United Kingdom: Trademark

Organisations often hesitate to invest in trade mark watching services due to concerns about unpredictable costs and whether every alert will trigger additional fees. This article examines the structure of trade mark watching services, clarifying what is typically included in the annual fee versus when additional charges may arise, and provides guidance on establishing a cost-effective monitoring framework.

A detailed examination of a landmark IPEC case involving luxury fashion brands LVMH, Fendi, Loewe, Christian Dior, and Celine against social media influencer Georgia Aldridge for promoting counterfeit products. The discussion explores how courts assess damages when influencers knowingly sell non-genuine branded fashion items and what this means for both brand protection and influencer liability in the digital marketplace.

Nestlé's iconic KitKat slogan faces a trademark challenge that could reshape how brands protect their most recognizable phrases. The legal battle centers on whether common expressions can maintain exclusive trademark protection when they become part of everyday language. This case highlights the delicate balance between brand ownership and public domain usage in intellectual property law.

In highly competitive industries, the line between extolling the virtues of one's own product and comparing it with others can be very fine. This article explores the legal framework governing comparative advertising in the UK, examining when businesses can legitimately reference competitors in their marketing and the significant risks involved when crossing legal boundaries.

Major sporting tournaments create a lucrative opportunity for counterfeiters who exploit eager fans seeking team merchandise. A recent Trading Standards raid in Edinburgh seized over 158,000 fake football shirts worth £5.5 million, highlighting the scale of counterfeit operations that undermine legitimate businesses, exploit workers, and potentially endanger consumers with substandard materials.

The explosive growth of infringing online pharmacies and weight-loss medication scams is reshaping pharmaceutical enforcement. Following the landmark Novo Nordisk case, the English High Court has granted the first website-blocking order targeting unlicensed medicine sales, marking a significant expansion beyond traditional digital piracy enforcement. This development raises critical questions about the evolving role of regulators, the scope of dynamic blocking orders, and how rights holders can effectively

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) is implementing significant changes to EU design registration procedures, introducing dynamic and animated representation formats alongside traditional static views. These reforms will fundamentally alter how design applicants protect their intellectual property, from expanded visual documentation options to streamlined invalidity proceedings and new amendment mechanisms for registered designs.

The challenge lies in navigating the space between brand extension (growing a brand’s reach into new areas) and brand overstretch, which can alienate both new and existing loyal consumers.

Rebecca Field and Lee Curtis reflect on fifty episodes of their Fashionably IP podcast, revisiting the most significant intellectual property cases and concepts they've covered in the fashion industry since May 2022. What patterns have emerged across these discussions, and which legal issues have proven most impactful in shaping fashion IP law?