Food, Drink and Trade Mark Infringements
Food and drink brands make up the largest manufacturing sector in Scotland. The importance of trade marks and brand protection is therefore…
Trade Marks
Examining the Intellectual Property Office’s examination process
To pass the examination of the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) and have a trade mark application published in the UK Trade Marks…
Use it or lose it – trade mark revocation.
Are you at risk of losing your trade mark registration? Trade mark registers exist to allow businesses to defend their brands and to…
Intellectual Property | How to Protect your Confidential Information
What is confidential information and how do you protect it within your business? Trade Mark specialist, Kirsty Stewart discusses…
IP Assignations in Research: What do you need to consider?
What is an assignation?
Under contracts law, an assignation is the transfer of rights and obligations from one person or legal entity (…
Trade Mark Searches and Brand Availability Webinar
Looking to launch a new business, product or service or expand into new territories? How can you be sure that the brand name or logo you…
Using Copyright in Music
Copyright is an automatic form of intellectual property protection that stops others from using your work without permission. …
The Importance of Trade Mark Searching/Brand Clearance
Looking to launch a new business, product or service? How can you be sure that the brand name or logo you choose is free to use?
Brands…
Domain name disputes
The use of the internet to conduct business has increased exponentially in the 21st century. With billions of websites at our fingertips,…
Bad Faith Trade Mark Filings
Securing protection for a trade mark is an important part of establishing and protecting a brand. A registered trade mark can be an…
Fashion and Intellectual Property Rights
The fashion industry contributes billions of pounds annually to the UK economy. With the large sums to be made in fashion, fashion…
Copyright extension and the Little Mermaid
The original Little Mermaid story or ‘Den lille havfrue’ was published in 1837 and has long since been in the public domain. In 1989 Disney…
Copyright in Software: What is protected and what factors should you consider?
What is copyright?
Copyright is a type of intellectual property right that is designed to protect the expression of an idea (but not the…
Copyright and ChatGPT
Launched in November 2022, ChatGPT is a chatbot created by OpenAI which generates “human-like text” in response to questions asked by users…
Thorntons joins prestigious global trade mark guide
Full service Scottish law firm, Thorntons, has achieved its first appearance in the World Trademark Review 1000 (WTR 1000), a unique guide…
Can I protect an idea?
As intellectual property lawyers, clients from across a range of sectors often approach us with the same question: I have an idea, how do I…
Trade Marks and the importance of the right class
Trade Marks can be an invaluable asset for businesses looking to protect their brand. The subject of Trade Marks is an extensive one but…
What is Copyright?
Copyright is a type of Intellectual Property Right which exists in different types of ‘works’. Such works can include literary works,…
If Santa belongs to everyone, how can he be trade marked?
Santa Claus is a beloved figure around the world who is associated with the holiday season. While many people now associate Santa with the…
Design Rights – what is possible to protect?
Design rights exist in order to protect unique features which determine how the whole or part of a product or article will look. Design…
Non-disclosure agreements
Confidential information is valuable to many organisations but often needs to be shared with third parties including investors, potential…