and SME performance
The European Patent Office (EPO) and the European Trademark Office (EUIPO) have published a new study titled "Intellectual property rights and firm performance in the European Union". The study examines the prevalence of IP rights (IP rights included in the study were...
Is Volkswagen changing to Voltswagen? Here’s a clue.
Yesterday it was reported that Volkswagen's electric vehicles will be sold under the brand name "Voltswagen" in the US. There's also speculation as to whether this is an April Fool's Day joke. Many sources are now saying that the change is for real. We think the...
Worst trademark advice ever!
Our previous post dealt with why it is beneficial to use a trademark attorney. Nonetheless, many startups and SMEs file their own trademark applications. If you know what you are doing, then great. The problem is that many people think they know what they are doing,...
Why should you use a trademark attorney?
Making a trademark application is not difficult. Simply fill in all the required data, submit and pay the government fee. Making a trademark application does not mean that your brand is or will be properly protected. It's like building a house. You might be able to do...
Band brands – trademarks in the music industry
An effective intellectual property protection regime is essential for the functioning of the music industry. For the artistic side, copyright protection is essential for artists and labels. Copyright protects lyrics, melodies, arrangements, recordings, performances,...
Is your trademark “available”?
We often get comments from clients saying that they have already checked that their trademark is available. Almost always this is based on a misunderstanding of how trademarks work. Typically when a prospective client says that they have already checked that the...