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What Not To Do If Your Trade Mark Is Becoming Generic

February 11, 2009

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.  NETBOOK was registered as a trade mark in t...

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Engaging a Web Designer – One Contract You Should Read

February 12, 2009

It is amazing how naïve otherwise sensible business people can be when it comes to commissioning a designer to develop a website for them.  Whether it is a lack of knowledge or simple forgetfulness many businesses overlook formalit...

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Trade Marks and Internet Marketing

Where Are You At In Your Internet Marketing Efforts? reminds us that small businesses need to understand the possibilities on the web at their own pace.

The fact that only 44% of small businesses have a website despite the well known fact that searc...

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Registering Shapes and Three-Dimensional Trademarks

March 6, 2009

A trademark conveys the image, personality and the origin of the products to a customer. Through this information, the consumer will make an economic decision to purchase. Thus, trademarks are crucial in developing a company’s strategy...

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The Story of UGGs or How Not to Handle a Global Brand

March 17, 2009

One of the more difficult aspects of trademark protection to explain to clients is that a trademark is only territorial in nature and not in fact international. This means that each trademark that is registered in each additional coun...

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Logo Protection Through Trademark, Design and Copyright

March 18, 2009

We often receive enquiries from clients wanting to register their logos.  Few know what registration they want or what protection is available, so it seems worth looking at this question in this blog.

Before explaining what legal met...

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Trade Mark Scams

April 3, 2009

We are alarmed by the increasing number of scammers that target trade mark applicants in the UK and the EU.  Clearly some people are misled into paying the fees otherwise the scams would not continue as they do.

The scammers send unso...

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Buying the SUCKS.COM version of your brand?

April 14, 2009

Domain names are an important aspect of branding.  When registering domain names people often wonder which domains to buy.  Some advisers advocate buying the sucks.com version of your brand to protect against aggrieved consumers who m...

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Does Copyright Protect Ideas?

April 21, 2009

I attended a talk recently which was advocating book writing as a way to promote ones personal brand.  Then the speaker said:  “Some people are reluctant to write about their area of expertise because they fear they might be giving aw...

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Internet Marketing and Keywords In Search Engine Advertising

May 7, 2009

Keyword advertising earns search engines an essential stream of revenue.

Google and Yahoo, who allow use of competitors’ brands as keywords in pay per click advertising, have both had to defend their position in the courts across Europe...

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Trade Mark Scams – With a twist

May 12, 2009

What is a scam?  According to the consumer fraud reporting “A confidence trick, confidence game, or con for short (also known as a scam) is an attempt to intentionally mislead a person or persons …. usually with the goal of financial or...

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Secrets of Online Branding and Website Success

June 9, 2009

Web projects are riddled with Intellectual Property Rights issues.  These have a long term impact on the future of the business.  Awareness of online branding, search engines, copyright law and the technicalities involved in specifying ...

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