A trade mark can become a generic term if it is not used properly. Examples of well known generic terms which were originally trade marks are “escalator” and “aspirin”. “Hoover” is a good example of a trade mark which very nearly became a generic term. Collins English Dictionary contains conflicting references in the sense that [...]
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In 2011 the pop star Rihanna had to curtail a photoshoot on a farm in Northern Ireland when the owner of the farm, Alan Graham, wasn't impressed by her "inappropriate state of undress" and ordered her off the farm and to become "acquainted with God". Well we don't know whether Rihanna heeded the farmers advice [...]
British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc (BSBG) and Microsoft have settled the trade mark infringement action which Sky brought against Microsoft in an English Court. As a result Microsoft will have to find a new name for its cloud storage service SkyDrive. BSBG has, however, agreed to allow Microsoft to continue using the name for a [...]
If you don’t like the outcome of your litigation in Ireland, the final recourse is to the Supreme Court. It seems that many litigants find themselves in this position, since the Supreme Court receives many appeals and consequently there are long delays of upwards of 4 years occurring before the Supreme Court can hear and decide [...]
Congratulations to both Jonathan White and Isabel Unwin (from our Belfast office) who have recently qualified as European Patent Attorneys. Jonathan joined MacLachlan & Donaldson having spent several years with one of the largest firms of Patent Attorneys in New Zealand while Isabel joined Ansons last year from a leading English firm of Patent and Trade [...]
US producer-rapper Pharrell Williams has commenced legal proceedings against will.i.am over a the phase "i.am". Williams, who owns the YouTube channel “i am OTHER”, has said that the Black Eyed Peas front man is adamant his use of the phase infringes the "i.am" trade mark. will.i.am has owned the trade mark since 2001, and uses it for [...]
Sir James Dyson is the inventor of the world’s first cyclonic vacuum cleaner. I came across a recent interview with him in The SMART at www.heathrowexpress.com and which gives us an insight into the mind of one of the world’s most renowned inventors and designers. Sir James tells us that his engineering interest was inspired by a friend’s [...]
Interflora has won a five year battle against UK retailer Marks & Spencer, following a Court ruling that using a rival's trade mark in search engine keyword advertising constituted an infringement. Judge Arnold said in his ruling that "A significant proportion of the consumers who searched for "interflora" and the other Signs, and then clicked [...]
As widely reported, the famous for being famous Kardashian sisters (Kim, Khloe and Kourtney) have had to rename their “Khroma” make up range which was being sold in over 5300 stores across the US because of a dispute with Lee Tillett, Inc., the owner of the KROMA line of cosmetics. Lee Tillett, Inc., based in [...]