Jan 30, 2026

Imagine how much easier it would be if you could launch your start up with a name that’s already well known.

That’s exactly what Operation Bluebird, a U.S. startup, is hoping to do. The company is intending to launch its social network...

Dec 19, 2025

Thinking about the year ahead, it is worth highlighting a recent court decision that demonstrates the importance of brand owners taking the right actions to protect the distinctiveness of their brands.

In a recent case, a competitor wa...

Oct 3, 2024

Naming is a surprisingly complicated thing to do so I’m not surprised there are so many disputes around names. 

Some people believe you need to invent a new word to be able to trademark it – that ordinary dictionary words may not be mon...

Mar 11, 2024

Reuters reports that Amazon has lost its appeal in a case involving the ‘targeting’ of UK shoppers.

In deciding that Amazon was targeting UK shoppers, the UK Supreme Court ruled that Amazon was infringing the trademark rights of Lifest...

Mar 4, 2024

Monzo’s ‘hot coral’ coloured bankcards are so strikingly different in the staid world of banking, that I’m sure they get some customers purely because of their cards!

It can be very powerful for a company to have a colour that is synony...

Feb 19, 2024

There are lessons from the recent BBC report about a chicken shop owner in Manchester who lost a trademark dispute against Tesla. 

Mr Ali trademarked the name ‘Tesla Chicken & Pizza’ in 2020. So in 2021 the IPO notified him that Tesla ...

Feb 14, 2024

Chocolate is a popular gift on Valentine’s day.

Did you know Cadburys was the first company to package “eating chocolates” as Valentine’s day gifts in the 1860s?

It missed the opportunity to manage competition by applying to patent or...

Feb 5, 2024

The BBC reported on a case where Louis Vuitton opposed an application to register LV Bespoke.   

The case led to discussions on social media effectively arguing that famous brands that challenge a small business' use of a similar name a...

Last week’s newsletter How to avoid the biggest brand management mistakes, highlighted that the role of our business name and signs like logos, taglines, characters, or sounds is to enable buyers to recognise that it’s us.

Symbols like the Nike swoo...

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 ...