Harper Beckham’s Trademark: Registered in the UK, Refused in the US
Harper Beckham’s beauty brand, HARLO BY HARPER, is registered as a trademark in the UK. In the United States, the same name has been refused. One brand, two very different answers, and the reason is simple: trademarks are territorial. A registration in one country tells you nothing about whether the name is free in the […]
Frank Bruno, Amazon and the ‘Replica’ Problem: Why Platforms Block Products That Look Genuine
Amazon and big brands block products that look legitimate because they are protecting something worth far more than one sale: the trust customers place in a name. When a listing appears to use somebody else’s trademark, or describes itself in a way that sounds like a copy, platforms usually act first and ask questions later. […]
Hear Law Trademark Notice: Sent From a Website Registered the Night Before
A client forwarded us an email this morning. It was headed “Formal Notice Regarding Potential Business Name Rights”, it cited four sections of the Trade Marks Act 1994, it was signed by a “Registered IP Solicitor” at Hear Law, and it gave them 72 hours to respond about a trademark application for their own company […]
Fenrick & Stone Impersonation: The Trademark Notice It Didn’t Send
Update, 14 October 2026: a third firm’s name. The same notice, word for word, has now been sent in the name of Hear Law, a law firm authorised by the SRA on 2 October 2026. It came from cassandra@notice.hearlaw.co.uk, on a website registered the evening before, and was signed with another real solicitor’s name and […]
RSK Legal Trademark Notice: What the Registers Show
Update, 14 October 2026: A third client has now forwarded us the same notice, word for word, this time sent in the name of Hear Law, a law firm authorised by the SRA on 2 October 2026. The website it pointed to was registered the evening before the notice was sent, and it was signed […]
Can You Sue Someone for Copying Your Brand? What Louboutin v YSL Actually Decided
Someone has copied part of your brand. Can you sue them? Usually yes, if you hold a registered trademark covering what they’ve taken. But holding one doesn’t mean you win, and it doesn’t mean the copy has to stop. A registration gives you standing to act and a much faster route to acting. It does […]
The Trademark Helpline launches enhanced client monitoring, portal access and new business-support services
Please take a moment to read this news carefully as there is something at the end worth knowing about Over the coming weeks, you are going to start seeing a lot more from The Trademark Helpline. Not necessarily because we are doing more (although we are investing heavily in improving our services), but because we […]
Why Is OpenAI’s ChatGPT Trademark Being Opposed in Australia?
OpenAI’s ChatGPT trademark has been opposed in Australia by the owner of the GPT property group. How oppositions work there and what it means for UK brands.
Scam Warning: St Nic’s Legal Services, Have You Received a “Legal Notice on Business Name and Domain Rights Conflict”?
One of our clients has received another concerning trademark warning email. This time it came from an organisation calling itself St Nic’s Legal Services, using the domain stnicslegalservices.co.uk. The email was headed “Legal Notice on Business Name and Domain Rights Conflict”. It claimed that an unnamed party was preparing to file a UK trademark application […]
Supermac’s Beat McDonald’s at the UK Registry. Here’s What That Says About Names That Look Too Similar
Most people worry about someone copying their name. Far fewer worry about the opposite, that their own name might be a bit too close to somebody else’s, and that the somebody else might be very large indeed. It’s one of the more uncomfortable questions I get asked, usually quietly, near the end of a call. […]
