Can you trademark something that’s AI generated, is a question a designer asked me recently.

He believed it wouldn’t be possible to trademark something AI generated because it wouldn’t have been created by a human.

However, he was confusing copyrig...

September 10, 2008

Joint copyright can be a dangerous trap for businesses. Disputes over joint copyright issues are often expensive, fact intensive and it is difficult to prove ownership. Several recent cases highlight problems that can surface when...

December 6, 2008

It is interesting to hear Marks and Spencer is being sued by Interflora for using Interflora’s brand in their Google advertising.

I would hazard a guess that in many organisations the people at the top and the legal department are ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

September 27, 2010

In a competitive market setting your products apart from other people’s is key to maintaining an edge. Product design is often an important characteristic of a brand. It could even be the USP of the business.

Where, however, the ...

October 25, 2010

A trade mark can be refused where it is descriptive of the goods and services it covers. This could be where the mark ‘designates the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value or geographical origin’ of the goods or service o...

One aspect of online business that is particularly difficult to grapple with is copyright, be it, use of content from other sites, or copyright relating to photographs and images or other issues.  The misinformation that surroun...