News
All the latest news and views.
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Argos Limited v Argos Systems Inc (09/10/2018)
October 2018
This was an unsuccessful appeal by the UK consumer goods retailer, Argos Limited (“AUL”) following the rejection of its claim for trade mark infringement and passing off in 2017.
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Strong not skinny? ASA ban Nasty Gal advert over underweight modelvvv
October 2018
22 complaints were received by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) from viewers who described adverts by online fashion retailer Nasty Gal as “socially irresponsible”.
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The #ad debate resolved? ASA announce new Guidelines for Influencers
October 2018
The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have come together and created “An Influencer’s Guide to making clear that ads are ads".
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MIP IP Rising Stars 2018/19
October 2018
Managing Intellectual Property (MIP) IP Rising Stars 2018/19 guide has been published. HGF are delighted to have 6 attorneys listed.
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EU Trade Marks And Designs In The Event Of “No Deal” Between The EU And The UK
September 2018
The UK Government has announced how it plans to treat European Union (EU) trade mark and design rights in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal covering their future relationship.
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BA Data Breach
September 2018
This morning news has started to come out providing details of one of the first significant data breach to be reported under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) since its coming in to force in May this year.
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P&G to attempt to trade mark acronyms: WTF or NBD?
August 2018
Consumer products group Proctor and Gamble have filed trade mark application for terms such as "LOL" (Laugh Out Loud), "NBD" (No Big Deal) and even WTF (we’ll leave you to Google that one) to presumably be used to market products. It has been reported that the plan is to use the acronyms to market soap, detergents and air fresheners in an attempt to persuade under 35’s to buy such products. The filings were made by P&G in April and are apparently yet to be approved by the USPTO.
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Ain’t no sunshine in September: ASA rule June, July and August are British summer months
August 2018
Holiday agent Tui’s advert for the “perfect summer holiday” in September and October has been deemed misleading to consumers.
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Brexit Impact on .eu Domain Names
August 2018
A statement by the European Commission has outlined that following Brexit on 29 March 2019 the EU regulatory framework regarding .eu domain names will no longer apply to the UK
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PCT collaborative search and examination (CS&E) pilot project run by the IP5 offices
August 2018
On 1 July 2018, the IP5 Offices (EPO, KIPO, USPTO, JPO and SIPO) launched a pilot project to test a collaborative approach to international searches under the PCT, particularly with a view to assessing user interest for such a new PCT product and also look at the expected efficiency gains for the participating offices.
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