Rack of glasses

Sector group

Trade marks

Trade marks enable brands to secure a strong competitive advantage by distinguishing their goods and services from those of their competitors.

City scape

Trade marks exist to provide the owner with certain exclusive rights to words, logos, slogans, numbers, colours and audio branding, providing a powerful tool in preventing copycats and counterfeits.

HGF’s large, multidisciplinary team across Europe provides industry-leading advice in securing trade marks for brands across all industries, be it retail, media or food & drink, ensuring goods and services are registered in the optimum categories and jurisdictions to secure the strongest possible protection.

Our attorneys represent clients at the EU, UK, German and Benelux Trade Mark Registries and are also highly experienced in dealing with oppositions, appeals and IP litigation.

In addition, our trade mark attorneys work closely with our IP lawyers in relation to agreements such as for IP licensing, franchising, merchandising, coexistence, selective distribution, and litigation.

See our trade marks specialists

Trade mark industries

Automotive
Creative, media & entertainment
Finance
Food & drink
Healthcare
Medical devices
Retail

Latest updates

Event - 18th May - 22nd April 2024

INTA 2024 Annual Meeting Live

The HGF European team will be attending the INTA Annual Meeting Live, which will take place on 18th-22nd May 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. The conference will connect some of the …

Event details

Blog Series: IP Ingredients, Part 3: An Appetite for Designs

Registered Designs are a flexible IP right applicable across almost all industries, from fashion, technology, and household items to industrial machinery. This versatility makes them a valuable asset for businesses …

Read article

Blog Series: IP Ingredients, Part 2: Sippin’ Success with Trade Marks

In the UK, trade marks and the food and drink industry have a long and rich heritage.  One of the most well known of these stories begins in 1876, when …

Read article

Why should I register the Trade Mark(s) of my business? – 6 Top Tips

A trade mark is anything that identifies the origin of goods or services writes Rebecca Field, Partner & Trade Mark Attorney (pictured above). This includes the name of the product, …

Read article

Design (registrations) to win -this time its GIN! - M&S vs ALDI

This case illustrates how a well thought out design registration strategy helped Marks and Spencer (M&S) win the day against the discount specialist, Aldi. It is another chapter in the …

Read article

CJEU sees red - Louboutin vs Amazon

Christian Louboutin for anyone who doesn’t know, is a French designer of luxury footwear and handbags, whose best-known goods are high-heeled (often very!) women’s shoes. From the mid-1990s onwards, he …

Read article

Protection of retail formats in China: the Decathlon case

The copying of whole retail formats in China is not unknown. For example in 2011 authorities in Kunming found 22 ‘fake’ Apples stores in their city with many of the …

Read article

WTR 1000 2023

HGF is delighted that our European trade mark team has been recognised in the gold tier in the World Trade Mark Review 1000 2023. The firm is also proud to …

Read article
See all updates