BrandWrites - By the Trade Marks Group at Bird & Bird

7/14/2025 1:11:10 PM

UK IPO changes examination practice following SkyKick decision

By Robert Milligan

The UK IPO has issued a new Practice Amendment Notice 1/25 (PAN) in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling in SkyKick UK Ltd v Sky Ltd....

7/9/2025 2:33:07 PM

Never again clueless: Understanding the title right for a work of art under German law

By Rick Wendler

When we think about intellectual property, many people immediately picture trade marks for goods or services and patents for inventions....

6/27/2025 8:59:51 AM

Trade marks and GIs: an important decision from the General Court of the European Union

By Giovanni Galimberti Cristiana Andreotta Rita Tardiolo +2 more...

On June 25, 2025 the General Court of the European Union delivered its highly anticipated ruling in the «NERO CHAMPAGNE» case (T‑239/23)....

6/26/2025 10:14:02 AM

The A3 Case: the EU Trade Mark Court of Alicante finds infringement of EU trade marks in online referencing services

By David Fuentes

The EU Trade Mark Court of Alicante has held that an advertisement containing third-party trade marks, in the context of keyword...

6/24/2025 9:24:02 AM

Dream Pairs in Dream Land: post-sale confusion can be a basis for infringement….but not on the facts of this case

By Ewan Grist Louise Sargeant

This case involved the question of whether the well known UMBRO logo (the “668 Mark” below left) owned by Iconix was infringed under...

6/16/2025 9:25:06 AM

Parallel trade: who bears the burden of proof?

By Nina Dorenbosch

In its recent decision in the case Coty v Easycosmetic, the District Court The Hague shed some further light on the EU system of trade...

5/30/2025 9:41:45 AM

Parallel imports: UK government decides on permanent regime

By Heidi Hurdle

Earlier this month, the UK government announced its long-awaited decision on the future exhaustion regime for intellectual property (IP)...

5/22/2025 1:25:55 PM

Another Trade Mark Chukka for Beverly Hills Polo Club

By April Parker

Background Lifestyle Equities, owner of the BEVERLY HILLS POLO CLUB marks, made headlines last year with their battle against the Royal...

5/8/2025 2:00:29 PM

Court of Appeal dismisses appeal in fast-food franchise trade mark dispute

By Emily Mason

The defendants appealed the High Court decision that they had infringed Morley’s marks and that one of the defendants had breached the...

5/7/2025 8:00:01 AM

The relevance of unregistered trade marks and the requirements of prior use: the Italian Courts reaffirm the basic principles

By Pietro Dettori

In a recent decision involving anonymised parties, the Court of Appeal of L’Aquila dealt with unregistered trade marks and recalled the...

4/28/2025 9:09:37 AM

Trade mark practice in the age of Artificial Intelligence

By Manuel Kröller

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming various sectors. One pressing IP issue is copyright. Do AI work products that are...

3/4/2025 10:26:12 AM

Supreme Court to rule on post-sale confusion in trade mark infringement cases

By Ewan Grist

Supreme Court judgments in IP cases are normally few and far between, but we’ve been spoiled recently with decisions on targeting,...

2/24/2025 12:28:37 PM

When a mark’s reputation precedes it: considerations for owners of reputable brands

By Zyan Yang

For most business owners, building a strong brand reputation would be desirable. One may even be tempted into thinking that brand...

2/17/2025 8:30:00 AM

Virtually the same? Trade marks for virtual goods and services can be assessed like their ‘real’ equivalents (EU General Court)

By Naji Tilley

In Case T-1163/23 Glashütter Uhrenbetrieb GmbH v EUIPO (11 December 2024), the EU General Court upheld a refusal to register an EU trade...

2/13/2025 8:56:03 AM

Canada's CIPO Launches Pilot Project to Enforce Section 45 of the Trade Marks Act: What It Means for Trade Mark Owners

By Paola Ruggiero Sara Consorti

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has launched a pilot project aimed at randomly executing Section 45 of the Canadian...

1/20/2025 3:40:56 PM

STOP PRESS: Court of Appeal rules in Thatcher’s favour in lookalike lemon cider battle

By Tristan Sherliker

Earlier today the Court of Appeal published its much anticipated judgment in the high profile dispute between Thatchers and Aldi over...