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,...
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...
It has been estimated that there are over 500 million blogs. Many of them have large readerships and tremendous commercial value. Like any other services, blogs can be protected with trademarks. Protecting the blog’s name as a trademark brings many benefits. For...
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...
Trademark registration is an investment. By registering your trademark you create legal rights that would not otherwise exist. Although trademarks are about excluding others from using a similar trademark, they also make sure that after your trademark is registered,...
The conventional wisdom holds that differentiation is an essential part of marketing and product creation strategy. Differentiate or die. Being different means essentially that your brand is perceived to be meaningfully different from its competitors and is bought...
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Can you trademark a QR code? Are QR codes like other figurative elements that can be protected with trademark registration? It is possible to trademark many different types of figurative elements. They can be relatively simple, or very complex. Below are some examples...