Trademark Decisions Are Business Risk Decisions: Lessons from 4,170+ UK Registrations
A PR agency recently asked our founder, Jonathan Paton, a deceptively simple question: after all this time in trademarks, what is the one thing that stands out? His answer, after seventeen years and more than 4,170 UK trademark registrations, was not about case law or filing tactics. It was this: the commercial decision outweighs the […]
First to File vs First to Use: The Question Every Brand Owner Should Ask After Anthropic v Abnormal AI
There is a big difference between owning a brand name in your head and owning it on the trademark register. The dispute between Anthropic, the company behind Claude, and Abnormal AI is a live, real world example of what that difference can cost, and it answers a question we hear from business owners every week: […]
When Your Competitor Copies Your Logo: The Anthropic v Abnormal AI Case
A competitor copied Anthropic’s logo and got to the trademark office first. What the Anthropic v Abnormal AI logo trademark infringement case teaches every business about brand protection and filing early.
Scam Warning: Knighton Legal Services – Have You Received a “Legal Notice on Business Name and Domain Conflict”?
One of our clients recently received another trademark warning email — and this one is worth writing about, because the client actually replied. That meant we could see not just the first approach, but what happened next. The email came from an address on the domain notice.knightonlegalservices.co.uk, under the subject line “Legal Notice on Business […]
Should You Trademark Your Company Name? The Lesson Behind the “1587 Prime” Steakhouse Dispute
Somebody asked me yesterday, “should I register my company name as a trademark?” You might imagine my immediate answer would be a straight yes. It wasn’t. When it is worth trademarking your name My answer was that you should definitely look at whether you can trademark your name if: You have a name, logo or […]
Scam Warning: Trademark Center UK, Have You Received A “United Kingdom Brand Registration Profile” Email?
One of our clients forwarded us another trademark warning email this week. This time it came from a company calling itself Trademark Center UK, under the subject line “United Kingdom Brand Registration Profile”. Their message to us was refreshingly simple: “Looks like spam, should I ignore?” Yes. But I want to walk through why, because […]
Trademark Renewal and Ownership: What the Beckham ‘Brooklyn’ Trademark Teaches Every UK Business Owner
Did you see the news earlier this year about Victoria Beckham owning Brooklyn Beckham’s name as a trademark? It is about to get interesting all over again, because that trademark is heading towards its renewal window, and it turns out to be one of the clearest real-world lessons in trademark ownership and trademark renewal that […]
Scam Warning: Alethea Law Trademark Website, Possible Impersonation Scam?
A client has recently brought another trademark related website to our attention. This one is slightly different from some of the other examples we have seen. Why? Because there appears to be a genuine business called Alethea Law Limited. There is an Alethea Law Limited registered at Companies House. There is also an Alethea Law […]
Scam Warning: Trademark Dept, Have You Received A UK Trademark Registration Email?
One of our clients has received another concerning trademark email, this time from a company calling itself Trademark Dept. The email was sent with the subject line: Legal Action Notice Immediate Attention Required Always a calm and reassuring start. The email claims that another party is preparing to file a UK trademark application for the client’s […]
Can You Still Use Your Own Name Once You’ve Sold the Brand? The Jo Malone Dispute
Can you still use your own name once you have sold the brand? It sounds like an odd question, but Jo Malone is facing exactly that, and it is a genuinely useful warning for anyone whose business is built around a personal name. What the dispute is actually about Estée Lauder has reportedly brought a […]