Understanding the legal rules around names is important because they’re the single most valuable intellectual property asset a successful business builds.
One person who clearly didn’t understand this was Mr ...
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Stop Assuming Your Customer is A Big Sophisticated Brand
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January 1, 2021
Happy New Year. I love January, new beginnings, fresh starts and all that, don’t you? For reasons that will become apparent I’ve decided to call this episode Stop Assuming Your Customer is A Big Sophisticated Brand
As I’ve set my in...
Genericity – What We Can Learn About How to Name a Brand
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Genericity is a problem that no brand wants, however much people may think it must be flattering for Google that people use its brand name as a verb. Saying will ‘google’ something or that are ‘googling’ something is damaging to Google’s trademark.
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How to Avoid the Biggest Brand management Mistakes
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Apple and MacDonalds are household brands that have lost their EU trademarks in recent years, meaning that third parties may now freely use ‘Think Different’ and Big Mac in the EU.
The reason the marks were lost is that the companies were unable to ...
Should Lawyers Offer A Brand Creation Service?
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May 3, 2022
Though many important decisions people make when creating a new brand identity are intellectual property decisions, IP lawyers are rarely involved in the naming and brand creation process.
As a trademark lawyer, I began to ask my...
Understanding Customer Needs – What Business Are You Really In?
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May 29, 2020
Understanding customer needs is at the heart of business success.
During these weird times of lockdown and social distancing, many business owners are pivoting to online solutions. We are certainly being approached by people with
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Why I’ve Set Up A Second Business And Expect To Crush It As An Olderpreneur
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November 30, 2018
According to this Institute of Directors report a growing number of people are starting their own businesses in later life. In their article, Over-50s are the new business start-up generation, the Financial Times has very enc
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What Happens if You Don’t Secure Copyright From Designers, Developers and Others Before Engaging Them to do Work
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February 14, 2020
The 7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Turning their Big Idea into a Business, or when Branding or Rebranding Anything
During branding, designs will be created for your brand, including your logo.
You should not enter into
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What not to do if your trade mark is becoming generic
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February 11, 2009
A mini-laptop or a netbook?
IP lawyers always become excited when they find an example of a trade mark in danger of becoming generic. The case in point is the trade mark for NETBOOK, pointed out in this blog post. NETBO
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Why Trademark? Essential Thinking Inspired by The Road Less Stupid
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June 26, 2020
In the book, “The Road Less Stupid: Advice from the Chairman of the Board” Keith J. Cunningham describes how smart people do dumb things. Business is an intellectual sport, yet many entrepreneurs and business owners cause themsel
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Why You Need to Protect a Name and Other Intangible Assets Immediately
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February 21, 2020
The 7 Costly Mistakes People Make When Turning their Big Idea into a Business, or when Branding or Rebranding Anything
Since a brand gives your idea or product identity, not registering it as a trademark leaves you wide open
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World IP Day 2021 – Focus on IP and SMEs
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April 23, 2021
World IP day is on April 26. Every year the IP industry, led by the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) celebrates the day by raising awareness of the vital role IP rights in innovation and creativity.
World IP Day 2021 s
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