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Mar 9
2 min

Walk like a PANTHÉ - Visual perception is key for fashion trade marks says EU

Is there a likelihood of confusion between the figurative signs pictured below (PANTHÉ and PANTHER) for “Clothing; Headgear” in Class 25? The EU General Court said "No". In doing so, they upheld a decision of the EUIPO Board of Appeal. The case is El Corte Inglés v EUIPO/MKR Design Srl (Case T-117/20). The judgment was published on 10 February 2021. So what happened? Spanish retailer El Corte Inglés opposed an EUTM application for the sign listed above (PANTHÉ) which was file

Mar 9
1 min

EUIPO sees rise in trade mark filings in 2020 despite pandemic

We are all aware that the pandemic hasn't necessarily led to a decrease of work across the board. One group of people who have been particularly busy are the staff at EUIPO. EUIPO received a record number of EUTM filings in 2020 - over 175,000* in a single year. This is an annual increase of more than 10%! which is remarkable given the impact of the pandemic on business during the year. Most of the growth came in the second half of the year, and EUIPO says it was led “by a si

Mar 9
1 min

Goodbye Aunt Jemima, hello Pearl Milling Company

Trade marks may theoretically last forever but brands are subject to change. The Aunt Jemima brand of pancake mix and syrup will be renamed Pearl Milling Company, in response to concerns about racial stereotypes. The new brand harks back to the name of the originator of the self-rising pancake max and was announced by Quaker Oats (part of PepsiCo) on 10 February 2021. The Aunt Jemima brand, like the Washington Redskins, is being retired following the global attention that was

Mar 7
5 min

How do you win a fashion dispute? Find out why I love unregistered designs

How can you stop someone from systematically copying your brand? What if it went further than just your designs and covered everything from your marketing strategy to your models? This major new UK fashion case shows the consequences which range from the predictable (copying valid designs has consequences) to the surprising (it isn't necessarily possible to stop all copycat behaviour). This case is a bit of a marathon read but it's a fantastic primer for anyone wanting to und

Mar 7
1 min

Image protection in the UK and beyond

Image rights are both hugely important and a fallacy. The UK, has no specific law of "image rights" but it is possible to protect a person's image through a patchwork of laws including passing off, trade marks, data protection and privacy. Rosie has contributed a chapter on the UK approach to image rights for Imagen y Derecho de la Moda, a South American Year Book which is available for purchase here! Rosie's article (which is translated into Spanish) provides an overview of

Feb 23
2 min

Influencers are advertising... and the ASA is watching

Influencers are advertisers. This has been clear for some time. But now influencers are trending for the wrong reasons as the Advertising Standards Authority starts to clamp down on the use of filters for beauty products and failure to identify paid content. Use of filters Advertisers should not use filters on photos promoting beauty products on Instagram if the filters are likely to mislead or exaggerate regarding the effect the product was capable of achieving. This was the

Feb 22
2 min

The benefits of IP Insurance

With IP worth 75% of a business’ value why do less than 13% of businesses have IP insurance? It’s fascinating to read the insurance industry’s perspective on this phenomenon: Protecting Intellectual Property in the new world order. I find insurance (& third party funding) essential in many disputes. In most cases, this is "After the Event" or ATE insurance. Matthew Hogg and Edward Cartwright's article makes a great point that many people forget: you may assume that you have

Feb 22
1 min

Are you Notorious? The USTR updates its list of Notorious Markets

In its annual review of markets that engage in or facilitate counterfeiting and piracy, the US Trade Representative has named 39 online markets (including many of Amazon’s foreign domains, Shopee and Taobao) and 34 physical markets. The European Commission published a similar list in its Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List in December 2020. Both lists provide useful information on the challenges IP rights owners face in enforcing their rights in the various online marketplaces,

Jan 29
2 min

Brands prosper despite business difficulties

It’s a sad consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns in many countries that retailers have lost business, and regrettably some have gone into administration. But one thing that’s been notable in many cases is that the brands have proved attractive to buyers, even when the rest of the business has not. For example, Marks & Spencer recently bought the Jaeger fashion brand for an undisclosed fee after the company went into administration. It did not acquire any of t

Jan 28
2 min

Joint authorship dispute resolved after retrial

The long-lasting litigation over the authorship of the screenplay for the 2016 film “Florence Foster Jenkins” has resulted in the court finding that Julia Kogan (the Claimant) was a co-author of the screenplay with the contribution valued at 20%. Mr Justice Meade’s decision came following a retrial after an earlier judgment was overturned by the Court of Appeal. This is an unusual decision which reflects a changing approach toward defining artistic contribution. Ms Kogan was

Jan 27
2 min

Brand investment pays off for Dr Martens

Dr Martens, the footwear and clothing brand that defined my teens, is launching an initial public offering (IPO) which could value the company at £3.7 billion! The company is currently majority owned by Permira (the UK private equity firm). One reason behind this high valuation is that it is a fashion brand that truly recognises the value of its IP (even if it famously once failed to secure the copyright in its logo - see below!).* It sells 11 million pairs of boots and shoes

Jan 27
2 min

Watch out! New employees could lead to a breach of confidence claim against you

A new employee joins a business. They have lots of new ideas and suggestions. Sounds great but might you be at risk? To put it another way, where is the line between creativity and confidentiality? Travel Counsellors Ltd v Trailfinders Ltd There was a rare Court of Appeal judgment on confidential information on 19 January 2021. The Court upheld a decision from the English IP Enterprise Court (IPEC) in a dispute between travel agent Trailfinders Ltd ("Trailfinders") and its co

Jan 27
3 min

Where eagles dare: competing logos on a global stage

Mr Justice Miles’s judgment in Lyle & Scott Limited v American Eagle Outfitters, Inc is an important decision for international fashion brands. The two companies use very similar eagle logos (pictured) for clothing that is sold through similar marketplaces in the UK and internationally. Lyle & Scott (L&S) is a long-standing British high-end fashion brand. It historically made golf clothes but by 2019 around half of its sales were polo shirts and T-shirts which are sold throu

Jan 24
3 min

Future gazing in a time of global crisis

There is no doubt that we are living through an unstable time. The pandemic has changed daily life for everyone. Politics are far from stable – this impacts many things, not least international trade. The origins of established brands are coming under the microscope. The economic good times (such as they were in the wake of the global financial crisis) are over. With recession set as the new normal, it is clear that things will be in flux for a long time to come. It is hard t

Oct 25, 2020
4 min

Will wearable tech revive retail?

Fashion and technology have long been on a collision course and, like so much, the pandemic has accelerated things in a dramatic and life altering way. It’s no secret that the fashion sector has been particularly badly hit by Covid-19. The saving grace for many brands has been the investment that it has made in the digital and technology business. It’s fair to say that businesses with a strong ecommerce offering have fared much better than the competition – particularly if th

Oct 13, 2020
2 min

Search Orders - an important tool to stop counterfeits & more

There are many reasons why someone might want to get a search order. It is a very draconian remedy that gives a successful applicant the ability to enter a property and seize goods for use in court proceedings. As it is such an extreme remedy, the requirements in order to get a court order are very high and the level of supervision required by the court and a supervising solicitor is significant. As the Covid lockdown took effect in March and physical stores closed, two risks

Oct 12, 2020
1 min

Video & Podcast Alert 🚨

Eagle eyed readers may have noticed a few changes to EuropeanFashionLaw.com. A lot has happened recently (news flash!) and it is time to update the website to reflect the various things that Rosie has been working on over the last year. You can now find links to Podcasts on Differences Between UK and US Intellectual Property Law (for The Fashion Law Network) and a Career in Intellectual Property Law (for Legally Speaking). There are also Videos on everything from Crafty Short

Oct 4, 2020
3 min

Don't lose your rights after Brexit

We first wrote about the impact of Brexit over a year ago back in a pre pandemic era. Although we still don't have a deal. The outcomes outlined in that post are likely to apply from 1 January 2020 (i.e. the end of the Brexit transition period). It is no longer possible to file an EU mark and get it registered before the end of the transition period (31 December 2020). Therefore all new EU trade mark filings will need to be filed separately in the UK if trade mark rights in t

Sep 29, 2020
2 min

Trade marks in China

There has long been a recognition that Chinese trade mark law has been moving toward a more reliable and consistent process. This is thanks to a series of new intellectual property laws which have been implemented over the last decade or so together with the establishment of many specialist intellectual property courts around the country. There are a few key things to remember when working in China: Saving money on legal fees can be a significant false economy. This is always

Sep 20, 2020
5 min

Online counterfeits - the Alibaba, Police and Brand perspective

Some luxury brands still choose to not operate an online presence. Whether this is sustainable in the long term is unclear. Regardless of company strategy, you need to protect your brand online irrespective of whether you choose to operate online. The Luxury Law Summit included a fascinating panel discussion between Luna Bianchi (IP Counsel at Ermenegildo Zegna), Peter Ratcliffe (Manager of PIPCU, part of City of London police which investigates online crime in England and Wa

European Fashion Law

Stay up to date with the latest fashion law news & insights

Sign up for our mailing list before 1 April 2021 to get 50% off the book