Bison Rivers

News about Bison Rivers

bisonrivers — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:17:44 +0000

2012 has kicked off at full speed with a variety of heavily contentious cases underway. It’s reassuring to see that new businesses are emerging and taking heed of the need to protect their trademarks and IP rights before launching. Confidence in the likely success of some new products is very high. Finding an appropriate brand and making sure it is free for use and registration are key concerns for owners. Bison Rivers is delighted to be working with several new clients and advising them on the protection and ownership of their new brands.

We are also preparing for and looking forward to another year of working with the International Trademark Association’s Young Practitioner Committee, supporting up and coming IP professionals.

Who can own a trademark?

bisonrivers — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:16:29 +0000

Practical Brand Ownership issues to consider. This month as part of our ongoing feature, we are considering “Who can own a Trademark”?

It is fundamental that the ownership of trademark rights is sorted out in order to protect the trademark assets as well as their owners. The name that appears on the register will be that of the trademark owner and any contentious matters relating to the trademark will generally need to be initiated or defended by the owner. There are different types of trademarks that certify standards or are used by a collective group. Careful consideration therefore needs to be given to identify who, or which entity, should own the rights.

Who can own a trademark?

A company;
A company, which holds and administers the assets but is separate from the trading entity;
A partnership;
A charity;
An association whose members use the same trademark to distinguishes their goods and services from those of other undertakings (collective trademarks);
An organisation whose members use a trademark for goods and services that are certified by the owner of the mark to be of a certain quality or standard (certification trademarks);
An individual, or group of individuals.

Next month we will be looking at “Succession”.

HELL’v a call for energy drinks

bisonrivers — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:09:13 +0000

v HELLA

In a dispute over a Community Trademark Application for “HELL” for energy drinks by Slovakian company HELL ENERGY Magyarország Kft. the owner of the earlier trademark HELLA successfully opposed its registration. In an appeal, the General Court wouldn’t swallow the argument that the consumers of the HELL energy drinks were by and large teenagers, more receptive to the purported effects of the non-alcoholic energy drinks and were more attentive in distinguishing the marks at issue. Being ‘hip’, ‘cool’ and ‘partygoers’ doesn’t seemingly assist in distinguishing between brands and the Court found there was likelihood of confusion on the part of the public in the EU.

Just for business start ups

bisonrivers — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:06:30 +0000

Bison Rivers offer a free half hour consultation to allow those who are new to trademarks, or with new ventures, to discuss their business with us and obtain preliminary advice about protecting their IP rights. We will also conduct a free identical trademark word search of the UK and Community Registers to kick start the process.

Call us on 01223 208 600 to arrange a convenient time to meet or talk, or email enquiries@bison-rivers.com to arrange a call back.

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year

bisonrivers — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:36:40 +0000

From everyone at Bison Rivers, wishing you health, happiness and success in 2012

News about Bison Rivers

bisonrivers — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:34:35 +0000

It’s been a hectic year for all of us at Bison Rivers. Despite the economic doom and gloom in the world it’s been a year of milestones, which has seen the launch of our Newsletter and new website. We attended the International Trademark Association meeting in San Francisco, which was a great opportunity to meet with associates and clients from around the world. We are in Dublin this month for the “European Trademarks and the Internet Conference”. It’s hard to believe that 2011 is drawing to a close!

This year we’ve been pleased to support the following charities:

GOSH www.gosh.org

Help for Heroes www.hwlpforheroes.org.uk

Halliwick Association for Swimming Therapy www.halliwick.org.uk

All in all it’s been a good year and we are looking forward to 2012.

A Horse is a Horse

bisonrivers — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:19:14 +0000

To the consternation of some trademark owners, current case law has seen changes in the way composite trademarks are viewed in opposition proceedings. More emphasis is being given to verbal parts of trademarks even when there is a dominant figurative element. The Portuguese mark on the left was held by the General Court to be confusingly similar to the Community Mark on the right. In time doubtless these decisions will be challenged and hopefully we’ll see a more common sense approach being adopted.

Harvard is an internationally protected trademark

bisonrivers — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:16:36 +0000

In a long running battle between Harvard University and Fredco Manufacturing Corp. in the Philippines, Fredco filed to cancel Harvard’s registration in various classes, claiming a better right to the mark based on earlier use in the Philippines.

Having failed to explain how they came to adopt the Harvard mark in 1982, the court decided that Fredco did not own the trademark, which was deemed well known in the USA and internationally, having been used for some 350 years by Harvard University, which is seen as one of the leading education institutions in the world.

Have you moved?

bisonrivers — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:51:13 +0000

It’s important that we have your current address and contact details so that we can get in touch if we need to report anything to you about your trademarks or when they are due for renewal. Additionally, your current address should be entered on the Register.

Let us know when you move and we’ll make sure we stay in touch. A number of people forget to do this and lose their trademarks because they simply can’t be traced.

Reduced Fees on Trademark filings in January

bisonrivers — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:48:47 +0000

In difficult times don’t forget to protect your key business assets in 2012!

Throughout January we will be offering a 10% reduction in our fees for filing UK and Community Trademark Applications. To take advantage of this offer, please contact us quoting reference 310112.