News & Events

Is International Exhaustion coming to a shop near you?

A recent Financial Times article ‘Creative Industries warn IP rights under threat by hunt for “Brexit dividends” highlighted that the UK government is again exploring, or at least having pressure …

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Barbie: Why do trade marks and licences Mattel?

“Humans only have one ending. Ideas live forever.” -Ruth, Barbie Movie (2023). Whilst ideas themselves can’t be protected under IP, the expression of ideas, technically speaking, can, provided they meet …

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OEM in China –Stahlwerk and the Good Faith principle

Before we get into the case specifics of Stahlwerk (January 2022), which is a Higher People’s Court of Zhejiang Province case, we just need to cover what OEM is and …

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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Tesco vs Lidl – Going in circles

The full trial between Tesco and Lidl started before the High Court in February 2023. With the parties battling over their use of their yellow circle logos, we look at …

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Lego – Building a case for enforcement

The “minifigure” of Lego and its friends prove to be brave fighters, not only in children’s hands, but also before the Regional Court of Dusseldorf and even the General Court …

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Trade mark infringement on the Metaverse – a battle between Hermès and Mason Rothschild

The MetaBirkins case has attracted attention from brand owners, artists and trade mark attorneys all over the world, as it is the first to shed light on the protection of …

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