Trademark
An organization’s brand is one of its most important assets. The
most effective way of protecting a trademark is through a
registration program and effective policing where brand misuse is
discovered. Such protection is essential in modern markets, as
branding and reputation are ever-growing areas of a business
plan. Maximizing brand value through contractual and
licensing arrangements with third parties and maintaining that
value through enforcement is essential, whether that is through
immediate response, or ultimately court action. With the
increase of the digital markets, in particular the Internet,
trademark owners must monitor their specialist areas with greater
vigilance and take appropriate action quickly. But at the same
time, what activities brand owners may actually prevent is
constantly being challenged by third parties, so prompt and
accurate advice on both sides of the argument is essential.
We can offer that advice efficiently and effectively through our
broad range of experience in advising brand owners and other market
players. We have across-the-board expertise on the legal issues,
litigation, prosecution (in the US) and transactional needs
including:
- Trademark infringement and passing off
- Brand clearance advice
- Licensing and exploitation of trademark portfolios, characters,
merchandising
- Prosecution of trademark applications and trademark portfolio
management (direct prosecution and trademark filing is not
undertaken by our European offices; provided only in the US and
select Middle Eastern countries)
- Advice on comparative advertising
- Trade dress and brand due diligence
- Evaluation of trademark portfolio
- Dilution
- Domain names and cybersquatting
Areas of Focus:
- Litigation of trademark infringement, unfair competition and
passing off
- Transactions (licensing, assignments), opinions and M&A
associated services (due diligence, etc.)
- Trademark preparation and prosecution (direct prosecution and
trademark filing is not undertaken by our European offices;
provided only in the US and select Middle Eastern countries)
- Strategic IP structuring and portfolio management, including
clearance, counseling, litigation, enforcement
- Domain name registration and management
- Trade dress
- Comparative advertising and legitimate fair use of third-party
trademarks
- Investigation, computer forensics and e-Discovery lab
Technology and IT
- Telecoms
- Media and entertainment industry issues