What makes an effective patent? Patent litigation generally boils down to the legal interpretation of one or two carefully chosen words out of the thousands of words which make up each patent application. You, as the inventor, are the expert on the technical aspects of your own invention. It is, however, advisable to commission a [...]
Looking back on 2021 statistics it is apparent which brands in Europe have increased in value. The total value of Europe’s top 500 most valuable brands dropped 10% from €1.96 trillion to €1.76 trillion during the COVID 19 pandemic but some brands managed to buck this trend and increase in value despite, or indeed because [...]
At MacLachlan & Donaldson, we maintain that everyone has IP, even if they don’t know about it. Even Santa Claus might need to consider IP protection after a busy year of toy creation: “Ok, Mr Claus we have a lot to discuss regarding the protection of your Intellectual Property (IP). I note that, [...]
On 24th August 2021, the number of European Union (EU) trade mark registrations hit 2,000,000. The Community Trade Mark Register was opened on 01st April 1996, with the very first Community Trade Mark Registration being filed by the Association Internationale pour la Protection de la Propriete Industrielle for the word mark AIPPI. A registration which [...]
Robert Hayes marked 37 years at M&D in August this year. He joined MacLachlan & Donaldson in 1984, having graduated from the University of Limerick with an honours degree in Business Studies (Management Services Specialisation). Robert is responsible for M&D’s IT and telecommunications facilities and records management. Robert also has many years of experience in [...]
Every April 26th WIPO hosts a celebration for World IP Day to learn about the role that IP rights play in encouraging innovation and creativity. Every business starts with an idea. In fact, all the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the market today have started from an idea which was expanded upon and taken [...]
Last week we looked at Trade Mark Infringements, what they were and what you should do to avoid them or deal with them. This week we are going to discuss Patent Infringement, to help you understand what is and how to avoid it. Patent Infringement typically refers to the commission of a prohibited act in [...]
As we are all aware the BREXIT transitional period or ‘implementation period’ ends on the 31st December 2020. There are a number of areas to cover in this topic, and today we will cover why this date is important for the owners of EU trade marks and what the implications are. Part II next week [...]
A long running dispute in Ireland concerning ownership of the MARIE CLAIRE trade mark in respect of clothing has finally been resolved. In a judgement delivered on July 21 2014, Mr. Justice Barrett of the Irish Commercial Court refused an application by Marie Claire Netherlands B.V(MCN) for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court his [...]
Community Trade Marks It is clear that any company which intends to trade in the European Union should consider the possibility of obtaining a Community Trade Mark (CTM) registration. CTMs are unitary in character and a single registration covers all the member States of the European Union. Pre- filing Searches While a valid prior national [...]
