Intellectual Property

Sesame Street as you do not yet know it

A raunchy comedy puppet plot called ‘The Happytime Murders’ is everything you would not expect to see from Sesame Workshops, the company behind Sesame Street. Gone is the mission to…

Riding on the Surfer’s Wave of Reputation and Goodwill – How Pepsi popped bubbles of a look-a-like coke brand

PepsiCo successfully fizzed the bubbles out of a ‘look-a-like’ cola brand after winning a cancellation and invalidity application against Singapore-based Ten Yun International’s trade mark at the UK Intellectual Property…

Knowledge Quarter and Briffa host Tim Moss Comptroller General IPO and learn a thing or two

This month we had the pleasure of co-hosting our own Knowledge Quarter Breakfast Briefing. Our very special guest was none other than Mr Tim Moss CBE Chief Executive Officer of the UK…

Blurring the lines between inspiration, imitation and infringement of copyright

Earlier this month, a US appeals court upheld an earlier finding by a trial court in the US that Robin Thicke’s song “Blurred Lines” infringed on the copyright in Marvin…

3 myths about confidential information

Uber has recently agreed to pay Waymo a settlement of $245 million in a trade secret dispute involving the use of information concerning driverless car technology, unlawfully disclosed by an…

BriffaWay – My Feminist Credentials

This month we have been celebrating the 100th anniversary of the passing of an Act of Parliament giving women over 30 the right to vote. This most welcome of milestones…

Prior rights and pizza

The UK Court of Appeal recently handed down judgment in Caspian Pizza and ors. v Shah and ors. [2017] EWCA Civ 1874, which has taken another look at whether someone…

Sorry, did you say Intellectual Property was a dry subject?! Never!

UK IPO introduces cartoon series aimed at young children The UK Intellectual Property Office have released a new series of cartoons aimed at kids as young as seven years old…

IP Basics in the UK – Click here to learn more!

Intellectual property (or “IP”) can be a complicated area. As a start-up you already have a huge number of things to think about: funding, marketing, building a client base, collaboration,…

It’s a Wonderful Life and a Wonderful Film

Seven decades after it was first released the Christmas classic ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ is a holiday year traditional many look forward to including myself. Without wishing to spoil things…

Business as EUsual? The EU position paper on post-Brexit IP rights

‘Brexit day’, or the date which the UK cleaves itself away from the EU, is no longer a day on the far away horizon and holders of ‘European’ IP rights…

BriffaWay – Bear Hug

OK I put my hand up, I am a untidy person. The good news is that I am aware of my chronic messiness which means I have not crossed the…

Establishing Acquired Distinctiveness

Trade marks that are descriptive or have become generic may be successfully registered if they have acquired distinctiveness, due to the use of mark by the proprietor. Under the UK…

Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) Cracks Down on Gender Stereotyping

The Advertising Standards Authority has carried out a study into advertising and the impact gender stereotyping may have on the general public. The report looked at how gender assumptions that…

Luxury brand owners may soon be able to prevent the sale of their products online via Amazon and Ebay

On 26 July 2017, in the matter of Coty Germany GmbH v Parfümerie Akzente GmbH, at the European Court of Justice, Advocate General Wahl, stated a supplier of luxury goods…

Untangling the Web of Spider-Man and Intellectual Property

‘Spider-Man’ recently returned to the big screen, making a cameo in Marvel Studios’ ‘Captain America: Civil War’ and now in a new standalone Sony Pictures’ film entitled ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’. Many…

Unjustified threats provisions receive Royal Assent

At the end of April, the new Intellectual Property (Unjustified Threats) Act 2017 received Royal Assent, with an expectation the provisions will come into force in October. As we reported…

Briffa Celebrates – Greeting Card Association

Even in this digital age, we all love to get a card in the post. I know I am always thrilled, and I have cards which stay up on the…

Likelihood of Konfusion?

Australian tennis player Thanasi Kokkinakis is in the middle of a trade mark dispute with Kellogg’s over his right to make commercial use of his nickname “Special K”. The breakfast…

Verisign’s Latest Domain Name Industry Brief

Verisign, the company responsible for operating key Internet infrastructure (e.g. ‘.com’), has published its latest brief on the state of the domain name industry. The volume of domain names registered…

Prince Restrained… Temporarily

Prince fans were left disappointed after a temporary restraining order obtained in the US courts prevented the release of the anticipated Deliverance EP. A five track collection of previously unreleased…

BriffaWay – Blustery Day!

One of the superpowers that lawyers must possess is the ability to see into the future and avert disaster. While I suspected this was the case early on in my…

BriffaWay – Lord Scrumptious

Although I was not aware at the time my first exposure to the business pitch was probably that in the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968). There is a part…

Briffa Celebrates – Music Industries Association (MIA) – The trade body for the UK musical instrument industry

#BriffaCelebrates – Music Industries Association (MIA) – “CREATING AND ENCOURAGING MUSIC MAKING”     Briffa have been working with the Music Industries Association for 10 years and we think they are…