Trademarks

Broadcaster Sky acted in bad faith by applying for trade marks covering goods and services which it never intended to provide, the UK Supreme Court has ruled in a landmark judgment. Lord Kitchin yesterday gave judgment in SkyKick UK Ltd and another (Appellants) v Sky Ltd and others (Respondents) [20

Tesco has lost an English court appeal against a finding that its yellow-and-blue Clubcard logo infringed on the trade mark of rival supermarket chain Lidl. The High Court last year agreed with Lidl's argument that the Clubcard Prices logo led to a "perception of price matching by Tesco to Lidl", up

Trade mark law specialist Stobbs Ireland has appointed Tasneem Madani as an intangible asset (IA) executive. Ms Madani becomes the fourth member of the Dublin office, which was established last summer and supports clients in Ireland and throughout the EU.

William Fry partners Colette Brady and Laura Scott and student intern Anna Lee examine a trade mark dispute in the EU courts involving evidence from the UK post-Brexit. As Christmas swiftly approaches, we send you a subliminal reminder to do that last-minute shopping by sharing an interesting decisi

Mary Bleahene and Lukas Bubendorfer of FRKelly examine a recent EU decision on a trade mark for the Irish word "Siúcra". Can the Irish word for ‘sugar’ be an EU Trade Mark? The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) says ‘yes’, in a decision handed down on

Dublin-based intellectual property law firm FRKelly has paid tribute to its late partner Niamh Hall, who passed away last month. Ms Hall was an accomplished trade mark attorney and solicitor. She previously served as president of the Irish Association of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys (APTMA) and c

Gerard Kelly, partner at Mason Hayes & Curran, flags up a significant EU court ruling on trade mark claims and counterclaims. The EU’s highest court, the CJEU, has recently ruled that a national court acting as an EU trade mark court hearing an action for infringement has jurisdiction to r

Gerard Kelly, partner at Mason Hayes & Curran, examines a recent EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) decision on Dior's saddle-shaped handbag. The Second Board of Appeal of the EUIPO has held recently that the iconic Christian Dior saddle-shaped handbag is not sufficiently distinctive to be

William Fry partners Leo Moore, Craig Sowman and Derek Hegarty examine the legal issues at the centre of Usain Bolt's new trade mark application. Victory in sport has resulted in many iconic celebratory expressions from athletes. These include Christiano Ronaldo's "Siu" celebration, Mo Farah's iconi

Sumi Nadarajah of FRKelly introduces Ireland's first registered "motion mark". Companies and brand owners are increasingly looking for innovative and creative ways to promote and market their brands in the digital age. This has led to the creation of new forms of trade marks such as motion marks, ho

The maker of Baileys, the world's most popular Irish cream liqueur, has won a UK trade mark dispute against a company seeking to produce a Scottish product called "McBaileys". R & A Bailey & Co, a subsidiary of drinks giant Diageo, filed an objection to the trade mark application lodged by a

Conor McGregor has failed in a legal fight with a clothing firm over sportswear that bears his name. The 31-year-old MMA fighter applied to register his name as a trademark in order to sell clothing in Europe.

The High Court has made orders restraining the use of the famous claddagh rings trademark pending the determination of proceedings. In related hearings heard alongside the injunction application, the court made a series of rulings related to the company that makes and sells and the famous Claddagh r

The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) has granted the first ever multimedia trademark. Japanese firm Toshiba registered the mark after the UK updated its guidelines earlier this year.