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Trade Mark Denied for “ChatGPT”

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has rejected OpenAI’s attempts to trade mark “ChatGPT” and “GPT,” leaving the door open for Irish companies to potentially use these names for…

Dishonest Use of a Trade Mark – Don’t Add Fuel (Diesel or otherwise) to the Fire

Some of my earliest interests in brands came from those weird mid 1990s knock offs of well known fashion brands – Jonny Brewbacker (Tommy Hilfiger), Abidas (Adidas)- that weren’t quite…

Don’t make a Pyg’s Ear Out Of It – The Importance of Standing Up for Your Established Business and Brand

A legal dispute is unfolding between two seemingly similar restaurant brands — ‘Little Pig’ and ‘Little Pyg’. The owner of Little Pig, Michael Martin, has taken the matter to court,…

Artificial Intelligence & Copyright: Where Are We Going?

The concept of copyright as a moral right has existed for centuries (the story of Antonio Tempesta’s famous 1593 ‘Map of Rome’ is worth a read), but is now being…

Fight Against Counterfeits Steps Up

The EU Intellectual Property Office has released an analysis report on its operation ‘Fake Star’ “The sale of counterfeit clothes, shoes and accessories in the EU: a profitable market for…

Latest battle to have trade mark rights for mānuka honey unsuccessful

A group of New Zealand premium honey producers have lost another bid to trademark the word ‘MANUKA’ after the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) dealt a blow to…

40 Shades of Green – Can a Colour be Trade Marked?

With this being the middle of March, there’s a tsunami of shamrocks, Guinness, pots of gold and green beer coming down the tracks on social and traditional (overseas) media in…

Can you trade mark a sound?

It can be very powerful for a company to have a sound that is synonymous with its brand. Without anything being said, a consumer can hear a few notes or…

Trade Marks – The Importance of Early Legal Advice

It’s been reported that a much anticipated in-development video game that was announced over two years ago (which has already seen it’s launch date delayed by a year) has been…

Online Marketplaces – Facilitators of IP Infringement ?

Amazon has recently found itself on the losing side of a landmark decision of the EU’s Court of Justice (‘ECJ’) in relation to a case referred by the national courts…

Matters of Taste – EU Geographical Indicators and Quality Schemes

Intellectual Property (‘IP’) rights are possibly most understood to be associated with such things as brand names (trade marks), ‘creations of the mind’ or artistic endeavours (copyright) and inventions (patents).…

Deceptive Trade Marks The Bread-and-Butter Facts

One of the requirements for registering a trade mark, either in Ireland or in the EU, is that the application cannot be made in bad faith nor can it be…

Your Trade Mark – Use it or Lose It!

Your trade mark’s essential function is to be a badge of origin. It distinguishes your goods or services from those of other undertakings or competitors in the same market. However,…

EU’ll DO NOTHIN’!

McGregor V…McGregor and the importance of Mediation and Co-Existence Agreements in Exploiting Your Brand.  A recent decision of the European Union Intellectual Property Office has beaten down an application by…

What Can Be Registered As A Trade Mark In Ireland?

Your trade mark’s essential function is to be a badge of origin. It distinguishes your goods or services from those of other undertakings or competitors in the same market, thus…

IP, Counterfeiting and the Blockchain

With the advent of globalisation on a mass scale in the 1990s, coinciding with the fall of the USSR and the rapid development of emerging economies in Asia, Africa and…

SKKN in the game: Factors to consider in trade mark disputes

There’s a time and place for resolving trade mark disputes in an adversarial manner (courts, solicitors’ letters, etc.), and there are other times where both parties can come to a…

Registering A Trade Mark In Ireland

As part of Briffa’s expansion into Ireland, our IP solicitor in Cork, Mark Eiffe, examines some of the matters that Irish startups and SMEs should consider when it comes to…