Blog

The Commonwealth of Nations might seem to many as a historical rather than current artefact, especially to those outside it, and only mentioned in international news when one of the UK’s former colonies receive the visit of a member of the Royal Family, and yet it has implications for its members in many aspects of modern life – including the one that concerns us, trademark protection.

BREXIT has left the world and especially Europe in an uncomfortable stand-by. While the months pass, the number of questions and theories of how, what, and when only increase. Deal, no deal, hard BREXIT or soft BREXIT, even the possibility of a second referendum now seems to be an option, although remote. However, when it comes to trademarks and industrial designs in a post BREXIT era, how they would be handled in the worst-case scenario of a no deal hard BREXIT now seems to be clear.

On July 3, 2019, Brazil sent to World Intellectual Property Organization their accession document to the Madrid protocol governing international trademark registrations.

It can take less than 5 minutes to register a domain name online, for a fee that can be as low as $10. However, in a world of "first come, first served," many things can go wrong – and they often do. As we all know, not everyone acts in an ethical manner.

What happens when someone registers a domain name to profit from someone else's brand? The short answer: the brand suffers. 

If you want to learn about cybersquatting, and what it means for trademarks, keep reading.

In one form or another, “do I have to register my trademark” is usually one of the first questions that someone embarking on the journey to trademark registration will ask.

The simplest – and maybe simplistic – answer to this question would be “You don’t have to, but you should”. Here’s why, in less simplistic terms.

A trademark search allows you to know beforehand the probabilities a trademark has of being successfully registered. Before you go ahead and invest your money registering a trademark, knowing the probabilities the trademark has of actually being registered will allow you to save time and money by not proceeding with a trademark registration that has little to no chance of registering.

You may be asking yourself: do I need a trademark? We've got your know-all guide so you can get the answers you need to know. Read on to learn more.

Whether you’re starting a business, expanding your product line, or rebranding, it’s important to ask yourself — do I need a trademark for my business? There are a lot of factors to consider. As with any other intellectual property matter, it’s always good to check off all the boxes before going through the process or deciding it’s not necessary for your business. Here are 10 things you should know:

The world of social media has encouraged people to share ideas and inspire each other. Here's what you need to know about trademark protection on social media.

The Madrid System for multinational trademark applications aims at facilitating the process of trademark registration in a large number of countries. It is governed by the Madrid Protocol, a treaty signed by multiple members, and allows a trademark holder to request the extension of a single trademark application or registration made in one member country to any number of other member countries.

Registering to protect one’s trademark is a must for any business. When determining what to register and how, the analysis is usually and wrongly limited to determining the following:

What should you register as a trademark

Determining the products or services for which one should register the trademark