Ireland & the EU

“MARICON PERDIDO” Trade Mark Denied: Morality and Distinctiveness in EUIPO’s Latest Decision

The Grand Board of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) recently ruled that the Spanish phrase “MARICON PERDIDO” (“hopeless faggot”) cannot be registered as a trade mark under Article…

Can a Person’s face be registered as a Trade mark?

The EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) is currently grappling with a significant issue regarding the registration of a photograph of a person’s face as an EU trade mark. In…

Major update to EU design law

Registered designs protect the shape and/or appearance of a product. They are an invaluable (and cheap) part of the IP toolkit whose importance we have written about a number of…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…