United Kingdom: Advertising, Marketing & Branding

The UK's Sporting Events Bill has undergone significant amendments in the House of Lords, removing restrictions that previously excluded annually held events like Wimbledon and the British Grand Prix from its protective framework. With cross-party support in the Commons and a new organiser-choice safeguard, the Bill now offers major annual sporting events access to protections against ambush marketing, ticket touting, and unauthorised commercial association.

The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court has ruled that combining descriptive words like "flower" and "box" does not automatically create a descriptive trade mark, finding FLOWERBX valid and infringed by a competitor's similar branding. The decision demonstrates how strong evidence of brand recognition and actual consumer confusion can be decisive in trade mark enforcement cases, particularly in the context of online retail where visual similarity carries significant weight.

M&S and Sephora have launched an exciting brand collaboration that brings together two highly recognisable retail names. Beyond the consumer appeal, this partnership raises important questions about trade mark licensing, co-branding arrangements, and how both parties maintain control over their valuable brand assets throughout the collaboration.

The ASA's June 2026 Pulse Report reveals that environmental claims appear in only 1% of UK online ads, yet three-quarters use absolute terms like "eco-friendly" or "sustainable" that require higher substantiation levels.

Ofcom's draft Fraudulent Advertising Codes propose nearly 40 measures that large platforms and search services must implement to prevent UK users from encountering paid-for fraudulent adverts. The codes establish a layered "safety by design" approach spanning governance, advertiser integrity, moderation, reporting and transparency requirements. With potential fines reaching £18m or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, platforms face significant compliance obligations across onboarding, account security

On 30th July 2026, the ICO announced that they are working alongside the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in relation to suspected nuisance marketing linked to car finance mis-selling claims.

Major sporting events like the FIFA World Cup attract enormous commercial interest, but non-sponsors face significant legal risks when attempting to associate their brands with these tournaments. Understanding the boundaries between creative marketing and unlawful ambush marketing requires careful navigation of trade mark law, passing off, copyright protection, and consumer protection regulations that safeguard official sponsorship rights.

The UK's Advertising Standards Authority has ruled against Nectar Sleep's "Save up to 65%" promotional campaign, finding that the basis of the savings claim was unclear and materially misleading to consumers. The decision highlights critical issues with how retailers calculate and present competitor price comparisons, particularly when using narrow product selections and averaging methodologies that may not reflect genuine market conditions.

A new GALA guide provides a practical, jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction overview of AI disclosure requirements in advertising across key global markets. Following the EU AI Act's transparency obligations becoming directly applicable across all 27 Member States on 2 August 2026, jurisdictions worldwide are accelerating their legislative and regulatory responses to AI-generated content in commercial contexts.